Everyone has their own opinion on that, including web hosting companies. They say it is. That's why when you look at their hosting packages, the feature list goes on and on and on. You'd think they cover their customers in gold with how much they apparently give away. Mail accounts, shopping carts, disk space, diesel generators - the works! But wait, along with that huge list of items you get, comes that huge price. Maybe you think you need all that stuff, though, so the price is justified. I mean why else would they include all this stuff if you didn't actually need it, right? You might not like the answer. The unfortunate but TRUE answer is that they believe the more features you see, the more likely you are to PURCHASE.

How do you fight back? By actually evaluating what it is they offer and figuring out if you'll actually NEED it. Why pay for something you won't use? If you're going to do that then, please - I need a new pair of shoes!

What you DON'T need.

Ok, let's look at some of the commonly useless items found on these lists.

Bandwidth. Basically that means "action" or "traffic". How much "action" do you think your site is going to get per month? Here's a great tip: if this is your first time, start out expecting less traffic. Most companies can give you that upgrade if you need it with a click of the button. Most people, though, are paying for bandwidth they NEVER use.

SSL. It stands for "Secure Sockets Layer" and it means you have a secure server. It's a great thing to have IF you plan to accept credit card payments. You may also see shopping cart software, also useful if you have an Internet business. However, there are well over a billion Internet pages and the vast majority of them are not there to accept payments. Most of the Internet is simply about free information - giving it out and searching for it. Again, don't pay for something you simply don't need.

Search Engine Submissions. Sounds great, except most of the search engines are free to be a part of anyway. And if you are really looking to be ranked in the top 10 or 20, you're going to need to hire a professional. Don't think that because it says "free search engine submissions" that it will help your site rank higher. That's a business of its own.

Scripts. A script is a type of computer language like ASP, JSP, PHP, etc... If you could just pick the ones that you plan to use, that would be nice. But -whether you use 1, 2, or 4 - you're going to pay for all 12 every month. It is more wasted money that most people just don't pay attention to.

Catch-all Email accounts. Here's how they work: I want to spam your website so I type in webhost@yourdomain.com. You think you won't receive my spam email because you never created an account called "webhost". Well, if you DIDN'T have a catch-all email account, you wouldn't get my spam, but since you do have a catch-all email account - who knows what I can dump into that bin. If someone can't get even the first part of your email address correct, do you really want to receive that email?

Be Smart.

This small list is just a part of the actual list. The full list of useless material you pay for would at least double this one. Imagine how that affects your bill. So, as you are shopping around for your web host, first understand what you NEED and then find a trusted company that matches that. Because anything else is just flushing your money away.