Don't believe for a minute that having a good web host isn't vital to your online business. If you get cheap web hosts, downtime can destroy your profits. It is vital to your business to do your research carefully before you make a contract with a hosting company. You can find many degrees of service with the many different companies out there.

Before you make your decision in what hosting company your will use, look over these points:

Reliable: Your host simply has to be reliable. You cannot afford to have downtime. You will lose credibility thus lose sales. Try to do your research and check carefully before you enter into a contract. Determine their reliability by finding out what sort of servers they employ. If there are any testimonials look at them and see that they are authentic.

Good customer support: This is essential for your web hosting, as you never know what sort of tech problems you may be facing in the future, and you need to know you can rely on good support.

Monthly contract: Read your contract and ensure you have a monthly contract and not one for six months or a year. And they won't have a penalty for canceling.

Set up fee: Don't sign up if there is a set up fee. If your hosting service really appreciates your business with them, they won't charge you for set up.

Backing up files: Make sure your host backs up their (and your) files and find out how often. It is important that this is done regularly.

FTP access: It is useful if your web host has this service. Then you can make changes or additions to your site whenever you need to.

A good number of email addresses: Make sure you have enough email addresses to service your business. The amount you need will depend on what sort of business you are in.

Bandwidth (traffic) allowed: If your host has 5GB of bandwidth, this should work for you. You should know how much you will be provided with.

Extra services: What does the price include? Make sure everything is up front and there are no hidden cost. Look into what you have to pay if you need any extra services in the future?

Price: You may pay varying prices for your web host, like between $5.95-$19.95. You should research the services offered compared to the price, which can be between $5.95-$19.95. It isn't always a bad sign to only be charged a low fee. It depends what you need.

Cpanel: With a Cpanel, you can manage your web mail and access stats for your site. It is a helpful feature and is easy to use. Make sure your host has a fast connection: Make sure you will have a host with a fast connection or your visitors who only have dial-up will have trouble. If your host is fast your visitors will have optimum speed even if they are connecting from dial up. This will make a lot of difference to the speed your website loads for them to view.

Knowing these points will enable you to know the best web hosting company for you.

Dan Farrell has a newsletter, Build An eBusiness On A Shoestring. To sign up with free bonuses, go to: Web Hosts