Top tips for choosing a web hosting company 

Choosing a web hosting company is a very personal 
decision based on your own unique needs. Switching web 
hosting companies can be time consuming and costly, so 
it is worth getting it right first time.  It's important to choose 
a company that not only meets your needs today, but can 
also grow with you as your needs change.

Here are some great tips to help you choose the right web hosting company for your 
needs. 

1.	Check the costs 

When comparing different companies, a key question must be how much 
the hosting will cost. It may seem an obvious question, but the different 
fees and costs may not be that obvious. For example, check whether 
there is a set up fee. Are there extra fees for secure transactions? What 
does it cost to host multiple URLs and email addresses? In other words it 
is important to establish what is included in the cost and what is extra. 

2.	Check the contract 

It's also a good idea to read the contract and terms and conditions 
carefully before you sign up. Some companies charge an additional fee 
for terminating your agreement if you wish to change to another provider. 
It's worth finding out how much this is and if there are any specific 
restrictions on moving your account. 

3.	Choose the level of service to suit your needs

Different companies offer different levels of service. Take the time to 
decide what are your minimum requirements particularly in respect of 
technical support. Check whether the hosting company can guarantee 
service levels that meet your requirements. For instance, is their phone 
number on their web site? What kind of out of hours support do they 
offer? Are their support telephone numbers free or do you have to call a 
premium rate number? 

4.	Check what else they can offer

Although you are keen to get things up and running it's important to think 
about your long term needs as well as your immediate requirements.  
Does the hosting company have the flexibility and capacity you will need 
as your business expands?  In addition, most web hosting companies 
provide monthly/daily usage reports.  It's worth asking to see these to 
assess how useful they are as the layout and what is included can vary 
considerably from one company to another. 

5.	Check the registration of your domain name 

When you have picked your hosting company and signed the contract it is 
important to check the registration of your domain name if this was part of 
the set up process.  Sometimes hosting companies register the domain 
name in their own name rather than in the name of the customer. It is 
advisable to ensure that the domain name is registered in your name so 
that the registration is protected if your hosting company should 
subsequently go out of business for instance. 

You can check the availability of any domain names ending in .uk using 
the WHOIS search facility on our web site http://www.nominet.org.uk. 



About Nominet

We are the registry for all
Internet domain names
ending in .uk.


We operate at the heart of e-commerce in the UK, 
running one of the world's largest Internet registries 
and managing over six million domain names.

We maintain the register of .uk domain names. 
We also run the technology which locates a computer 
on the Internet hosting the web site or email system 
you're looking for when you type in a web address or 
send an email that ends in .uk.

We aim to be the leading provider of registry services, 
including ENUM and other associated technologies.


For further information about 
Nominet, visit our web site

www.nominet.org.uk