Whether it’s for a new business, an established business, to build up a portfolio, or just to mess around on the Internet, building a website can be a fun yet laborious process. Among the many decisions you’ll have to make on your new venture is where to host your site. Some things to keep in mind when choosing a host site are price, technical support, and space provided to you.

Even if you use an independent web page builder on your computer, that doesn’t automatically list your page for everyone to see on the Internet. What a web hosting company does is house, maintain, and serve files for your website. It’s the company’s job to provide a 24/7 connection for your site by maintaining their own network of servers.

When choosing a web hosting company, it’s good to check out reviews to see just how well they do the things they’re supposed to.

Luckily for all you budding website builders out there, some great folks have decided to make the ride a little bit easier. The people over at Web Hosting Geeks have not only compiled a list of the ten best rated web hosting sites available to you, but they’ve also composed lists of specialty hosting sites that you might be interested in. The site also gives awards to reviewed sites based on budget, type of hosting (blog, forum, etc.), dedication, and several other categories. The best thing about the reviews is that they have both independent and customer reviews, so you can get an all around idea of what you’re getting yourself into.

If budget is what governs your choice of site most, you may wish to head over to Web Hosting Pad. Their service claims to have “hassle free web hosting” for as little as $1.99 a month. The low price is surprising since they offer many services that other sites also give like unlimited disk space and monthly bandwidth, a free domain name, free site builder (which comes in handy if you’re not familiar with site building), unlimited POP and IMAP emails, and unlimited sub domains. The only catch is that to get the super low price, you have to sign a four or five year contract with the company, but if you’re not satisfied Web Hosting Pad has a 30 day money back guarantee.

“Going Green” has been the big trend for a few years now as people try harder and harder to use less of the planet’s fossil fuels. There are green web hosting companies using renewable energy to power their servers who are running side by side with their competitors. One of these green companies is Green Geeks. Green Geeks promises that every site receives an energy efficient infrastructure, 300% wind powered green hosting, is carbon neutral friendly, and unlimited web space, data transfer, email accounts, and mySQL databases. The hosting company also boasts a free site builder and provides templates for those who need it. The price is still rather cheap in the grand scheme of things- Green Geeks provides their services for $4.95 a month with a 30 day money back guarantee.

One of the most advertised web hosting services is Go Daddy. With famous people like Jillian Michaels (trainer from The Biggest Loser) and race car driver Danica Patrick lending their voices (and assets if you catch my drift) to commercials for the company, Go Daddy is a recognizable name. This comes at a price though — the cheapest hosting you can get is $2.99 a month for a 36 month basic plan. Unlike other hosting companies, Go Daddy’s basic plan only gives you 10GB of space, unlimited bandwidth, 100 email accounts, and ten mySQL databases. To get the unlimited services many companies offer, prices range from $14.99 month-to-month to $6.99 a month with a 36 month contract. With the plethora of hosting companies available to you, comparison shopping is key. If you don’t need an unlimited amount of space, Go Daddy’s services might be right for you.

Listed high on the Web Hosting Geeks’ top ten web hosting providers is Web Hosting Hub. This company claims its “the easiest way to get online!” Web Hosting Hub claims you can create a site in only five minutes using their technology, they have an easy to use control panel, free domain name, free ecommerce tools, secure email, free shared SSL, and free web stats. They also boast a “no downtime” web transfer if you have a site already, giving you unlimited disk space, unlimited bandwidth, free domain transfer, and the latest in PHP and mySQL. With the additional 24/7 technical support available, $4.95 a month seems like a good deal, especially with the 90 day money back guarantee they offer if you’re not completely satisfied.

You’re not alone out there, looking for proper hosting for your site. In today’s realm of technology, having a proper website for your services and/or products is important so you must make sure the company you’re relying on to keep you on the Internet is worth the money you’re giving them. Read reviews, check out sites hosted by the companies you’re interested in, and do whatever it takes to make an informed decision. Above all else though, realize that nothing is permanent and if you decide to change services or companies, it is available to you.