If you’ve ever gone through the process of purchasing and setting up a Web Hosting account, then you’ve almost certainly come across many providers offering “Unlimited” everything. The vast majority of Hosting Providers don’t really give you “Unlimited” anything. If you examine their Terms of Service closely, you’ll find that there are actually very strict limitations on the actual amount of file storage and bandwidth (<— also known as data transfer), you can consume at any given time. In most cases you’ll also find that how the file storage is used is quite restricted. Let’s unravel this mystery bit by bit.
Unlimited – in Shared Web Hosting terms
A while back, there was a commercial made by Metro PCS where they were mocking their competitors for making promises of “Unlimited” calling plans. (It’s a funny commercial, you can watch it HERE). In that commercial, the sales person kept saying, “Um” limited. When it comes to “Unlimited” Web Hosting packages, in most cases, they really mean “Um” limited. In other words, if you read the Terms of Service closely, the “Unlimited” plans are still, limited. So, if you find yourself lured by the promise of “Unlimited” domain hosting, file storage, and bandwidth, do yourself a favor and read the Terms of Service closely.
If it’s not really Unlimited, then why do they offer it?
The truth is, most Web Hosting Providers that make this offer know that probably 99% of their customers will never use more than several hundred megabytes of file storage and will also likely never have enough regular Website visitors to consume enough bandwidth or data transfer to cause a problem.
Is Unlimited Storage and Bandwidth really even possible?
No, not really. I like to use a pie analogy when talking about this subject. Think of the whole pie as the equivalent to the Web Server itself. Your Website has to be hosted on a Web Server. So, think of your Website as a piece of the pie. Keep in mind, that there are hundreds and maybe thousands of other Websites sharing this pie, or Web Server. If your Website suddenly gets a lot of visitors, your piece of the pie expands. But what happens if you suddenly get so many visitors that your Website starts consuming most or all of the pie, which is equivalent to the Web Server’s computing resources? All the other Websites that are using this pie, or Web Server, are going to experience some trouble. This isn’t fair to them, and as such, even a Web Hosting Provider offering “Unlimited” everything, is going to impose penalties for such actions. The same thing applies to File storage. The pie, or Web Server, is limited in it’s hard drive capacity. If you try to upload four terabytes of files onto a one terabyte hard drive, it’s not going to work.
How is StudioD.tv Hosting different?
We’ve designed our packages to be robust, valuable, and we’ve given them very specific limits. It’s important for you to know exactly what your limits are when it comes to your Website and Web Presence. Knowing your limitations will enable you to plan well and make sure that your Website isn’t inaccessible because of suspension. After all, the first action a prospective customer takes is to go to your company website and learn about what you do. We want to make sure that your prospects and customers can always access your Website. We have hosting packages to fit the needs of most Small Businesses. If you need help in making sure you choose the right one, you can contact us here.
Mystery Solved
Hopefully, this information has helped you gain a better understanding of why there is really no such thing as “Unlimited” Web Hosting. If you, or anyone you, know need Web Hosting services now, or will be needing them soon, we would appreciate you sending them our way. You can use the buttons below to share this on your favorite Social Network or even send an email of this blog post to someone directly. Don’t forget to tell them about our Launch Special; extra savings is always a good thing.
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