What I mean by added value hosting in this article is that there a a lot of good web hosting companies out there, so if after you've analysed the best ones and you have to make a choice between 2 or 3 companies, that's where added value web hosting comes along.



Of course, the companies have to pass your test (how to choose a web host) but if more than one seems interesting, here are a couple of aspects to look at:

• Does the web hosting company offer a website builder (if your not an web design expert)
• What about search engine optimization, do they offer a good submission tool?
• How complete is their control panel?
• Do they offer a mailing list management software and newsletter builder?
• Does your web host offer video tours of their services?
• It maybe also nice to have a e-shop / e-commerce platform builder
• Does the website hosting company offer RSS tools?
• Other things such as blogs, photo gallery, form builder and chat applications are sometimes usefull
• How flexible is the database management, can you do just about anything you need to?
• Do they offer some free softwares like an FTP software, compression software, anti virus, SSH...?

What I do is that I build a grid with all caracteristics important to me, and fill it with the information of the companies I'm comparing. It always helps me make the best choice possible.

Added value hosting is all about 'what more do they give me?' When your not sure what company to go with, maybe these features will help you make a decision.