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Deciding which cheap website hosting company to choose can be a little daunting. With so many providers out there with each promising unlimited resources, 99% uptime and knowledgeable support, there's got to be a way to cut through the jargon and come to an informed decision. Here are 10 things to consider when looking at packages.

Pricing

Most of us will look at this aspect first. But it shouldn't be the deciding factor and it's good to remember that old maxim "we get what we pay for." If you're going to be relying on your site to make money then don't jump at the lowest offer you come across. Look closely at the features provided and then compare prices.

Specialities

Not all cheap website hosting is right for all customers. Some offer good shared plans but not the solutions that would be needed for growing businesses. Others have great enterprise solutions but won't fit with someone running a small recipe blog. Look into areas of specialty and expertise before buying a contract. Look for reviews online to determine strengths and weaknesses of hosts.

Limitations

Know your requirements for your site. If you plan on hosting a blog, videos and an e-commerce site, a cheap host won't have the RAM and processing power required. Take note of additional charges for things like support and domains.

Tech Support

What type of support will you want? A person to call? An email address? Toll-free? Decide what type of customer support you'll prefer.

Add-Ons

Decide what makes a hosting company special? Do they offer extra incentives? Whether they entice you with multiple data centres or additional features like free domain privacy, these organisations usually offer some sort of extras.

Hardware

Find out what type of machines your cheap website hosting company uses. If they don't specify, ask. Hardware can affect the performance of your site.

Customer Satisfaction

You might have to get a bit creative to get a real story here. Look up hosts via whichever channel possible to find out what previous and current customers are saying. Find out how long it takes for a ticket to be responded to on average and what course of action is taken when there is a problem with a site.

Email Feature

You might forget about asking for email help! If you find that you have a spam problem, it may be because your cheap website hosting isn't providing an adequate solution. Ask about such solutions.

Control Panel

There are things you should be able to do yourself like setting up FTP accounts and email. Find out if your provider offers a user friendly control panel that makes modifications and updated easier.

Scalability

One final thing to consider when looking for cheap website hosting is whether the provider fits into your plans to grow. Will they meet your needs a couple of years from now? Every web-based enterprise should have their eye on growth and they should have Dedicated Server solutions or VPS. It takes a good bit of time to transfer from one host to another so it's an effort that should be avoided if a company scales their solutions for growth.

Seth is a freelance blogger, writer and closet geek who runs a number of successful editorial websites and online businesses including a web hosting company. He writes about technology including website hosting, blogging platforms and virtual servers.