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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
megabytes.
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.
About the Author
Herman Drost is a Certified Internet Webmaster(CIW)
owner and author of iSiteBuild.com
Low Cost Hosting, Site Design and Promotion
(http://www.isitebuild.com/sitehosting.htm)
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