how do you decide what your website needs?

[spacefem]

A long time ago, I used to run into bandwidth limits on my hosting. So when I searched for hosting plans, I'd figure up how much bandwidth I needed, then look for plans that worked for that.

Now, web hosting companies all offer infinity bandwidth, but then hide restrictions on "server resources" you can take up, and usually this factor limits you a lot more than the bandwidth. I learned this the hard way... signing up for a company that offered ample bandwidth, getting kicked off, and never seeing a refund. At least it was a $50 lesson instead of one costing hundreds.

I'm currently leasing a dedicated server for $200+ a month, and I feel like it's more than I need, but it's hard to tell. I know everyone here says you "get what you pay for"... I'm getting a lot, I'm paying a lot. I'm also getting poor. Fast.

SO... when my "server load" is at .35, does that mean I'm overspending and don't need a dedicated, dual CPU server?

[jmweb]

Is your server load always around 0.35? If so you may need to stick with the dedicated server or go with a semi-dedicated solution.

[John Scott]

Originally Posted by spacefem

SO... when my "server load" is at .35, does that mean I'm overspending and don't need a dedicated, dual CPU server?

That server load is next to nothing. I'd say you could easily go to shared hosting.

[Michael Allison]

Or sell space on it...

That is a miniscule load. You won't have any worries until you are running ten times that load.

-Michael

[talkfreelance]

Well i'm running a forum with 5,000 uniques, 300 returning members daily and a database of 150mb and it's on a shared plan at site5.com. The beauty of site5 is....they will tell me personally when it's time to upgrade

[pandela]

try out the real FREE web hosting - www.pandela.com - it worked just fine for me!I even named myself after pandela, because I love these guys - they are doing a great job out there.