How to Choose a
Hosting Company

Every website is "hosted" on a computer that "serves" the website files to the Internet.  There are companies that specialize in hosting websites and in order to publish your website to the Internet, you need to purchase space on one of those companies' servers.  We call it, "purchasing hosting services."

When you choose a website host, you want to choose a company whose main job is hosting websites.  We firmly believe that you should go to the specialist for a specialized service and hosting is one of those services.  We highly recommend that you DO NOT host your site with any “free” service that you get with your telephone company.  We have known many who have had bad experiences with Yahoo’s hosting service, as well.  You want a website host that does not greatly limit how you can use your website and who is available to provide support if you need it.  

We recommend two hosting companies:  Panther City Web Source and HostGator.  Each of these companies have hosting packages that come with lots of bells and whistles, so be sure to check out the features associated with each.

Things you might want to consider when choosing a hosting package are:

• Is support available?  When?  By phone, email, or online only?
  
  
• What type of server is available?  (Note:  Select a Unix/Linux server instead of a Windows server.  It will be less expensive and more reliable.)
  
  
• How much disk space (space for your website files) and bandwidth (amount of download) is included? 
  
  
• Is a website builder included?
  
  
• Are you locked into a contract?
  
  
• Is email included?  How many email accounts?
  
  
• Are there programs you can use to run forms, blogs, etc.?
  
  
• Is there a control panel?  What sorts of features are available?
  
  
• Can you view your website statistics?
  
  
• Is e-commerce included?  What kind of program?
  
  
• Is it easy to get a Dedicated IP and SSL if you run an e-commerce program?

Out of Nowhere does not offer website hosting services to the general public.  We maintain a server only for our clients.  If we build your website, we will be available to host it for you.  We have this policy to ensure the greatest reliability and security for our clients.