If you are new to web hosting, the sheer choice available within the UK alone can be pretty daunting. There can be many factors to consider: whether to go for dedicated or shared hosting, the amount of storage or bandwidth you might need, whether or not you require a database, the kind of technical support you might want – the list is long.

But does it need to be so? I think not.

I think we can make the process of choosing the right hosting fairly straight forward. For most small businesses, I think we can simplify things into two broad categories – a simple information-based website and a more content-rich / ecommerce website.

Web hosting for a simple information-based website

If you plan to create a website that is effectively a brochure, you won’t need much in the way of storage. A few hundred megabytes will allow you to display considerable amount of information and a decent number of pictures without any problem.

If you intend to send out (and receive) significant volume of emails, you will need to consider reasonable level of bandwidth – 1 gigabyte per month should be sufficient for a handful of staff and standard emails.

And that’s it. Pay around £20 per year and expect to receive an error-free service with decent telephone / live web chat support.

Web hosting for a content-rich / ecommerce website

If you plan to host a considerable amount of content or want to sell online, you’ll need a little more storage, bandwidth and, in all likelihood, a database too (plus a SSL certificate for your online shop).

If you can stretch your budget to around £50 per year, expect at least 5Gb of space, unlimited bandwidth, a couple of databases and full telephone and live web chat support.

Now, while there are may well be specific needs depending on the exact nature of your website, as a general rule, if you keep in mind the essentials I have outlined above, you won’t need to pay for unnecessary features that you will never actually need.

Of course, you may want to host multiple websites. Even here you don’t need to buy multiple packages – in fact, Freezone’s very own Ultimate Hosting package will allow you to host 5 websites within the same package.

Finally, should you choose shared hosting or opt for a dedicated server? We suggest that you choose shared hosting – certainly shared hosting from a good UK web hosting company should be more than adequate to meet the needs of most small businesses (and offers excellent value for money compared with the dedicated option).

UK web hosting · Ultimate Hosting · Web Hosting

Let me start by apologising for, quite possibly, abusing the privileges of writing this blog by throwing in an obvious plug.

But in an extremely competitive UK web hosting industry, it is seldom that one comes across a genuinely good offer specifically designed to save small businesses a great deal of money on web hosting.

You see, over the last few months, our product development team has been busy in the lab with their beakers, bunsen burners, goggles and chemicals and come up with what they call the Ultimate Hosting package.

And despite the seemingly lofty name, it does live up to its implied promise. Here are just some of the key features:

• 5 domain names worth up to £39.95 (all for free and you can choose from the most popular extensions, including .co.uk, .com, .org, .net, .biz, .info, .me.uk, .org.uk, & .eu names)
• free dedicated SSL Certificate worth £49/y for your site security
• free Data Backup & Restore facility worth £36/y
• free Website Builder tool
• unlimited bandwidth
• 5 databases – MySQL or MS SQL.

And to make it really flexible, you don’t have to register all 5 names at point of purchase – you can do so at anytime. In fact, you can even transfer in domain names to this hosting package from other providers.

But what’s really compelling is that the Ultimate Hosting package has been priced at just £4.99/m – a lot cheaper than most standard hosting packages. (I am not sure whether product development chaps had a chat with the bean counters before deciding on the price – I can feel a pay cut coming on to foot the bill for marketing!)

Domain · domain name · UK web hosting · Ultimate Hosting · Web Hosting