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In your quest to save yourself some money with your online business should you consider using cheap web hosting? We all know the old saying, 'You get what you pay for,' but does this ring true for cheap hosting services? The short answer is yes and no.

Typically the reason something is cheaper is because it is less quality than a similar item that is priced at a premium. Still other times you are paying for a brand name and the less expensive item or service is just as good. So which is it with cheap hosting? Both.

Sure there are companies that you will pay a bit more for because of the name but all things being equal it all comes down to services provided. You may indeed find a cheap hosting site that will house your website for fewer than ten dollars a month and this move will surely save you money out of pocket, but it is the intangibles that can sometimes sneak up and bite you in the rear. Some of the concerns with cheap hosting services are:

•Speed: If a cheap hosting service cannot offer you the speed you need for your website, what is the point of the savings? Speed is measured in bandwidth and with cheap hosting services you typically don't get a lot of it. Is this a big deal? If you have a website with a lot of graphics and other downloadable items then yes, but if your website is only a personal one you may be fine.

•Ability to grow: This goes along with the first point. Many cheap hosting sites only offer you one plan and that's all. While that may be fine in the beginning, the goal of any business should be to grow. If you want to start out cheap, then go with a cheap hosting service that offers you upgradable services so that the hosting site can grow with your business. Otherwise you will find yourself stuck with a cheap hosting service that can't cut the mustard and have to go through the hassle and headache of switching services.

•Customer service: This is the biggest concern you should have when considering your cheap hosting service. Many cheap hosting sites are indeed cheap, but they have a limited staff as a result and more times than not you can only call customer service and support within a limited number of hours if at all. If you're not careful, you could find yourself involved with a cheap hosting service that only offers communication via e-mail. This makes it days before a problem gets resolved and if that problem is your site being down, you can cost yourself far more in lost sales than you are saving by going with a cheap hosting service.

This is not to say that there aren't good cheap hosting sites available, because there are. You just need to make sure that you do your due diligence and find a cheap hosting site that not only has reliable customer service, but will have the ability to grow with you as well.