Dedicated Web-Hosting is where your site is the only site on the server which gives you more control but is considerably a more expensive option.

Shared-Hosting is the most common type of web-hosting . With this type of web-hosting you are allocated a pre-set amount of space and bandwidth. Of course you have less control and fewer resources available to you, but costs are a lot less than dedicated web-hosting.

Reseller Web-Hosting is a type of web-hosting that is derived from the web-host who buys in bulk from another company who may own as well as maintain their own server. The reseller then divides the bulk plan into smaller plans and then resells these smaller plans to other individuals. Reseller web-hosting packages offers an individual an opportunity to have an internet-based business without having the expense of managing their own equipment.

Customers are beginning to demand more from their web-hosts. They want the best products and services and web-hosts are enhancing their offers. The competition is stiff especially in light of the fact that a number of places offer free web-hosting. In a recent survey on web-hosting regarding what consumers want, small to medium business customers identified marketing tools as key to helping their online businesses grow.

However, not all web-hosting companies are created equal. Here are a few things you may want to consider before engaging your web-hosting company:

If you start out with a "free" web-hosting package you stand a great chance of having your website visitors distracted by clicking on the advertising banners or ads that are placed on your website pages. Let's face it, we need all the traffic we can get and this is somewhat self-defeating. My suggestion is to spend the few extra bucks to get off to a good start.

And if your free web-hosting company experiences 'downtime' and your visitors are not able to access your website, you lose valuable income-producing revenue. So before considering a "free" web-hosting account research this subject well. Following are a few considerations you may want to ponder before engaging your web-hosting company. Exactly what does your web-hosting company support:

Free Web-Hosting Companies

Check to see that services are available 24/7. Also inquire as to whether or not adds/banners and pop-ups will be placed on your webpages. Find out the amount of disc space available, and whether or not sub-domains are supported, and if FTP transfer is available?

Fee Paid Web-Hosting Accounts

Check to see if set-up fees or transfer fees are required. Check amount of disc space, and whether FTP Transfer is enabled, or if they support Front Page Extensions, Sub-domains, Url Redirects, or MYSQL Databases. Also, check for availabilty of the following: Mail/List Newsletters, Auto-Responders, POP E-mail Accounts, E-mail Aliases, Site Stats, Mail Manager, Control Panel, Site Creation Tools and Page Counters.

You may not need all of the above tools currently to successfully run your online business. However, you should have them available if you are promoting any site on the internet for the long haul. Additionally, most webmasters have more than one site to promote, so having these tools available are to your advantage!

My recommendation is Host4Profit, your e-commerce solution, specializing in virtual servers web-hosting, unix servers, domains, web-space, money making websites for resellers and so much more. This is reliable web-hosing at it's best.

If you ever decide to change your web-host and your transition is not a smooth one -- or if you experience any trouble -- customers can take their complaints to the ICANN.

Since you are going to use a web-host anyway, why not earn a residual income while promoting your main website? It only makes sense to maximize your hard earned dollars spent online.