With the wealth of Web Hosting plans available, it's important to know how much space you are going to need before you start searching for the right Web hosting service. Without due diligence you could end up paying for more space and services than your website really needs. Adversely, if you don't have enough Web space you can end up with a website that frequently crashes meaning that visitors won't be able to get to the information they want and you can lose out on sales.
How much Web hosting space (also called "disk space") you need depends on what kind of website you plan to build. The total Web space includes all the files (content) that make up your website (html, java script, gif, jpg, png, audio or video, flash, etc.) and is measured in megabytes (MB) or gigabytes (GB). The larger the files, the more space you will need. A first step is to estimate the file size of average Web page and multiply that number by the number of pages you plan to incorporate in your site. Next, you need to estimate the number of monthly visitors to your website and the number of pages they will view during a visit. It's important to account for Web hosting space for your current files and allow room for growth so you can add features as your client base or number of visitors grows.
Additional Web Hosting Services
In addition to the content on your Web pages, you need to consider any back-end Web hosting features you may be using such as database software, shopping cart software, secure payment processing, traffic logs and counters, guest book, email accounts and email storage files. The more features you plan to incorporate into your website, the more disk space you will need. Websites that are designed to post information such as news or photographs and allow minimal interaction with visitors require only a small amount of Web hosting space, whereas a website selling downloadable software products or music and video files requires lots of Web hosting space.
Web Traffic Requirements
The amount of Web hosting space you need is also affected by the number of visitors you expect to your website. Every time a Web page is viewed, changed, accessed, uploaded, or downloaded from your website it affects the amount of bandwidth you will need. Bandwidth is another name for Web traffic, data transfer fees or usage. In short, it's anytime a file is accessed, changed or viewed on the server that hosts your website.
Planning is critical to get the maximum performance from your Web hosting service. A good analysis of your existing website and/or new website design will ensure you choose the Web hosting plan that gives you not too little, not too much, but just the right amount of space to meet the needs of your website.