Many hosting providers may try to sway you with talk of the very high bandwidth levels they allow you and the massive amount of disk space but don't base your decision solely on this factor. The truth is over 90% of sites on Shared Web Hosting never get anywhere near there bandwidth levels, with a large number using less than a tenth their limit.
However there are certain factors that are often overlooked or not deemed important to consider when making a hosting decision. This factor has nothing to do with the functionality of your website. Rather, it determines how the search engines treat your website.
Always keep in mind that there are potential risks when choosing the services of cheap web hosts, so instead of saving money, you can end up paying a lot more in the process. Thus, you need to be aware of the things to look out for when searching for an Affordable Web Hosting service provider.
Beware of companies that can quote you a price almost without hearing any details of your project. Don't be afraid to ask lots of questions! Your web site represents a significant investment and you should get clear explanations of what is involved and how the project is priced. On the other hand you should also be ultra clear and specific about the process flow of your business. Remember, your designer might know little to nothing about your industry and without sufficient specifics from you, there can end up being unexpected costs when the designer has to rework the design and coding.
Web Host Country - Depending on your market, this could be the most important consideration, and often the most overlooked. The physical location of your host servers can have an impact on your business if your target market is in your own country. Google UK, for example offer the option of either a UK only or a world-wide search. If you want to feature in the UK only searches it is far better to have your website hosted by a company who has its actual servers in the UK. Be aware that some Shared Web Hosting UK hosting companies who appear to be UK based companies actually have their servers located in other countries. Always ask!
There are other TLD's that are Global such as .com and .net and these tend to bee used by people or businesses who require a global presence. Of course this will also make them very sort after and extremely valuable.
Having looked at several of the top web host providers in the past, my choice is Vodahost. This is mainly because I prefer their website builder because it allows me the most control over designing my website.