Joomla! Hosting.

Finding the right web hosting provider to host your Joomla! site is essential, but unfortunately it can be a daunting prospect, with so many hosts out there to choose from.

Often people with limited technical knowledge will base there decision on price, this can be a very expensive (and frustrating) mistake, as is usually the case in this world "you will get what you pay for"! If you are new to Joomla! it is far wiser to stick with tried and trusted hosts such as:

Siteground.

Go Daddy. 

Lunarpages.

Bluehost

If you are new to Joomla! the one thing you will definately need is first class customer support, and in our experience all the above providers have been excellent.

If you need help setting up your domain names and hosting, we would be very happy to help. 

For those of you who want to investigate your options further, here's a brief overview of what your Joomla! host should provide. 

1) The basics.

Your host must provide the follwing minimum functionality in order for Joomla! to run.
Apache -> http://www.apache.org
MySQL -> http://www.mysql.com
PHP (version 4.1.2 or higher) -> http://www.php.net
PHP must be compiled with support for MySQL and Zlib.

2) Money back guarantee.

Most responsible hosting providers offer a money back guarantee so you can test the hosting service before making a commitment. I would strongly advise you choose a web hosting company who offer this safe guard.

3) Web hosting history and background.

New hosting companies start up every month,  offering great services to attract new customers at low prices. If you are serious about investing in a commercial Joomla! web site, do some research first about the hosting company you are spending your money on. Look at the company history, how long has it been around for? New hosting companies can be great but they can also go bust overnight leaving you and your customers in the dark.

4) Customer support.

If you sign up to a web host and they never respond to your support tickets or take 10/15 minutes to answer the (premium rate) support hot line then you have got problems. Try out the customer service, give them a call, send them an email and see what the response time and technical support is like. Also, see if they offer a ticket support system and free telephone support. 

5) Storage space.

Hosting companies can offer between 50 - 2000 MB of web space which you can store your data files on. For a Joomla! site, between 200, 500 MB will more than sufficient. You can always upgrade if you plan to upload large files for download or storage. Check out what the cost of buying extra space will be, should you ever need it. If a host advertises "unlimited free storage space", or something similar, beware!  

6) Bandwidth/Data Transfer.

Bandwidth/Data Transfer refers to how much data is sent to or received from your hosting account on the server over a period of time, which is usually measured monthly. Many hosting providers now offer between 20-40 GIG of data transfer each month. When you choose a web host give this item some thought, if you are running an MP3/movie download site which becomes very popular then think about a package which offers a higher data transfer. 20-40 GIG should be sufficient per month. You can always upgrade later. Don't fall for the marketing pitch "we offer unlimited bandwidth". 

7) Web site speed.

Web site speed both upload and download speeds are important factors when choosing a Joomla! web host. If your site becomes popular and with lots of people visiting the last thing you want is for them to leave your site because its to slow. Again use the Money back guarantee to test out the web hosting service. You can also use a number of free tools on the net to check the speed of the web hosting company. 

8) SLA - service level agreement.

Ensure your web host offers an SLA (service level agreement) or a contract between you and them. If any thing goes wrong you can refer to the SLA. 

9) Server Uptime.

If possible try and choose a host which offer's 99% uptime. If a host claims 100% uptime, beware. 

10) Back ups.

Unfortunately things go wrong, ensure your provider gives you the ability to easily and regularly back up all your data.