When putting together a successful website there are many components that must be taken into account. Simply creating a webpage in Frontpage or some online template system and putting it online through the "free" webspace you get with your ISP is not enough.
To have a truly informative, productive website takes a lot more.

When building a website it should have the following (in general):

• clear, easy to read, to the point text
• fast loading and good looking graphics, photos
• logical and easy to access navigation through the website
• information and resources to help your vistior/potential customer

Once the content is established, it needs to be designed or put together for optimial search engine rankings and link popularity (see my article on "how to design for link popularity").

Most compentent web designers will agree on these points but there is one thing that I have seen few comments made on; the one thing that truly makes a website run and that is its web hosting.

Who and where you host your website will make all the difference in the world.

There are literally thousands of web hosting companies out there, so how do you know who to work with? That is the million dollar question.

I have worked with many customers (many just starting out or inexperienced), installing my Link Management Script and have see the gamet of web hosting companies. I have worked with too many who simply got stuck with poor web hosting because they did not know what to ask or inquire about, thus the motivation behind this article. Usually going with the cheapest company can be a big mistake, there are of course a few exceptions which I'll cover below.

So what criteria should a webmaster look for?

When working with a web hosting company, you need to find one that offers the following.

1. Prompt and professional customer support either via email or phone; (if it takes days for a response from an email you sent them what good will that do you?)
2. Informative and detailed online help (having a good faq online can save everyone alot of time).
3. Online administrative control - a good control panel - (this is a great extra to have and gives you the ability to setup your website).
4. Offers a variety of OSes (Unix or Windows) complete Perl, database (MySQL or MS Access), web stats, SSI, etc...
5. Secure and virus free systems.
6. Hassle free domain registration and transfer in or out.
7. And obviously the features and hosting package sizes that you need; number of email accounts, hosting space, and bandwidth usage.
8. Connection monitoring-do they monitor themselves to minimize downtime?
9. Website backups, power backups (you should always backup your own work, but it is nice to have your webserver do it too.)

Web hosting is something you never think about until something goes wrong or you can't install a new program you just purchased. Remember it is your website and you should be able to run it the way you want. Since there are so many companies out there it is a buyers market, don't feel obligated to stay with a poor company just because...

I would like to recommend a company that I work with ClubWebHost. The reason I recommend them is because of the criteria mentioned above and my experiences. I use them myself and find the options offered and customer service given is phenomenal. Investigate what ClubWebHost can offer you. You are not a number there.

Finally, even if you don't use my recommendation, make sure you know what your hosting company offers, if possible look for current clients and ask them how they like working with that host, try to see where you want to go with your website and what needs you might have. If you can make sure you get a company that can expand as you do via hosting package add-ons. Lastly, talk with the company and see how you are treated. Now nothing is foolproof, but hopefully this will help you to be a little more informed and look more closely at who gets to host your website.

-Larry Sullivan
Linking101.com