“Unlimited.” When shopping for a shared web hosting service, it’s a popular word used frequently to describe a company’s selling points — in particular, “unlimited disk space and bandwidth.” In light of today’s web sites becoming more sophisticated, increasingly more and more businesses and individuals are turning to web hosting companies that provide unlimited disk space and bandwidth.

But what does “unlimited” really mean? Can a web hosting provider truly provide “unlimited” resources? And do you really need it? Let’s take a look at some key points, as well as a few recommended web hosting providers, to consider when shopping for unlimited disk space and bandwidth:

What does disk space and bandwidth have to do with my website?
Every website is made up of files. These files may be a collection of HTML pages, images, videos, audio, and databases. They can also contain email accounts, access logs, and installed programs or scripts. “Bandwidth” and “disk space” are terms that relate to how these files are stored and how your users access these files.

What is unlimited disk space? And why does it matter?
If you are going to be providing content — and every website does — you are going to need a place in the virtual world to store it. “Disk space” refers to the amount of hard disk space needed on a web hosting company’s server to store these files.

The amount of storage required depends on the type of site you plan to support. Unless you have huge audio video files on your website, unlimited data space may not be a necessity. Regardless, the advantage of going with a web hosting service that provides unlimited disk space is that you won’t have to worry about running out of disk space as the website grow.

What is unlimited bandwidth? And why does it matter?
“Bandwidth” refers to the amount of data that is sent back and forth from your website. Every time you access a website, you are downloading a file — it could be an HTML page, an image, an audio file, or a video file. With every file that is downloaded, data is transferred.

Bandwidth is one of the hardest factors to predict when choosing a shared hosting solution. How much data is transferred depends on the size of the file. Videos, music, and database-driven web applications are all examples of types of content that are typically large file sizes and — as your web traffic increases — require more bandwidth.

The additional costs some web hosting providers charge for exceeding your bandwidth allocation can really add up. Choosing a provider that offers unlimited bandwidth can provide you with the peace of mind to offer any kind of content you wish to as many visitors as you want.

Can a web hosting company truly provide “unlimited” resources?
While no web host can provide infinite bandwidth each month, providers who offer “unlimited” disk space and bandwidth are well-equipped to provide more than enough disk space and bandwidth for the average website. As long as your website’s disk space and bandwidth usage are similar to other small business and personal websites, you won’t have to worry about running out.

What unlimited web hosting providers do you recommend?
There are a number of plans out there who offer unlimited disk space and bandwidth, including all three of BigHosts’ top-ranked hosting companies:

1. iPage Web Hosting
2. Webhostinghub
3. JustHost Web Hosting

To learn more about these and other great web hosting providers, visit our Top 10 Web Hosting List.

Be Sociable, Share!

• 
•