There are currently over a billion websites on the Internet. Are you ready to join the ranks? If you answered in the affirmative, then you've got a few decisions in front of you. Ok, you've got a ton of decisions and you won't want to make the wrong ones because it can cost you money and time. In this day and age, those commodities are just too valuable, so let's look at what's in store for you about web hosting.

The first thing is your domain name. How will you choose it? It's 2006; the Internet has existed for about 10 years now as a mainstream rendezvous. That means that most of the basic words are taken. Your best bet is to combine words, use hyphens or make up your own word like google, wikipedia and half-a-million others. You can search on a web host's page to find your domain name. You can try any name you think up about 5 times per day. Some people would otherwise sit there all day, trying names and buying up anything they could think of. Then, when you come knocking on their door to buy the name you came up with, the price has doubled, tripled or worse. You should be able to get your name for free as part of a package from a web host or sometimes sites like Yahoo! offer $2.99 for a year or about $19.99 from a domain registry company.

Where Will You Live? So you've got your name and now you need a place to park it. A web hosting company is basically like a landlord. They say, we've got this much space, these utilities are included and you can hang your sign (domain name) out front. You're probably going to have to do some research as to who has the best offers, but no matter who you decide on, the one thing that should be included is 99.99% up-time. That means your site won't crash 99.99% of the time and almost every host can match that guarantee. So if you don't see it, move along. There are some other major issues you'll need to look at in your web hosting company.

Spot Checking. First is the refund policy. If you don't see it, look for it. If you can't find it, ask them about it, especially if you like everything else you see or if what they offer sounds too good to be true. You should have 30 days to decide.

You should also see some offer of technical support. Again, it's 2006. Consumers are more in control today than ever. They can find out the competitor's price by spending 5 minutes on the phone or 2 minutes online. So if you don't see an offer of technical support, just say 'no'. You may want to call the number or write them before you sign up and ask them a few questions. It's a great way to test their customer service.

The last basic thing you should remember to look for is that you own your domain name, not the web hosting company. Your domain name is yours. There usually isn't a problem with this, but if there is a problem, it can be a big problem. Imagine the web-hosting company saying they own your domain name. that's a mess you wouldn't want to get involved in.

All it really takes is some mild effort on your part. There are unbiased places where you can compare a few different web hosting companies. Ask them questions. Find out who treats you the best and who is an established provider. You'll save yourself a lot of headaches in the future if you put in a bit of work now. Good Luck.

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