11. Beware [...]]]> 10. When picking a website host, ensure that you check what you’ll get in the package. Disk space, bandwidth, CPU usage and other specified features may decide the cost you’ll encounter. If you already have a web host, test their performance using these tools.

11. Beware of hosts proclaiming unlimited bandwidth or resources. Everything in this world is finite and you may find yourself falling short of contractual small print and fair use policies.

12. If you’re starting a website or service of your own, it pays to start off with shared or grid hosting rather than a VPS or dedicated because you won’t know how many visitors you will need to cater for.

13. Free hosting for commercial use is not a good idea. If you plan on having a commercial website, it makes sense to avoid the intrusive advertisements and purchase some basic web hosting.

2. Reserving a subdomain called m (e.g. m.sixrevisions.com) for mobile devices has become a common web design convention. It’s cheaper than — and as widely recognised as — the .mobi top-level [...]]]> 1. Many people are used to seeing the www at the beginning of a website address (e.g. www.sixrevisions.com). Ensure your website functions both with and without this famous subdomain.

2. Reserving a subdomain called m (e.g. m.sixrevisions.com) for mobile devices has become a common web design convention. It’s cheaper than — and as widely recognised as — the .mobi top-level domain (TLD).

3. Most of the non-technical general public tend to only recognise .com, .net and.org. It’s worth checking the TLDs you want are available before dedicating yourself to a brand name.

4. Avoid using dashes in your domain name. (e.g. sixrevisions.com versus six-revisions.com).

5. Domain hacks like del.icio.us have become pretty popular, and while they may be harder to spell, they can give you an awesome alternative to a simple but unavailable .com address.

6. If you want to target a local audience, it may well benefit you to purchase acountry code top-level domain (ccTLD) in your own country. Something like co.ukmay be great for grabbing regional visitors in the UK.

7. Remember that some ccTLD domains require you to be a resident of a certain country. If you don’t live there, you could forfeit the TLD as a violation of the registrar’s agreement.

8. WHOIS privacy can be a dicey affair when you allow your registrar to put their details in place of your own. You run the risk that you may lose the domain if a conflict occurs.

9. Domain auctions like Sedo can be a great place to get a domain that’s already been taken. While it can be somewhat expensive to pick up a rare domain, you might find yourself the owner of your preferred domain name.