Looking to start up a website? You’ll need a web host to begin with! It’s important to learn the basics about web hosting so you can properly select the host that will work the best for you and your website. Continue reading for some helpful tips that will increase your knowledge of web hosting.

When transferring your site between hosts, have a copy of your website at both your old and new hosts for a few days. It’s important to do this because it takes 6-48 hours for the DNS to propagate. During this time, some visitors will be sent to your old website, while others whose ISPs have updated their DNS info will be sent to your new site.

Make sure you, and not your web host, controls your domain name. If you let your host control your domain name, you may be stuck with that host if you don’t want to change domains. Some unscrupulous hosts won’t release the domain info if you leave on bad terms. If you control the domain, you can point it at another host’s nameservers and start fresh.

If you are going to have a website that mentions products and services that you offer, you need to have e-commerce hosting available in order for the customers to make purchases. You do not want to push your customers, but at every opportunity, they need to have the ability to make a purchase at their disposal.

You must be familiar with band-width, or the amount of data that is able to transfer in and out of your web hosting account. Different web hosting companies offer different prices on different band-widths, so you need to make sure you use this to help you make a decision as to who you should select for web hosting.

You should keep a backup of your site on your computer or on a flashdrive. In case your web host is encountering major issues and you cannot have access to your data, you will be able to switch to another host by simply uploading your site to a different server.

Avoid choosing the cheapest web-hosting service out there, and certainly think long and hard before you go with a free one. If you are running a business online, your reputation can be severely damaged if you choose an unreliable hosting service. In addition, the free ones will often have advertisements that make it obvious you are not willing to pay for a basic service that is important to your livelihood.

Read the terms of service when dealing with a web host who offers “unlimited” services. Many times web hosts will offer unlimited bandwidth or sometimes hard disk space. Read the terms carefully, as they may reserve the right to ask you to upgrade your plan, if you are a higher profile customer, that has increased usage.

Now that you are well-versed in the world of web hosting, you are ready to select a host and start a website. Whether you are looking to start a business or just have a hobby blog, there is bound to be a host that will work for your website needs.