Web Hosting Essentials To Know For A New Website Owner

A web host is required to house one’s website. Today, one can find providers that offer various web hosting plans for an array of prices. It would not make sense to pay for a plan that offers too much bandwidth or too little. That’s why you must always find the sweet spot; a reasonably priced plan that offers the required amount of bandwidth. If you are unfamiliar with hosting bandwidth, read on to find out more about it in the next section:

Understanding Data Transfer and Bandwidth

Bandwidth is a term used to calculate the rate of data and traffic allowed to flow between your website and users via the Internet. It is important to note that this term is different from data transfer. Bandwidth and data transfer mean different things.

Data transfer refers to the total amount of data that needs to be transferred in a given time. The time is typically measured in months. Website bandwidth, on the other hand, measures the maximum data that can be transferred within a certain timeframe. This is usually measured in seconds. In other words, bandwidth informs individuals how fast their data can be transferred, and data transfer informs them how much data can be transferred in a month.

A Simple Analogy

One can visualize bandwidth as the width of a water pipe, and data transfer as water flowing out from the pipe. The width of the pipe determines the speed of water flow. The wider the pipe is, the better the connectivity, network, and speed will be. That’s why many business owners opt for hosting companies that offer higher bandwidth systems. Fundamentally, data transfer is regarded as the consumption of bandwidth.

The Truth About Unlimited Bandwidth

Some web hosting companies offer hosting plans with unlimited bandwidth at a cheap rate. To the purchaser, this means that they can run as much traffic and as much data to their websites without suffering the effects of throttling. The truth is that not all companies offer unlimited bandwidth. After all, unbridled access comes at a price. Instead of getting distracted by the term unlimited, it is better to compare the website’s actual bandwidth requirements with the bandwidth that’s on offer. This helps you better determine if the hosting provider can meet your needs.

Calculating the Bandwidth that You Need

Before choosing a web hosting provider, one should perform some simple calculations to discover his or her bandwidth requirements. Here’s what you can do:

• Estimate your site’s average page size in MB
• Multiply those numbers by the average number of visitors you receive per month
• Multiply the answer by the average number of pageviews from each visitor

After determining one’s basic bandwidth requirements, the next step involves allocating extra room for traffic spikes. It is recommended that one has at least 50 percent tolerance. In addition, consider hosting providers that offer scalable solutions. It does not make sense to purchase up when it comes to bandwidth matters.

Are Bandwidth Calculations Important?

The answer is yes… and no. Bandwidth calculation is crucial when one needs to cut down hosting costs or is developing an application for a mass audience. The numbers in data transfer and bandwidth should not be a major consideration factor when selecting a web hosting provider, especially when you are just starting out.