When you are new to website building, choosing a hosting company can feel really complicated. If you haven’t ever built a site before, finding hosting for it will seem like an incredibly complicated process. There are so many options available! How will you ever pick just one? You will be glad to learn that there are plenty of hints that you can use to narrow down your choices.

The truth is that choosing a host company is not all that different from buying anything else that you need. The buying process is basically the same. Ask yourself these questions to speed up the process.

Researching different companies is a good place to start. You will encounter hundreds (or even thousands) of different hosting companies that will all offer you dozens of web hosting packages to choose from. Pick a few that seem promising and learn everything you can about them. Look for information on those companies in both online and offline publications. Try to find user reviews. Research their business practice history. Do not worry-you will never learn too much about your options. This will be extra true for the company you choose to use because that is the company that will be able to look at your private information and bank account.

Do you have a budget that you would like to stick to? A good option for the extremely budget conscious are the hosting companies that charge tiny fees (or no fees at all) for their hosting in exchange for your allowing them to advertise on your site. If money is not an issue, you might think about choosing a host that offers more options and is a little more expensive. You might even be able to work out a deal with someone who is selling server space on their own account as well. If you work out your budget ahead of time, you’ll have an easier time finding a host that meets your needs.

Do you have any strong feelings about advertising? Did you plan on selling your own advertising on your web property? Have you thought about hosting ads for another web developer? When you answer these questions you can begin to narrow down your host company choices. Small personal sites that are run by someone who doesn’t mind showing ads for someone else are well suited to any of the free providers that exist. Paid hosting is also available for people who do not wish to showcase outside advertising or who want to sell their own advertising space for a profit. Most paid hosting plans don’t have any rules about selling advertising on websites. Some hosts, unfortunately, will not allow you to sell advertising on your site. Make sure that each of your web hosting options meets your individual needs. Making sure that your web hosting company does not take advantage of you can be complicated. It is better to be too careful than to get taken advantage of. Asking too many questions is simply not possible. Remember, this is a service that you will be paying for. Don’t share your private information or bank account information with a company that you do not trust. The last thing you want is for a company that you’ve decided to trust to turn out to be some scam run by a black hat marketer. Identity thieves and other scammers are just waiting to take advantage of someone nave. Being too careful isn’t possible.