ur hosting account immediately when they arise. Your Web hosting tech support needs to be there for you day and night.

6) Your Web hosting services needs to have a documented history of 99.99% uptime. If they haven't been around for five years or more, or their record is spotty at best, look elsewhere.

7) Your Web hosting service needs to offer a control panel on the backend of the site. This is an area you can log in to and manage email addresses, files, software upload, ftp and

Getting the best hosting services on the web is vital to the success of any Web site. You need to make sure you are getting all of the essential services and features and that the hosting service you choose is reliable, has impeccable customer service and that they can guarantee your site will be up 99.99% of the time.

The following is a checklist to guide you as you search for the best hosting services on the web:

1) No setup fees – there are hosting companies out there that charge step fees just to get your hosting started. Avoid these companies. You need a company that only requires you first purchase of hosting to get started.

2) You need at least 2 gigs of bandwidth. Even if your site is brand new and you're not getting traffic, you have to plan for good traffic in the future. Basically, the amount of bandwidth is how many visitors you're allowed to show your site to. Two gigabytes will take care of most Web site needs, easily. But, don't accept anything less. The best web hosting companies offer this much even on their cheapest packages.

3) You need at least 50 MB of disk space quota. This is how much space your site takes up on the hosts servers (souped up hard drives). 50 MB is the minimum you should require as a start up Web site. Unless you plan to host a ton of pics or videos, then this definitely is enough disk space. Don't settle for less though.

4) For a basic plan, you shouldn't have to pay more than $10/month and for premium plans, no more than $70/month. Any more than this and you're paying too much. Actual web disk space and bandwidth is like a commodity now. You should be able to get all you need without breaking the bank. Which brings me to the next point...

5) Technical support. Your host should be available 24/7 to take toll-free calls and/or emails regarding issues that pop up with your hosting account. The Internet doesn't sleep, so you need to be able address any problems that come up with your hosting account immediately when they arise. Your Web hosting tech support needs to be there for you day and night.

6) Your Web hosting services needs to have a documented history of 99.99% uptime. If they haven't been around for five years or more, or their record is spotty at best, look elsewhere.

7) Your Web hosting service needs to offer a control panel on the backend of the site. This is an area you can log in to and manage email addresses, files, software upload, ftp and

rge step fees just to get your hosting started. Avoid these companies. You need a company that only requires you first purchase of hosting to get started.

2) You need at least 2 gigs of bandwidth. Even if your site is brand new and you're not getting traffic, you have to plan for good traffic in the future. Basically, the amount of bandwidth is how many visitors you're allowed to show your site to. Two gigabytes will take care of most Web site needs, easily. But, don't accept anything less. The best web hosting companies offer this much even on their cheapest packages.

3) You need at least 50 MB of disk space quota. This is how much space your site takes up on the hosts servers (souped up hard drives). 50 MB is the minimum you should require as a start up Web site. Unless you plan to host a ton of pics or videos, then this definitely is enough disk space. Don't settle for less though.

4) For a basic plan, you shouldn't have to pay more than $10/month and for premium plans, no more than $70/month. Any more than this and you're paying too much. Actual web disk space and bandwidth is like a commodity now. You should be able to get all you need without breaking the bank. Which brings me to the next point...

5) Technical support. Your host should be available 24/7 to take toll-free calls and/or emails regarding issues that pop up with your hosting account. The Internet doesn't sleep, so you need to be able address any problems that come up with your hosting account immediately when they arise. Your Web hosting tech support needs to be there for you day and night.

6) Your Web hosting services needs to have a documented history of 99.99% uptime. If they haven't been around for five years or more, or their record is spotty at best, look elsewhere.

7) Your Web hosting service needs to offer a control panel on the backend of the site. This is an area you can log in to and manage email addresses, files, software upload, ftp and

ess. The best web hosting companies offer this much even on their cheapest packages.

3) You need at least 50 MB of disk space quota. This is how much space your site takes up on the hosts servers (souped up hard drives). 50 MB is the minimum you should require as a start up Web site. Unless you plan to host a ton of pics or videos, then this definitely is enough disk space. Don't settle for less though.

4) For a basic plan, you shouldn't have to pay more than $10/month and for premium plans, no more than $70/month. Any more than this and you're paying too much. Actual web disk space and bandwidth is like a commodity now. You should be able to get all you need without breaking the bank. Which brings me to the next point...

5) Technical support. Your host should be available 24/7 to take toll-free calls and/or emails regarding issues that pop up with your hosting account. The Internet doesn't sleep, so you need to be able address any problems that come up with your hosting account immediately when they arise. Your Web hosting tech support needs to be there for you day and night.

6) Your Web hosting services needs to have a documented history of 99.99% uptime. If they haven't been around for five years or more, or their record is spotty at best, look elsewhere.

7) Your Web hosting service needs to offer a control panel on the backend of the site. This is an area you can log in to and manage email addresses, files, software upload, ftp and

emium plans, no more than $70/month. Any more than this and you're paying too much. Actual web disk space and bandwidth is like a commodity now. You should be able to get all you need without breaking the bank. Which brings me to the next point...

5) Technical support. Your host should be available 24/7 to take toll-free calls and/or emails regarding issues that pop up with your hosting account. The Internet doesn't sleep, so you need to be able address any problems that come up with your hosting account immediately when they arise. Your Web hosting tech support needs to be there for you day and night.

6) Your Web hosting services needs to have a documented history of 99.99% uptime. If they haven't been around for five years or more, or their record is spotty at best, look elsewhere.

7) Your Web hosting service needs to offer a control panel on the backend of the site. This is an area you can log in to and manage email addresses, files, software upload, ftp and

ur hosting account immediately when they arise. Your Web hosting tech support needs to be there for you day and night.

6) Your Web hosting services needs to have a documented history of 99.99% uptime. If they haven't been around for five years or more, or their record is spotty at best, look elsewhere.

7) Your Web hosting service needs to offer a control panel on the backend of the site. This is an area you can log in to and manage email addresses, files, software upload, ftp and any other Web site-related function. Control panels are a necessity. They make your life as a Webmaster much easier.

8) You should get at least 5 email accounts, access to a good stats counter and at least one MySQL database, so you can run a feature like a blog or membership area on your site.

9) It should be easy to upgrade to a better plan with more disk space and/or bandwidth, so that you can grow and expand your site as it gets more and more popular...and that's the whole point. Right?

If the Web hosting service you're looking at passes the above checklist test, then you should feel very good about purchasing a plan from them. Let them take care of hosting your site, so you can worry about more important things, like getting more visitors to your site.