If you are looking to save money on your web hosting then you need to think about using a shared web hosting service for your website. You probably seen this before but wondered what that really means. It has nothing to do with sharing websites or anything like that. It is all about server space.
Customer service has to be looked into, seriously many providers think that because they offer cheap Shared Web Hosting that they don't need to support their users to a high standard. BS, you paid them for a service so they should damn well provide it. The truth is many webmasters encounter difficultie and at these times they need the support of their hosting provider. Ignore the importance of customer support and you will regret it.
So, you have a name, a plan and a place for your site to live. Finally, it is time to start designing! The choice here is to try to build yourself, "self-build", or find a professional to do the job for you. A half way house some use is to find a family member or friend who dabbles in Shared Web Hosting UK design and will do the job for as little as a case of beer. I would strongly advise against this route as the design process can be quite intense and is apt to place some strain on any personal relationship if significant redrafting is needed or the design is not all you had hoped for. If your first designer is not up to the project you can fire them and move on. Letting go of a family friend can present far more issues.
Is the website you are hosting a private one? Perhaps, it is a family portal that is meant only for your family members, relatives and friends. Or, are they websites that you will promote to the general public to get as much visitors as possible? In that case, your traffic volume will be quite high each month.
This is why I prefer Affordable Web Hosting plans. They give you more control of your website. If your site doesn't generate traffic right away you will not have to worry about having your web hosting service cancelled with no warning. You will also be given more tools to help grow your website and make your site more user friendly. Reliability is also something you get with paid hosting. They want to keep you as a customer so they will do more to keep you satisfied. Free web hosting can be crappy on purpose in hopes that you will upgrade to the paid service so you might as well get an affordable web hosting plan that fits your needs.
Another thing you should look at is whether or not you want to host multiple domain names with your one hosting package. Both shared hosting and dedicated hosting can allow you to do this. A lot of share hosting services now allow this.
My one bit of good advice is do not sign up with any server for a long period of time to start with. It will be cheaper in the long run but at first just sign up for a little while. Try before you buy, make sure that the service provider is able to meet your expectations. If it does, then sign up for a longer period and save money.