Webhosting advice

[abs_786]

Ellooo people

I have finished my 1st site well sort of it can be perfected. Web design is such a headache spent hours trying to make the site look good.

I have used HTML and CSS to create the website and its for a Racial and Equality Council in UK and its all voluntary.

The current size is 3mb's which may increase because we might add some pictures and some Adobe files. So I will need about 40mb of space. Oooh that reminds me what’s the best way or best practice when it comes to storing adobe files and pictures? Should I chuck them in the host or have a link from outside.

The domain name has expired so I need to get more details on that and I need a host.

What are the dos and don’ts when it comes to searching for a host and I’m assuming the host needs to be in UK because the clients will be all from UK.

In some of the post people have mentioned "uptime" is that upload time?

Also what else do i need too look out for? Stuff like bandwidth etc.

Any info on reliable good free/paid host would be helpful.

In advance thank you for your time and help.

Kind Regards

abs

[felgall]

Oooh that reminds me what’s the best way or best practice when it comes to storing adobe files and pictures? Should I chuck them in the host or have a link from outside.

Store the images on the site so that they can be quickly accessed and will always be available.

In some of the post people have mentioned "uptime" is that upload time?

Uptime is the fraction of total time that the server your site is running on is up. Most providers quote figures of around 99.9%.

[WebhostGIANT-Rob]

Also what else do i need too look out for? Stuff like bandwidth etc.

As you are planning to get started only I think that the smallest shared account will be more then enough. Then in time you will decide if you need to upgrade or not

[ldcdc]

Most providers quote figures of around 99.9%.

Indeed. At the same time, a good many of them (most?) are not actually able to reach those promised/guaranteed uptime levels.

What are the dos and don’ts when it comes to searching for a host and I’m assuming the host needs to be in UK because the clients will be all from UK.

Unless costs are a major concern, UK hosting should be your first choice. Otherwise, US based hosting should be somewhat cheaper and the influence on load time shouldn't be bothering.

As for UK companies I'd look into, some names that come to mind would be clook, unitedhosting, rochenhost. Of course, you must do your own research on them. Forums like this one, and webhostingtalk.com should be great tools for that.

Be aware that many UK hosts actually use US based servers, so you need to make sure you get what you expect.

[Karl]

Hi,

Webhostingtalk.com tends to be only of use these days if you're looking at one of the mass market hosts who are generally over-selling and/or of any use if someone has unhappy customers who know of the existence of the various forums.

My biggest tip would be to buy a package based around what you need right now (with some room for modest growth) and don't be tempted by deals that look too good to be true i.e. Unlimited space/transfer or unrealistic amounts for small amounts of money.

Thanks,