All too many web site owners mistakenly think that their web hosting services simply store their web sites on the servers. Actually, to make the best use of your web host you should be aware of the many other services they are able to perform for you.

In addition to storing your website, the top web hosts will also maintain and monitor the uptime and downtime of your site. It doesn’t take much downtime to be expensive for you. A good web host will be continuously updating the technology they use in order to keep you current and running.

Do not confuse a web host with a web designer. Most web hosts can provide web design services, but web designers do not usually have the servers needed for web hosting. More often than not, they are not the web host provider but rather act as a sales agent for one or more web hosting companies.

In addition, if you want to do your own web design work, a good web hosting company will have many templates and other tools to help you. Increasingly, web hosts can provide design assistance to you. A pure web designer is not likely to offer tools to you that allow you to cut back on their work and therefore their paycheck.

Also, do not forget that your business may well grow. A good web host will be able to offer additional server space, bandwidth, and other upgrades, as you need them. This usually means additional web design work too.

Do be aware of web designers that want to do your design work for a fee, but claim that they can find free or cheap web hosting for you. The opposite is closer to the truth. A top web host can provide you with inexpensive design work BECAUSE you are an on-going web host customer. You could easily pay a designer more up front than you would see in a year or more of cheap monthly fees.

This has not always been the accepted way. However, when you think about it, it makes more sense this way and is rapidly becoming the norm.

Generally, a web design company focuses only on designing and spends little, if any, time staying up with new technology, upgrades to your site or monitoring your uptime. After all, they are paid principally on their design work. Conversely, the genuine web host on the other hand, does these things automatically, and they offer web design help in addition.