Despite the common misconception, there are huge differences from one web hosting company to another. Don’t just grab the first host you come across. Take your time, do some research, and choose a host that works best for you. These hints should help:

Web hosts usually offer add-ons with their packages, the features differ between each host. Compare the levels of service and fulfillment for the specific features that are important to you. The price advantage of one host may not be worth the savings if they lack certain features that you require.

Trying to choose between dedicated and shared hosting? If your site is large and complicated and receives a lot of visitors, you might find shared hosting is preventing growth and your ability to properly serve customers. Instead, opt for a dedicated server.

Make sure to register your site’s domane name independent of your host site, so that you can retain control of it if there is ever a dispute between the two of you. Your host will have the control of your domain registration.

Purchase a web hosting plan that offers you more disk space than you currently need. Anticipating this as your business grows is essential. At a minimum, you should get 20 percent more space than you need so that you can improve or add to your site in the future without running out of space.

When choosing a web hosting service for your website, make sure that you read reviews of any host you are considering. You would not buy a new car or a new dishwasher without reading some reviews of it first. The same should be true when you are looking for a web host.

Some web hosting services will charge you by how much traffic your site gets. Will it be a flat rate? A rate dependent on the amount of traffic you get?

Never register your domain with your web hosting service. Many people mistakenly do this, and then realize later they can’t transfer their site over to another web hosting service. This can happen when a company goes offline and bust or for other various reasons. Make sure you register your domain with a different company than your web hosting provider.

Find a service that offers to register your domain name for you. Registering your domain name yourself is feasible and cheaper, but if you lack experience you should spend the extra money and rely on your web host to do this for you. Choose your domain name carefully so it reflects what your company is about.

If you need more than one email address, talk to the host service about their email formats. Generally, you should choose a host that uses POP 3. These kinds of email are usually linked to the domain name, and you can access them from anyplace online.

Now you really understand the difference between your average host and great companies that have racks filled with servers, all running dedicated memory for hosting your files. Review these tips when your contract is up for renewal, or whenever you’re ready to choose a better host.