Shopping for a good web host for your business is risky. Sure, you can change it later, but it will cost you both time and money. As a business owner, you know that it is better to get it right the first time. When you sign up with a web host, it really pays off to have done your homework.

One of the companies I use and often recommend to my customers, Blue Host (www.getbluehost.com), recently added 10 Gigabytes to their feature list. I was dazzled, of course. But when my brain started working again, I immediately came up with three good reasons why I did not want it.

Reason #3: I will never need that much space.

Ten gigabytes is more than a hundred times more web space than I will ever need. Even a huge, moneymaking, Fortune 500 Company like Boeing, does not need that much space.

Think about it. How much space does a single web page need? Even if you fill it with useful information, pictures and illustrations, a web page will rarely exceed 40-50 kilobytes, pictures included. If we look at www.boeing.com, we find that their front page "weighs" less than ten kilobytes.

If you Google for "site:boeing.com", you'll also find that Boeing has 200.000 pages on their domain. If they all weigh as much as the front page, Boeing only need two gigabytes of web space. And this is a company that made $50.000.000.000.000 last year.

Reason #2: The bandwidth bill will suck me dry

Let's say that I accept the 10 Gigabytes of space and use it all. I put up games and movies for download, I use it for backup and collaboration files, and I use it to store my family's digital photo archive. Then I let give other people access to files, like letting family members look at their pictures.

Soon I will see my web site closed, due to bandwidth limitations, or receive a very large bandwidth bill from a very happy hosting company.

Reason #1: I forget the other features

It is very, very dangerous to find yourself drooling over one hosting feature. I've been there. I run several web sites at different hosts, and I had to learn the hard way. Three times I got burned because I was looking for the best offer for only one feature.

My advice to you, is to carefully consider every single feature that you need or might need in the future, like e-mail accounts, bandwidth, control panel features, ftp access, security solutions, backup solutions, e-commerce solutions and scripting languages.

What is included? What will cost me extra? What do they not offer?

Conclusion: You will never ever need 10 Gigabytes of web space. Therefore, if you choose to use Blue Host, you should not base your decision on how much web space they offer. The fact that I am happy with them, should not matter to you either, because your needs might not match mine.

Bonus Tip: If you end up with a host that offers 10 gigabytes of web space, make sure you make the most of it. Here's three tips:

1. Use it to backup of your documents, images and software.

2. Store heavy files that you rarely need to look at.

3. Let it hold heavy files for those of your websites that have less web space.

I'm sure you can come up with more. Just remember what I said about bandwidth.

Thomas Brakar is a writer/copywriter, community newspaper editor, web site editor and marketing consultant. You'll find him blogging on BrakarPro.com

• Purchasing a Website—Secrets That You Must Know Before You Delve Out Your Hard Earned Moola!


• A Web Site That Sells Is All One Needs To Have A Successful Online Business!


• 5 Tips For A Better Website


• Using the Web Accessibility Toolbar


• The One Big Secret You MUST Know to Make Money Online!


• The Characteristics of Flash Professional 8


• Every Event Needs A Website


• Developing the Perfect Web Site


• Website Content for Small Businesses: What Should Be on Your Website


• A Website for Your Small Business: How to Get One in Nine Steps