Thank you very much for your input. I agree that when you’re starting out, it’s OK to go with in inexpensive hosting account.

However, I think you need to make sure you’re realistic and have a basic understanding of the hosting business model.

You’re not going to be able to get unlimited bandwidth, superior customer service and 99.9 percent uptime with a $3 per month hosting account. Something is going to give somewhere.

However, if you get a $3 a month hosting account at a reputable company that gives you reasonable resources for that amount, and is committed to providing superior uptime and support, you’ll be just fine.

You’ll just need to keep in mind that as soon as you start generating traffic to your site, needing additional resources such as databases and disk space, you’re going to have to upgrade.

One of my clients started out on a small shared hosting account and ended up with two dedicated servers within five years.

Chances are, most ecommerce sites aren’t going to need to do that. However, this brings me to another topic: Make sure your hosting company can meet your needs as you grow.

For example, at my web hosting company, we offer several shared hosting accounts — and also VPS and Dedicated servers.

A client can start out with our least expensive $3 a month plan and grow to our largest dedicated server.

Just want to make sure I’m clear about what I mean by inexpensive and what you should expect from your hosting company.

Cindy Bidars last blog post..Six Years is an Aeon in Internet Time