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Cheap Web Hosting - The Cost of Site Popularity
There is one common problem that many site owners around
the world share, regardless of where their site is hosted
or what language it's written in. The single problem we've
all experienced at some point is Web traffic; if we don't
have enough, then we usually have too much!
The problem of getting traffic is well understood and
thoroughly documented. Anyone who is serious about being
a "somebody" on the Web will have considered their
online promotional strategy, particularly if they do not
have a "real world" brand or identity that they
can build on. Many of us have been there, done that!
In the early days, I was envious of the traffic that other
sites related to mine received. I would sit and wonder just
how they attracted several thousands of people to their
Websites every day -- just what was the secret of their
popularity anyway?
The last thing on my mind was the knock-on effect of having
so many visitors; I just wanted them! The kind of resources
I'd need to sustain all those visitors never really occurred
to me. I knew little about data transfer, bandwidth or server
resources, let alone how much of each I was using.
Starting Out
As I was only working on a small hobby site at the time,
I wasn't prepared to spend any money to host my site. My
choice of host usually rested on the amount of Web space
offered or the type of advertising I would need to display
to be able to use the free service.
I was, I guess, a "typical" hobbyist Webmaster;
building pages to learn and practice my skills while trying
to attract the attention of other likeminded individuals.
If I was to "be discovered" and become famous
overnight, I would be thrilled to bits! However, knowing
what I know now, my newfound fame would certainly come at
a price.
The Stinger
The problem is not the attention as such, but the sudden
increase in the demands on your server and its network.
If a host expects a particularly active site that doesn't
need much in the way of resources on their servers, then
they will price the hosting to cover their costs accordingly.
Most free hosting plans are designed with quiet personal
homepages in mind, so the data transfer limits aren't enough
for even a semi-popular site. Often with free hosts, you
risk losing your account without warning for reasons such
as excessive account usage or something you've overlooked
in their terms of service.
If you use up the equivalent of your host's monthly allowance
for data transfer in a single day, do you really expect
them to sit back and let you continue to do so for much
longer? Don't forget that they also have their bills to
pay, and if your site has unintentionally doubled their
cost for the month you can be sure they would want to pass
some of it on to you. Pay up or find a new host!
If the increase in Web traffic was due to a particular
event, then excessive use of the server could only be temporary;
even the news networks could not have anticipated the extra
demand on their Web servers on September 11th. However,
these sites can afford to absorb the costs incurred to fix
the problem; most "hobbyist" site owners cannot.
The bulk of the cost to sustain a site that outgrows its
current hosting plan is due to excessive data transfer usage.
Prices and pricing structures vary, so how much and when
you will be charged will depend on your host -- perhaps
it's time you remind yourself exactly what these costs are
before you charge ahead with your next site promotion effort!
Prepare for the Unexpected!
There are a few things you can do to minimise the extra
costs you might incur as a result of an increase in your
site's popularity.
Optimise your images and remove needless HTML.
Reduce the number of needless clicks in your site's navigation.
Make your multimedia page elements optional.
Choose a host that:
Offers at least double your expected data transfer usage.
Has a low user-to-server ratio (if using shared hosting).
Has good redundancy in their network.
Allows you to upgrade and downgrade your plan easily.
Make sure you:
Warn your host if you expect a sudden surge of traffic.
Consider a dedicated server if your site is particularly
server intensive.
Make a note of any overage charges you may incur and include
provision for them in your budget.
Sometimes it isn't always a good idea to go for the cheapest
hosting option. If you're shopping around for shared hosting,
be wary of hosts that offer reseller packages that allow
resellers to allocate their own resources and set their
own prices. There may be nothing wrong with the host that
provides the service, however, resellers often have little
or no experience at managing a server and so have a tendency
to overload the particular server they use.
A budget host is suitable for most "simple"
hobbyist sites that attract only a handful of visitors each
day. They are not however, always the best option for anyone
who is serious about their site, as the cost of the package
is often not enough to cover the resources the site would
use. A budget host may save you some money now, but if your
site suddenly gets popular and you're not prepared, you
will pay later!
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