I'm a bit of a noob when it comes to website management so I would appreciate some advice.

I am going to take on an existing website which has been neglected in the past - it basically needs to be updated on a weekly basis and I think I can manage the editing required. I know that I will need to transfer the site to a new host but I havent got a clue about the way this needs to be done. How do I know which host to choose? How much is it liable to cost me? Are there any templates that I should look at to make it easier?

Any help will be greatly appreciated as I am way out of my depth here but a fast learner

Do you have any idea on the amount of traffic the website will get? Also is it just a basic site with fairly static webpages or does it include a lot video or downloads?

There are a lot of choice when it comes to hosting from the free to the stupidly expensive. Which one you choose depends on what sort of spec it needs (see above). Personally I would steer clear of the free ones (far too annoying) and also the very cheap ones and go for a fairly well known company. It isnt unkown for the little guys to go under which causes you all sorts of hassle.

You will also need to think about the DNS (website name) if this is not already sorted personally i normally place this with the same company that has the website as it makes admin easier. BUT if it is already registered and sorted then i would not change the ownership of it as this can turn out to be loads of hassle.

RE: templates, yes definitely it will make your life so much easier. Do you know if the site is currently just html, php etc or does it use a Content Management System?

ETA: Sorry that responce raises more questions than answers

[Edited on 23/11/07 by Duncan_P]

If you need PHP and MYSQL etc I would recommend www.register1.co.uk .

I use both of these companies currently for work although admittedly not for basic hosting.

FastHosts

1and1

Both seem pretty stable, own a lot of kit and have decent uptime. Although they may be slight overkill depending on what you want, and they aren't the cheapest but there hosting seems fairly reasonable.

If it's for your business venture you might want to try cubecart.com It allows you to add shopping carts and payment systems and templates are there to be populated.

I am thinking of adding it to my website for certain items.

If you just need a static web page you could get dreamweaver from someone and I know a great book to help you. I built my site from scratch using the book and dreamweaver MX, I use uk2.net as my host, not sure if they are better or worse than anyone else.

I agree with Duncan_P and can also recommend Fasthosts. I have used them for a number of business ventures and their service and support, particularly being able to speak to them 24/7 on the phone is second to none.

Main questions are: -

- How big is it, in terms of storage and throughput. This will have a big impact on who you use and how much it will cost.

- What requirements does it have. Is it ASP? If so it needs a Microsoft based host. If it's PHP/MySQL you need a host that supports these. If it's just plain old html the choices are easier.

- What uptime requirements do you have. Does it matter if it's down every now and then or do you need guaranteed SLA's? The latter costs a lot more and limits your options further.