|
WEBHOSTING
ARTICLESHow much hosting space do you need
Copyright 2002 Herman Drost
Many web hosts try to sell you a large amount of web hosting space that then costs you a
lot each month. However, you may not need this much space. Have you ever calculated just
how much disc space (MB) your web site uses? Do you really need an expensive hosting
solution for your web site?
For my first web site, I purchased 20mb of disc space and wondered if this would be enough
as I added pages to it. Well, recently I checked the size of this site which had grown to
over 20 pages. To my surprise the size was only 3,269KB. This means it only uses a little
over 3Mb of disk space.
Most of my friends sites also only use 2-3Mb for their
sites. Therefore it is not necessary to purchase a large amount of space for a small site
(if 20 pages = 3Mb, then 20Mb = 140 pages approx). Are you paying TOO much for the actual
space you need?
How Do You Calculate The File Size
Of
Your Web Site?
1. First you need to understand 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 put 1024 bytes together and then you have one unit
of information called a kilobyte. Put 1024 kilobytes together and you have a megabyte.
(Most floppy disks hold around 1.4 megabytes of information). Most of your graphics and
web pages are measured in bytes or kilobytes.
2. To determine your total site file size, right click on the root folder where your web
site is housed – this will not only give you the total site size but also how many
files and folders are contained in your site.
3. If you use an editor, such as FrontPage, go to the reports view, click on the site
summary and you will get a reading of the total site file size. In Dreamweaver, just use
the method in No 2.
If you put 1024 bytes together and then you have one unit of
information called a kilobyte. Put 1024 kilobytes together and you have a megabyte. (Most
floppy disks hold around 1.4 megabytes of information). Most of your graphics and web
pages are measured in bytes or kilobytes.
2. To determine your total site file size, right click on the root folder where your web
site is housed – this will not only give you the total site size but also how many
files and folders are contained in your site.
3. If you use an editor, such as FrontPage, go to the reports view, click on the site
summary and you will get a reading of the total site file size. In Dreamweaver, just use
the method in No 2.
Prepare To Expand Your Hosting Plan
You may want to add pages, graphics, features eg scripts, databases etc, to your site in
the future. Begin with a small hosting plan at first (even 5mb is enough to start out
with), and then expand it as you add new features.
Check with your web host, if you can easily upgrade your hosting plan as you grow your
site. You don’t want to go through the hassle of changing hosts every few months.
Once you have determined your total site file size, check what hosting plan you have
purchased and how much disc space has been allocated for your site. If you are only using
3mb of disc space but are paying for 100mb, then you may want to switch hosting plans and
save yourself a ton of money each year.
=========================================================
Herman Drost is a Certified Internet Webmaster (CIW)
owner and author of iSiteBuild.com
Web Site Design and Low Cost Hosting
(http://www.isitebuild.com)
Subscribe to the “Marketing Tips” newsletter for more original
articles. subscribe@isitebuild.com
Back to WEBHOSTING ARTICLES |
|
