How Much Hosting Space Do You Need?

There are many web host providers that always try to sell more than the required amount of web hosting space to users. This will only result in you paying a lot more each month for space that you probably don’t need. To start of, you need to know how much disc space (MB) your website uses. This is what will determine how much you need to spend for a hosting solution for your website. Don’t pay more than is necessary for the actual space that you need.

How to calculate the file size of your website

1. Get to know how file size is measured. The smallest unit on a computer is a bit. One bit is one electronic on or off pulse. 8 bits strung together make one byte. One byte of information can put a letter, such as “B” on your screen.

If you combine 1024 bytes together, you will end up with one unit of information called a kilobyte. Now if you combine 1024 kilobytes together you will get a megabyte. Most graphics and web pages are measured in bytes or kilobytes.

2. To find out your total website file size, you will need to right click on the root folder where your website is located. By doing this you can also find out how many files and folders are contained in your website.

3. If you are using an editor, such as FrontPage, you can go to the reports view and click on the site summary. Here you will find a reading of the total site file size. In Dreamweaver you can use the technique in No 2.

Expanding your hosting plan

If you want to add pages, graphics, features such as scripts, databases etc in the future, you will need to begin with a small web hosting plan. You can start off with 5MB and then expand as you add on new features.

You will need to check with your web host, if you can easily upgrade your hosting plan as your website grows. If your hosting plan can be easily upgraded you will not have to go through the hassle of changing hosts every few months.

Once the total size of your website is determined, you can check on what hosting plan has been purchased and how much disc space has been allocated for your website. If you are using 3MB of disc space but are paying for 100MB, then it means that you are spending much more money than is necessary. This means that you need to switch hosting plans so that you can save money over time.

Unless you are running a lot of scripts on your page or you are offering downloads, then you will not require more than the standard amount of 10-12MB. If you want to add more disk space later, you should be able to do that without ant trouble. You should only do it if it is needed. In other words wait to see how your website progresses and this is what will determine if more disk space is necessary.