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Dedicated/Colocation
Hosting Options - Part 2
Allotted Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the amount of traffic and content your site will deliver.
When a visitor requests a page, you site will return your page along
with graphics. This is bandwidth. A good analogy for bandwidth is
that bandwidth is like water in a pipe. The amount of water flowing
from a pipe is like bandwidth.
NOTE:
There is a point I would like to make before we continue with this
section. Some hosting providers offer "Unlimited Bandwidth".
If this is the case, ask them for their definition of this phrase.
If they answer "Unlimited Bandwidth is Unlimited Hits",
this is not true unlimited bandwidth. Hits are actual request for
content (pages, graphics, files, etc.) from your site, not actual
content. It is the request for content, or bandwidth. "You
have access to Unlimited Bandwidth", is not true unlimited
bandwidth either. You have the ability to use as much bandwidth
as you need, but there is a set amount allotted to your site. Any
additional bandwidth will come at a price.
Just because
you have a site on the web, does not mean you will have a lot of
traffic. You need to advertise or promote your site to increase
traffic.
Here is a formula
to calculate an estimate on the amount of bandwidth you will need:
Number
of pages X .05 MB X Number of Visitors/Month = Total Bandwidth/Month
Now this formula
is based on the notion that each visitor will visit all your page
once. That is not likely to be the case, but the formula should
work. Some visitors may view 1/3 of your site, while others may
view your site twice. It all averages out.
Monthly and
Yearly Fee
Figure out how much you want to spend per month. Some hosting providers
will discount your monthly rate if you pay annually. You should
look for a company with some type of "Money Back Guarantee".
Most reputable companies will offer this incentive to it's customers.
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