There are a lot of things to consider when choosing a web host. Determining your own hosting needs is the first step in finding a host that can offer what you need and want. Read on for a list of what you should consider when figuring out what you need in a web host.

1. What kind of site are you creating?

The requirements for a simple brochure site are a lot different than those of a blog, an e-commerce site, a social network, or a forum. You need to sit down and figure out exactly what kind of website you want, or may want in the future. At the moment you might only want to have a simple brochure site with a few pages explaining your business or organization. But what might you want to do six months or a year from now?

If there’s a chance you’ll want to add a blog to your site, or an online store, or any other functionality, make note of it now. It can be costly to switch web hosts, so it’s better to choose a host that will be able to support all of the functions you may need in the future.

If you’re going to build an e-commerce site, for example, look for a host that can provide secure servers and an SSL certificate. If you’re going to have a site that’s any more complicated than a few basic static pages, you’ll need a host that supports databases and programming languages.

2. How much traffic do you expect?

Good web hosts allow a specified amount of bandwidth for their customers and charge an overage fee if you use more bandwidth in a given month. Hosts that offer unlimited bandwidth on low-cost plans are generally overselling their servers, which can result in your site being slow or going down for periods of time. If you’re building a site that you hope will eventually get millions of visitors, look for a host that offers high bandwidth limits and low overage charges. If your website is just for a local business that will likely only see a few hundred visitors each month, bandwidth is less important.

Bandwidth also comes into play depending on the kind of content you offer. If your site is primarily text-based or only uses embedded photos and video (instead of those uploaded to your server), you can get away with less bandwidth. If you’re going to host videos or large numbers of images, or have an interactive web application, you’ll need more bandwidth.

3. How big is your site going to be?

The amount of storage you need will depend on the content on your site. If you’re going to host a lot of videos or images, you’ll need more storage. If your site is mostly text-based or only uses embedded images and video that are hosted elsewhere, you won’t need as much storage. Check into what a host charges for more storage, too, so that if you end up needing more storage in the future, you’ll know what you’re in for.

4. What programming language and content management system are you going to use?

Some hosts, especially lower-cost ones, don’t support programming languages like PHP or Ruby on Rails. While a simple brochure site might not need these things, pretty much any other kind of site will. Make sure that whatever host you choose supports the most up-to-date versions of whatever programming languages you need, or you may find incompatibility problems with certain scripts or apps you want to install on your server.

If you’re going to be using a CMS (content management system), you’ll need to verify that your host supports its programming language and database needs. Many low-cost hosts don’t offer databases in their basic hosting. If you’re going to be hosting multiple sites or if you plan to use more than one CMS (for instance, if you want to use one CMS for your main site, one for your forums, and another one for your blog), you may need more than one database. Make sure your host can provide you with the numbers you’ll need.

5. What other features do you want?

Some users like the convenience of one-click application installation. Others want root access or the ability to use .htaccess files (which not all hosts allow). Check the features list of the hosts you’re considering and verify that they provide the features you want.

Consider things like the number of email accounts you’ll need. Some hosts offer as few as 10 accounts, while others might offer 1,000 or even 10,000. You might find that 10 ends up being too few, while you’re unlikely (unless you have a large business) to ever need 10,000.

The host’s dashboard or control panel is often an important consideration for webmasters. Do they use something standard like Plesk for their control panel, or is it a custom interface? Is it easy to perform basic functions, like setting up a new database or email account? While some web designers and webmasters will be comfortable doing these things directly on the server, others prefer to work through the control panel.

Look over the features list of your prospective hosts and make sure they provide everything you’ll need. Don’t worry about other features they may offer, as it’s not worth paying more for features you don’t intend to use.

6. How many sites are you going to need to host?

Some shared hosts allow you to host multiple domains on a single hosting account. And some hosts are better at this than others. You not only want to check into how many they allow on a single account, but also how easy it is to manage multiple domains. Some hosts set these up as little more than subdomains, while others mimic having multiple hosting accounts on a single control panel. It depends on your own personal preference as to which method you prefer.

7. How much security do you need?

Are you dealing with sensitive data on your site? If so, you’ll want to make sure that the host you choose is secure both electronically and physically. Datacenters that aren’t properly secured can be an easy target for thieves. Even if your data isn’t particularly sensitive, realize that if you’re on a shared server, if someone else on your server has attractive data, your site can become a target just by proximity.

If there’s a break-in, either physically or electronically, it can mean that your site goes down for a few minutes, hours, or even days. Make sure that the host you choose has a reasonably secure facility and has taken all the necessary precautions to prevent electronic attacks.

8. How much support do you need?

Support levels vary considerably between hosts. Some hosts only have online support systems. Others offer phone support. While particularly tech-savvy users may not need much support, others may want to be able to call up with a problem and have someone on the other end walk them through the solution step-by-step.

Make sure you consider when tech support is available. Some hosts offer 24/7 tech support, others offer it only during business hours. Realize that in many cases, tech support after standard business hours is outsourced and that those tech support workers may not have as much power to correct problems.

9. What about backups, redundancies, monitoring and the like?

While you should always be doing backups of your site on a regular basis, it’s sometimes reassuring to know that your host also does backups or mirrors your site on multiple servers. The advantage of a host that does this is that if there’s a problem on their end, they’re usually better-equipped to handle it and get your site back up faster than if you have to restore your site yourself. Also, with redundancies and mirrored servers, if the server your site is hosted on goes down, it will automatically redirect to a new server, resulting in little or no down time for your site.

You should also make sure that the host you choose has redundant connections to the Internet as a whole. Some of the best hosts not only have redundant connections, but also have connections from different providers so that if one provider’s entire network goes down, they can reroute through a different one.

Another thing to verify is that the servers are monitored, preferably 24/7. You don’t want to have to rely on someone noticing their site is down to report it to tech support. By the time you notice your site is down, tech support should already be working on correcting the problem.