Unlimited web hosting is a popular term used in the hosting industry. But what does this really mean? If you want to understand the truth and find out the secrets behind unlimited hosting, read on.
There are currently numerous web host providers who claim to offer unlimited disk space and bandwidth to all their subscribers. Some of them even go as far as including sub-domains, email accounts, databases, and FTP accounts into their unlimited policies.
To the lay person, it all sounds excellent. However, do you think it is practical that for less than $10 every month you can get all these features without any restrictions? Read on to find out more.
Is This Even Possible?
The simple and truthful answer is “No”. In the physical world we are in, nothing can be unlimited. It is therefore not possible to store an unlimited number of files of a server, transfer unlimited amounts of data every month, and also create an unlimited number of SQL databases for use by your website. We can, therefore, conclude that unlimited resources are just a marketing ploys used by web hosting companies to attract more customers.
Overselling
The only reason web hosting companies can offer their clients “unlimited” web hosting resources is because many web owners only use up a fraction of the resources they are allocated. After all, budget web hosting packages are not designed for large e-commerce websites of companies. Dedicated web hosting is more suited for these companies. Budget web hosting is designed for startups, small businesses, personal websites, and home-based stores.
Therefore, if most websites hosted on a web server only use up a fraction of the total space and bandwidth available, the web host provider can sell the remaining resources to thousands of customers and generate more profit in the process. This selling of unused space on a server is what is called overselling.
Unlimited Web Hosting is Limited
If you have ever done some research on the subject, it is possible that you have noted that all web host providers who claim to offer unlimited hosting services usually have a “Usage Policy and Definition” somewhere in their Terms and Conditions/Terms of Service. The usage policy usually states that as long as you are not overusing the free benefit, you can utilize any amount of server resources.
In the event that your account exceeds the provided allocation, your account stands the chance of being temporarily or permanently closed without any notice. This is of course unless you upgrade your package to get more resources.
For example, if you are hosting your website with GoDaddy, you may be penalized for storing more than 1GB of files and data, or if your site uses more than 5% of CPU resources at any given time.
Must read: Importance of the Terms and Conditions When Purchase a Web Host.
Is It Worth To Buy Unlimited Hosting?
Winning over customers by falsely offering unlimited web hosting services is without a doubt being dishonest. However, this does not mean that the services these companies offer are bad. Several factors determine the quality of service. Therefore, to determine the quality of service offered, you should look beyond the marketing ploys these companies use and scrutinize these criteria. They include page loading speed, uptime, cost effectiveness, technical support, and the industry reputation of the company.
Therefore, if you only want to create a simple website that uses up only a small percentage of server resources, you are better off choosing a reliable web host provider like GoDaddy or Hostgator. They are a lot more pocket-friendly than many limited web hosting providers with clear restrictions. Additionally, make it a habit of reading through the Terms of Service and checking out for Usage Policies before you buy a plan.
How to Choose a Good Quality Unlimited Web Host Provider
Almost all web host providers offer the same unlimited benefits to their customers. These include unlimited storage space, monthly bandwidth, email accounts, and sub-domains or parked domains. Therefore, to pick out the best, you could do the following:
- Sign up with a company with good reputation and give it a try. See if you are satisfied with their affordability, feature set, performance, and customer support. If you are dissatisfied, you can cancel your account before the money back guarantee period expires and get your money back.
- Read reviews from professional review sites that focus on testing and comparing hosting services offered by different companies, such as WebHostingTalk. Such reviews can help you make the right decision by giving you objective and in-depth reviews.
- Contact to your friends who was used hosting company that you want to buy, ask him/her about them.
- The last, you can read my article about Considerations to Choose the Best Web Hosting!
Summary
You now know that unlimited hosting plans are just marketing tricks used by companies to increase sells. But if a provider is offering a cheap hosting package that has good features, is fast, has not downtime, and with good customer support, then the package is worth buying.
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2 Comments
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