The Best Website Hosting Criteria:

Fortunately finding the best website hosting for your fundraising website will not be as expensive as it used to be.

As the competition has grown the price of having a website hosted has gradually come down.

But having a cheap web host doesn't mean that you'll be using the best site host available.

And having a website doesn't just mean success on the web. You actually have to build the website properly for that... and by having a quality web host you can make that task so much easier.

So please check the following criteria when choosing the best host for your site...

Website Hosting Criteria:

Below you will find the basics that all hosting companies should provide. If they don't, then they shouldn't be offering their services.

Below that are some extra tools to look for in a web host that will really make building a successful website a lot easier!

Click here for a really important criteria.

1. Server Space:

Your host should provide a good amount of server space.

You'll probably only use a couple of gigabytes for your site, but just make sure you have enough to expand your site to its desirable size.

A real good website host should provide unlimited server space.

2. Bandwidth:

This is the amount of data transfer your website is allowed.

Ex. If your bandwidth limit is 1000 megabytes (1 gig) a month, and each page on your site is 10 KB. You will be allowed 100,000 page visits to your website… After that no one will be able to view your website until the new month!

As with server space the best hosts should provide unlimited bandwidth.

3. Traffic & Site Stats:

Your web host must have traffic and site stats. Knowing how much traffic your website has, where it is coming from, and onto what pages it is going is very important!

It will help with evaluating your site's success, and will show what is working on your site and what is not.

These are the stats that should be provided:

• Unique visitors – The amount of different individuals that have visited your site during a given time.
• Individual page views – As well as entry page and exit page stats.
• Referral URL's – Where people have come from to get to your site, like Google, or another website. It would be a good bonus if you can also get keyword stats (what keywords your site is found with).

4. Email Accounts:

Your Host should provide you with a good amount of email accounts. At least 5, but preferably an unlimited amount. And they should run with your domain name… ex. [email protected]

Extras Tools You Should Have:

Now let's have a look at a few extra services you should look out for that would make your potential host the best for you…

1. Keyword Brainstorming & Selection Software:

The web host I use provides this software at no extra cost.

It will help you pick the right keywords for your web pages and is invaluable… Unfortunately there are very few hosts that provide this type of service.

2. Domain Name Included In Hosting Fee:

This should come standard but unfortunately it does not.

3. Page Analyzer:

A page analyzer will evaluate a page on many different search engine optimization criteria and inform you on what you've got right and wrong. As well as providing guidance on correcting what is wrong.

A tool like this is invaluable, and once again provided by very few!

In fact, as far as I know, Site Build It! is the only host to provide this tool.

4. An Autoresponder:

This is a great time saver for any website.

It is what it says it is, and for example will send out automated reply emails, or a set thank you email for online donations given. Which means you won't have to spend time doing it yourself.

5. An RSS Blog Feed:

A good traffic builder and also a super way of retaining visitors.

Every new page you build or update goes onto your RSS feed and informs all your subscribers about the addition! Unfortunately very few non-blog web hosts will provide this service.

Outsourcing:

If the Host you choose doesn't provide these tools and services you may need to outsource them. There are many online companies that provide say Auto Responder services or blog feeds which you can add to your site.

Obviously finding a host that provides all of these tools for one single cost will save you a load of money and time. As far as I know SBI! is the only webhost that provides all these tools for one price.

They also provide training and tutorship through their excellent 10 step action guide and "tips and techniques" section. They are the web host I use and I have to honestly attribute all my success on the web to them!

Which brings me to another really important criteria...

Really Important -
Training & Education:

A really important thing that your host should provide is training and education on how to build a successful website for whatever your need is.

There are a lot of companies that offer basic education on how to set your site up, and this is where SBI once again is miles ahead of everyone else with...

As they offer a comprehensive action guide that takes you through step by step the process of how to build a successful website. Focusing on what's important!

On the other hand you may not want to learn how to build a website, and then you'll need to get a specialist to build it for you. Not a bad option.

Ending Off:

Please make sure you do your research when deciding on the best website hosting for your website. It is important, trust me!

If you can't find the right info on the web host's sales website, send them an email detailing what you would like to know about their hosting service. If they're worth their salt they'll reply with the info you requested!

Be sure to also check testimonials from people who are using that webhost service… The more the better!

Now let's go design your fundraising website.

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