Ready to Build a Website? Avoid Cheap Web Hosting Services

A couple of years ago, I took a big step and ventured into the world of internet marketing. I had dreamed of owning my own website for a long time and finally bit the bullet and did it. I spent a lot of time, money and energy on my first website - and it flopped! As a result of all my hard work, I ended up with nothing. Here’s why:

The failure of my first website was partially due to my lack of knowledge about keywords, HTML, page optimization and writing for the web. It was mainly due to my choice of a web hosting provider, however. I wanted to spend as little as possible, so I jumped into what I thought was a bargain. I bought a web hosting package for $36 per year that included a free domain name. I thought this was an incredible deal, so I signed up and uploaded my website. Little did I know this would turn out to be a huge mistake…

My “cheap hosting” package turned out to be a nightmare. My site was “down” at least a couple of days out of every week, and customer service was no help at all. This went on for several months, and then one day it was “down” for good. My cheap hosting company had gone out of business. After getting a new website hosting package with HostGator, I discovered that my domain name was gone because the “cheap hosting provider” never registered it in my name. My website and my domain were lost forever, as well as all the time and effort I put into building my site.

I have since rebuilt my initial website, as well as two others that reside on HostGator’s servers. All are doing well and began generating decent income rather quickly. My sites have never gone “down” and my traffic increases every month because I have learned (the hard way) how to build more “efficient” pages and optimize them properly with the right combination of keywords and content.

I’ve spent a lot of time reading SEO (search engine optimization) “tips” from all the so called “experts”, and I’ve spent a lot of money on software, directory listings and eBooks to help me market effectively for the web. Last year alone, I spent over $1000 on my “internet marketing” business, which is still just a “hobby”. I’ve come a long way since taking the “cheap” way out with the lowest priced website hosting I could find, but at least my web business is now showing a small profit.

I’m now in the process of building a fourth website that is hosted by SBI (Site Build It), because I believe it’s important not to put all my websites in one “basket”. SBI provides much more than “website hosting”, and I believe if I had gone with this web hosting provider initially I might now be able to “quit my day job”. The Site Build It hosting package I have includes all the tools I need to successfully create, manage and maintain my website and my web business. There is no need to purchase any HTML software or SEO tools when you use SBI, as all this comes with the hosting package.

Although it is too soon to tell if my SBI-hosted site will perform as well as the sites I built from scratch and host on HostGator’s servers, I am totally impressed with this company and all the tools and assistance they provide me. SBI truly is an “all inclusive” web hosting provider, and I’m grateful to have everything I need right at my fingertips with this account.

The moral of this story is “you get what you pay for” with website hosting, just like anything else in this world. For those just starting out with internet marketing, consider Site Build It hosting as it will get you started off on the right foot. For those who are experienced with HTML and know what you’re doing with regard to marketing on the net, Host Gator is a great choice. Whatever you do, stay away from ultra cheap web hosting services - it’s not worth it!

For more information on Hostgator web hosting service.? For more information on SBI “Site Build It” web hosting.

About the Author

Debbie is an information technology professional and author of Long Distance Savings and Car Shopping Online .