Bandwidth explained.

The term bandwidth is generally used to express the total amount of files and data transferred from your server every month. In technically sense, this isn't accurate as bandwidth actually refers to the amount of data transferred in any specified second. The bandwidth offered by a hosting company depends on the capability of its connection to the internet.

If your server has a 2Mbps leased line, for e.g. then it can only survive with 2MB of transfer at any specified point and some visitors may not get served during busy periods. Remember that if your site host on a shared server, other sites will be eating into the total existing bandwidth too. The quantity of data that can be transferred from your site will usually be restricted by your hosting provider.

The total amount you'll use can be calculated practically simply, if the data of your homepage include up to 60k, then each time visitor accesses that page, it'll use 60k of your bandwidth allowance. So if a 100 people access your home page every day, you'd use up 6 Meg’s worth of your bandwidth grant (100 people x 60k). Multiple that by 30 days and you'll get a monthly total of 180 Meg/month.

How can you reduce bandwidth usage?

If your site has mainly html pages and small images, your bandwidth will not be that high. The simple technique is to decrease the amount of the files on your site, mainly images and other graphics. For example, you have a large image (i.e. 300KB) on your web page that is downloaded by every end user every time the page is requested. If you reduce this image to 30KB or remove it altogether, it will defiantly cut your bandwidth usage. It will also speed up your site’s performance.