Web Hosting in 2005
by Mitch Keeler

There is no doubt that this year was a good year for the wild and wacky world of Web hosting. Due the popularity of blogs and many other factors, it would seem that everybody and their grandmother has a Web hosting account these days. From paid to free, you just are not cool till you have some hosting space! With this year behind us now, what does the Web hosting world have to look forward to in 2005? More of the same? Will business be picking up more or less?

One thing is sure, Web hosting prices have gotten cheaper in the past year. With the dropping cost of disk space and bandwidth, the consumer has been king. Now you can get a Web hosting account for as low as five dollars a month. It used to be the same account a few years ago would cost you around fifty a month to keep.

Many Web hosting companies these days are barely making a profit on one hosting account sold. The hope is that they will sell enough account in bulk to get more customers and to turn a larger profit. Where you used to make a ten dollar profit on one guy's account you can now make a profit of fifteen dollars on ten guys accounts. Another thing to look out for in the new year is Web hosts making it easier for folks to upgrade their account. That way if the average consumer is getting a little paranoid about running out of space or bandwidth, they will have a one click solution to get a little more. That is if they are willing to pay a little more as well.

I would not look for the price of Web hosting to lower any though. Instead Web hosts will be adding more space and bandwidth to their already existing Web hosting plans. As I mentioned before, few companies are really making that much of a profit on one Web hosting account. Therefore they can't afford to lower the price. However with the lowering cost of bandwidth and disk space for the Web hosts, that will become an easier poker chip to bargain with.

Customer support will take an upswing as well in the new year. Just look at the progress that has been made this year. Many Web hosts once only had a few E-mail addresses listed for support. Now we have the choice of live support chat, instant messenger support, help desks, help Web sites and so much more!

In the next year I believe there will be a growing upswing to create more Web hosting help Web sites for consumers. Tackling many of the average problems there will help visitors and clients find the answers to their questions quicker. It will also allow the Web host to cut down on some hours of customer support work. Yet again, another example of how the future looks bright for you as well as your Web host.

In this day and age having a Web site is becoming more of a need than a want. There are a million and one reasons to create your own Web site. It is up to you to find the right one for yourself. There is no need to fear the world of Web hosting though, because 2005 is looking to knock 2004 right out of the water.