When choosing your web hosting, you’ll want to make sure all the basics are covered. The website hosting plan you get should have enough of the basic features to suit your site’s needs—be it data transfer, disk storage, email accounts, databases, domains, network/server speed, customer support, etc. You also of course want to get the best value for your money. By utilizing guides like Top Rated Website Hosting, you’ll be able to get a good idea on which hosting companies are right for you.
However, in addition to the basic web hosting features, many companies are now offering bonus features or freebies with their hosting plans. While you may not need some of these items at the moment, they shouldn’t be overlooked as many of them can be quite useful and valuable to your online business or personal website. Here are some of the “freebies” that I like and where you can find them.
1. SEO Tools – Everyone wants their site to get more traffic. Ranking high in the search engines is of course a great way to get more visitors. This is one of the best free features to look for and make use of. iPage incorporates Google Webmaster Tools in their hosting plans. Other hosts such as Bluehost and Hostgator include other types of SEO tools.
2. Data Restore – While most, if not all, web hosting companies tout data backups, be sure to read the fine print. A lot of companies will charge an additional fee to restore data from their backups. One solution is to do your own data backups and restores—and in fact everyone should do their own just to be on the safe side. However, sooner or later you may need to use your web hosts backup and restore services instead. In that case, you may want to look at InMotion Hosting (who gives you a certain number of free restores before they charge a fee). See this article for more information on web hosting data backup and restore.
3. Toll Free Phone Number – For business purposes, having your own toll free phone number listed on your site makes you look more professional and can increase potential business. iPage currently offers this service as an added bonus with your hosting plan.
4. Yellowpages.com Listing – Similar to a business phone number, having your company listed on yellowpages.com can lead to increased business opportunities. Again, you can get this at iPage.
5. Google/Yahoo/Facebook Advertising Credit – Search engines and social media are critical for online visibility. These days, many web hosts are offering free advertising credits with you hosting account. While this type of advertising may not suit some type of businesses, if you do need to use of online PPC advertising, why not make use of these free credits.
6. New Domain or Domain Transfer – This is pretty standard these days. Most web hosts will offer you a free domain name or if you already have one, they will transfer it from your previous host.
7. Drag and Drop Site Builders – While experienced web masters will not need to make use of these, those just starting a web site often find site builders extremely helpful in getting their online presence going. Some hosting companies like 1&1 Hosting offer specific packages that almost completely drag and drop centric. However, other companies such as iPage and Bluehost offer drag and drop site builders that are included with their standard hosting plans.
Again, when choosing your web hosting, don’t overlook those extra bonuses and freebies. You might not need all of them, but they can often be very beneficial as your online site needs grow.