“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.

iPage just announced a limited time offer which delivers a comprehensive web hosting solution to support your personal or professional website for just $1/month during the first year.

If you prefer, pay just $.99 in month 1 and then $5/month for the remainder of the year on a month-to-month basis rather than paying the entire year upfront – the choice is yours.

This is one of the best web hosting deals on the Internet and will only be available until tomorrow. To learn more, read the iPage web hosting review and visit our top 10 hosting list or expanded comparison chart.

When it comes to auto install software, Fantastico has been the industry standard for the past few years. But now there’s a new option in town – Softaculous – that has been creating quite a buzz. Practically overnight, Softaculous has become the auto installer of choice with web developers everywhere. Why? It allows web owners to install some of their favorite website software with simply one-click of a button!

What (in our opinion) are the advantages of using Softaculous?
While Fantastico and Softaculous are fairly similar, there are some distinct differences. Perhaps the most obvious difference is the number of scripts Softaculous supports. Last we checked, Softaculous supports over 260 scripts that enable everything from customer support options to content management to social networking. In comparison, Fantastico has only 59.

Another big plus is the frequency and speed of which new versions of these scripts are rolled out. Softaculous rolls out updates within hours, as opposed to weeks/months, ensuring that you are running the latest, up-to-date scripts on your site.

What can you do with Softaculous?
With the power and ease of Softaculous, you can do virtually anything, including adding interactivity and functionality to your website. Softaculous supports some of the best open source web apps available, including:

• Blogging Tools like WordPress, B2Evolution, Geeklog, Nucleus
• E-commerce Shopping Carts such as Prestashop, OpenCart, OS Commerce
• Content Management Systems (CMS) like Joomla, Drupal, Moodle
• Image Galleries such as Coppermine, Shutter, Pixelpost and ZenPhoto

From mail to ad management, gaming to guest books — anything you need to accomplish with a website, there’s probably an application for it in the Softaculous library.

What are the benefits of Softaculous?
Softaculous is one of the most comprehensive auto-installers available. With a library of hundreds of scripts, it is powerful yet easy-to-use. Plus, with Softaculous, you don’t need to download or upload any files. Other key benefits include:

• Set up a blog, forum or e-commerce store in simply a couple of seconds
• Enjoy access to hundreds of web apps and scripts – and free demos
• Create surveys and polls quickly and easily
• Save time and money on web design
• Install any app with just one-click

Where can I get Softaculous?
When shopping for a web hosting provider, look for companies who use Softaculous — such as Webhostinghub or Hostmetro. Both include Softaculous in cPanel, making the process of creating and managing web apps easy, effortless, and (almost) instantaneous. To help you get started, Webhostinghub and HostMetro have also created a number of tutorials to assist in adding some of the most popular apps for Softaculous — including WordPress and Prestashop.

At some point, you may choose to change web hosting services. Whether you want to save money, your website requires more bandwidth, or you simply want to take advantage of advanced features and services, there are a number of smart and practical reasons for making the switch to a different hosting provider.

However, like many, you may be reluctant to switch web hosting services for fear of downtime. Downtime occurs when a website goes offline or becomes unavailable for a period of time as a result of a network or transmission failure. If you are using your website to operate your business, accept payments, drive sales, or build brand awareness, I think you will agree that time is money, and downtime can often wind up being very costly for a website.

So how can you transfer you website to a hosting service and experience little to no downtime? Choose hosting providers such as Webhostinghub.com who makes transferring your web site easy and effortless. Their worry-free, no-downtime transfer process provides you with everything you need to confidently migrate your website in four simple steps:

1. Sign up with Webhostinghub.com
2. Set up your emails and transfer your website files
3. Check your site from your free temporary URL
4. Transfer your domain name

Perhaps the biggest reason many website owners experience costly downtime issues when switching hosting providers is that they haven’t taken the precaution necessary to ensure that all of their website information has been successfully transferred over to the new server before they change and redirect their domain name server (DNS).

Webhostinghub.com resolves that problem by providing you with access to a temporary URL. This allows you to upload your files, create your email accounts and ensure that everything is working correctly before you transfer your domain and cancel your plan with your existing provider.

When switching your website to a new hosting account, it isn’t necessary to move your domain name registration as well, as your domain name’s name servers can be adjusted to point at any hosting account. However, if you do decide to move your domain name (because you prefer keeping all of your accounts with one company or because maybe you got a great deal on renewal registrations by changing hosting providers), you’ll need to release the URL from your previous registrar’s account.

Different registrars have different processes for conducting domain name transfers, but you’ll likely need to supply a code from your old registrar to your new registrar indicating that you want to move your domain name. While it’s not rocket scientist, it the process can be confusing and time consuming.

Another option is taking advantage of Webhostinghub.com’s Domain Concierge Service. For just $25 a domain, Webhostinghub.com’s expert support staff will do the dirty work for you. They will initiate the transfer process, get the official transfer codes from your former vendor, move the domains, and then notify you when the process has been completed. It doesn’t get much easier than that!

Webhostinghub.com has been in business for more than a decade and is consistently ranked #1 as being one of the best hosting providers in the business. Whether you’re starting a website from scratch or looking to move a site to another web hosting company, we recommend checking out Webhostinghub.com for a wide range of helpful tools and features that can help you do either — all for a low, competitive price.

Webhostinghub has just announced new contract pricing terms for its reliable and popular shared web hosting service. Two and three year contracts can now be purchased for $1.95/month during the first three months and then $3.99/month for the remainder of the plan.

Webhostinghub has been at the top of the BigHosts Top Ten Web Hosting list for the past two years because of its strong combination of features and price. In addition, it belongs to the Inmotion family of web hosting companies which gives it a solid financial background.

BigHosts.com is one of the only places where you’ll find this special price (feel free to search Google) and our staff has been informed that this offer will not last. So learn more about Webhostinghub by reading our complete review and compare it against other top hosting companies in the expanded comparison chart.

Visit Webhostinghub

HostGator is having a special web hosting promotion through the end of February on all shared, reseller and dedicated hosting plans. Just visit HostGator and enter the promotion code “FEB35″ while selecting your domain during the order process (see below):

This means you can get basic hosting with the Hatchling shared web hosting plan for as little as $3.22/month on a 3 year contract. If you prefer a shorter time frame, the 35% discount applies there as well.

To learn more about HostGator read our complete review and compare it against other top 10 hosts in our Top 10 Web Hosting List or Expanded Comparison Chart.

Visit HostGator

IX Web Hosting has been in the BigHosts.com Top 10 Web Hosting List for years because it provides a strong combination of value, features and service.

Now is an even better time to buy with its annual Valentine’s Day web hosting promotion. From now until Friday, February 15th, all shared web hosting plans are 50% off. This means you can get the full featured Expert Hosting Hosting Plan for as little as $2.96/Month.

To learn more about IX Web Hosting read our complete review, check it against other top 10 hosts in our expanded comparison chart and then visit IX Web Hosting to take advantage of this promotion — use the coupon code “bemine“.

Visit IX Web Hosting

If you’re looking for a deal on a new web hosting package, here are some of the top web hosting offers for Black Friday, Cyber Monday and beyond:

• HostGator: 50% off on all web hosting services. This includes shared hosting, reseller hosting, VPS hosting, dedicated servers and Windows hosting! This is one of the biggest sales on web hosting every year but it only lasts one day.

 

• IX Hosting: 55% off the Expert Web Hosting Plan starting Friday, November 23rd and lasting through Wednesday, November 28th.

 

• FatCow: Monthly cost on its regular web hosting package has been reduced almost 15% from $3.67/month to $3.15/month until Tuesday, November 27th.

 

• iPage: One of the best deals as the monthly price has been slashed over 40% from $3.50/month to just $1.99/month from today until next Tuesday.

 

• HostMonster & BlueHost: Take $1 off the monthly price of $4.95 to $3.95 on Black Friday only.

Learn more about all these web hosting companies starting with our Top 10 Web Hosting list.

With so many hosting companies out there these days – and so little time to make sense of which service might be the best hosting provider for you, it’s easy to get confused. To assist you in making your decision, this post compares the features and benefits of WebHostingHub, one the industry’s newest, with JustHost, one of the industry’s most popular web hosting companies.

Features and services:
JustHost has an established reputation for providing a wide variety of robust features and services that few other companies match. It offers all of the “unlimiteds” (unlimited disk space, unlimited data transfer, unlimited domain hosting, unlimited emails, unlimited MYSQL databases), plus a lot of freebies (free site domain name, free instant set up, free marketing credits for Google AdWords and Yahoo/MSN search that can be used to drive more traffic to your website).

WebHostingHub offers all of these features, too, plus an easy to use site builder tool and free trials to a variety of great services that can help make your website more effective in getting traffic and building relationships online. If you’re an existing website owner, its “no-downtime” transfer process is worth checking out. This allows customers to access a temporary URL to upload files, create email accounts, and make sure everything is working correctly before transferring the domain.

Price:
Both WebHostingHub and JustHost are competitively priced and offer reliable, top quality service. However if you feel more comfortable agreeing to a shorter contract, JustHost might be the better bet. WebHostingHub charges as little as $3.95 a month for a 36-month contract, whereas with JustHost, you’ll pay $3.75 regardless of whether you choose a 12, 24, 36, or 48 month contract.

Ease of use:
When it comes to managing and monitoring your site, cPanel is the interface of choice for WebHostingHub and JustHost. The icon-driven interface is the industry standard in web hosting control panels. It is easy-to-use and easy to learn, allowing you to do everything from review traffic statistics to add new e-mail accounts using the same control panel.

Guarantee:
WebHostingHub is backed by a 90-day full money back guarantee – it’s one of the best guarantees in the industry. If at any point during your three months of service you decide that hosting service isn’t for you, they will give you a complete refund. It’s just that simple. In comparison, JustHost offers a 30-day guarantee.

Conclusion
When it comes to choosing a reliable and affordable web hosting company, both WebHostingHub and JustHost are both smart options. WebHostingHub makes it incredibly easy to get up and running online, while JustHost offers the diverse features and flexibility that many web sites managers desire. Regardless of which service and plan you choose, we hope you find this comparison helpful and wish you success with your web hosting venture.

When it comes to choosing a hosting company, there are a lot of companies and a wide variety of options out there to choose from. These days, in the world of “unlimited bandwidth” and “free set up” so many of these choices appear to be very similar. And in most cases, they are!

Take WebHostingHub and BlueHost, for example. Both services make it incredibly easy and affordable to get online. From unlimited domains and email to 24/7 customer support, many of their services and features are very much alike. But let’s take a closer look to see how one of the oldest companies in the web hosting business (BlueHost) compares to one of the industry’s newest (WebHostingHub).

Features and services:
Both WebHostingHub and BlueHost boast web hosting packages that come loaded with cutting-edge features and services that make it quick and easy to get a great looking website up and running online. Both WebHostingHub and BlueHost provide quality North American-based customer service by phone and live chat, allowing you to get live help whenever needed.

If you’re an existing website owner, you’ll love WebHostingHub’s “no-downtime” transfer process that allows customers to access a temporary URL to upload files, create email accounts, and make sure everything is working correctly before transferring the domain. For those of you who like to DIY, BlueHost supports a robust, dynamic self-help knowledge center that contains close to 300 articles on various web hosting topics

Price:
When it comes to price, WebHostingHub takes the cake with contracts that cost as little as $3.95 per month, for a 36-month contract. The same contract at BlueHost, one of the most reliable hosting companies around, will cost you $5.95 per month. All contracts at both companies come with a free domain name and free account set-up.

Ease of use:
To simplify the task of managing and monitoring your website, both WebHostingHub and BlueHost provide cPanel. Its icon-driven interface is the industry standard in web hosting control panels. It is easy-to-use and easy to learn, allowing you to do everything from review traffic statistics to add new e-mail accounts using the same control panel.

Guarantee:
WebHostingHub is backed by a 90-day full money back guarantee – it’s one of the best guarantees in the industry. If at any point during your three months of service you decide that hosting service isn’t for you, they will give you a complete refund. BlueHost offers a 30-day guarantee.

Conclusion
WebHostingHub and BlueHost are both reliable and practical web hosting options. While WebHostingHub is certainly making noise right now with its affordable plans and easy-to-use features, BlueHost’s 15-year reputation for reliable, practical plans should not be overlooked. Regardless of which service you choose, we wish you luck in your hosting adventures and we hope you find this comparison helpful.