Myths of Web Hosting Part 2

Myth 2: The $5 terabyte plan is the best deal

There is a current trend of offering hundreds of GB (gigabytes) or even one or more TB (terabytes, each of which is more than a thousand GB) for a very low price. Would it surprise you to know that most of these ultra-high-bandwidth budget plans are simply made up out of thin air? That's right. There is no way for these hosts to provide what they offer, and they have no intention of doing so.

In fact, this is just another version of the unlimited bandwidth scam. Unfortunately, it's on the rise at the moment, and many gullible people will be taken in by this technique, which is called overselling. (The current fad represents extreme overselling.)

Remember our web server (that special computer) and its limited resources? To make a long story short, the whole server may not be able to handle as much bandwidth as the host is offering to each of the many customers with accounts on it! The ending is the same: if you use too much, your site will be suspended and you'll have to make a big upgrade or leave.

You might be wondering how hosts get away with offering all this bandwidth and not really providing it. They cover themselves with some small print in the terms of service that allow them to suspend you for using too many server resources. In other words, they can offer as much bandwidth as they want, because you'll use too many resources long before that. It's an unfair game, with all the rules in their favor.

Myth 3: Always prepay annually to save

Many hosts offer discounts if you prepay for one or more years. This is truly a way to save, but it comes with risks. In fact, it could end up being a lot more expensive.

If you're paying month-to-month and something goes wrong, you can find another plan easily. If you've prepaid a year or two and you have problems after the trial period is over, you're stuck; you won't be able to leave without losing some money.

The risk might be acceptable if not for the nature of web hosting, where things can easily go wrong. Your host might turn out to be unreliable, with downtime and poor support. Your account might be suspended for reasons you do not anticipate, such as exceeding server resources and violating the fine print mentioned above, or even the actions of someone else who manages to break into your account.

Prepaying is very risky when signing up with a new host. It's a better option to use with a host you already know and trust. Then again, even good hosts can change over time or run into problems beyond their control.

Paying yearly is good for the host, though, especially for those who oversell and under price their plans, so you will be enticed to pay annually. If you want to play it safe and a host doesn't have a monthly or quarterly plan, consider looking elsewhere.