How do I set up a web hosting account?

The simple answer to this question is to let you web designer handle the web hosting setup. If you have a web designer building your web site, this is the person who is going to know best, what kind of hosting you're going to need. Your website designer will need your credit card information and billing address to purchase your hosting package for you. If the designer also hosts websites, your financial information will or should be kept confidential, otherwise, like me, shred any financial information you might have after the purchase is made.

What if I want to purchase the website hosting package myself?

If you set the hosting up by yourself, you need to know what variables you will be working with. Some examples are below:

• Which web language will be used (ASP, .NET, PHP, and others)
• How much storage d you need?
• How much transfer or bandwidth will be needed?
• How will I market the website?
• Am I paying to much for hosting?
• Do I want email or phone or both for technical support?
• What is the reputation of my host?
• Can I upload files online or can I use and FTP program (FTP = File Transfer Protocal).

If you don't know what you are doing or have had very little experience with it, you could end up with more problems then you want.

Hosting setup

The best thing to do is to use common sense and only purchase the options you know you will need. Generally if you need to purchase additional email accounts, traffic software, or secure certificates, (these are just examples of options available) you can always do it later and just add it to your account.