To display your website on the World Wide Web you must have a website hosting account. The web host maintains servers that store customer files. The files display in a browser when a visitor types your website address. There are many large and small companies that offer website hosting. Before setting up your web hosting account, take the time to understand the various features and shop around to compare service and reliability.

1. Determine your website hosting needs. Items to consider include the size of your website (required disk space), if you have a database, required number of email accounts and if you will sell products online (e-commerce).
2. Compare web-hosting companies. Evaluate server space, reliability (up time), price, email accounts, website traffic reports, customer support (help desk hours of operation) and included extras. Also look at additional services such as domain name registration, SSL certificates, shopping carts, blogs and forums.
3. Open a website hosting account. Select a hosting plan. Web hosts offer several plans to accommodate different hosting needs. Create an account online or by telephone. Compare the payment options because some companies offer a discount if you pay for one year up front instead of monthly.
4. Set up your new hosting account. Go online and log into your hosting account. Follow the web hosting company’s instructions to set up and activate your account. It can take up to 24 hours before you are able to upload files to the server.
5. Upload files to your server. Use a file transfer protocol (FTP) program to transfer files to the web host’s server. Visit your website to confirm that you have transferred all files and images.

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