Reliability is the most important feature in a web host. This is the percentage of uptime the web-hosting providers guarantee to their clients. The clients don't accept anything under 99.5% of uptime. Most of the low cost web- hosting solutions guarantee 99.9% uptime.
Network speed is important feature that has to be provided by the Internet web host. A good web host will have more than one optical carrier line providing connection to the Internet. Bandwidth is an important feature affecting the client quantum. Generally small business web hosting providers, which have few servers, can't afford to offer huge bandwidth. Some host sites give generous bandwidth of 250GB at the price of only $5.95 per month.
It is observed that small business hosting companies offer a low amount of storage space and then charge extra later. Thus, the disc space or storage space is of prime importance. There are many web hosts that provide a storage space of 1000 MB at less than $10 a month. There are some website hosting companies that create and customize their own control panel so that they can include requisite features. Generally a web host offers at least 100 email accounts to a client. The host should have enough POP3 accounts to meet the requirement of his multiple clients. The web host should also cater to the E-commerce requirement of the client and be E-commerce enabled.
Customer support is another critical feature that weighs heavily eventually. The client expects an email enquiry response within 24 hours and a phone support round the clock. Security and spam features are very important in the present day of hacking. This includes spam filters, anti virus protection and password- protected directories.
All these features are generally provided free in most of the low cost and professional website hosting services available.
