Most business websites only need less than 5MB to store all of the files. Remembering that the average user on a 56Kbps modem connection can only download 12MB in 1 hour, if your site is much large than 5MB it will be too slow for people to download.

The base account with 70MB diskspace is sufficient for 95% of all our clients.

Disk Space Allocations

The next important aspect to understand when considering different hosting plans is how much disk space you will be allocated.

The average hard drive on a web server stores around 20 GB of data. This space must be split up between all of the hosting accounts on the server -- usually 100-200 accounts are active on each server. A good-sized chunk of space must also be reserved for server administration and server software files, usually around one GB.

The term disk space allocation refers to how much of this space on the web server's hard drive you will be allowed to use for storing your files. All of the files you wish to make accessible via your hosting account (such as html files, text files, graphics, CGI programs, etc.) must be able to fit into this space.

Think of your web account as a sub-directory (or folder) on the server's hard drive. To determine how much disk space you will need, simply create a new folder on your PC's hard drive and then move all of files you plan to host on the web server into that folder. All you have to do now is check the size of that folder and voila, you know how much disk space you will use on the server.

Allocation usually starts at around 70 MB and can reach several GB for larger accounts.

It is important to point out that any data on the web server created or stored in association with your hosting account will count towards your disk space allocation limit. If you have large amounts of e-mail or text files stored on the server this can begin to eat up disk space. Also, any log files, database files, or output files from programs you have running on the server must be taken into account.

Once you have reached your limit on disk space usage, you will no longer be able to move additional files to the web server. In most cases you will also no longer be allowed to receive your web site's e-mail. In order to get things going again you will have to either delete existing files within your account on the server or contact NZS and have us increase your disk space allocation, usually for an additional monthly fee.

As a result, while your disk space allocation probably isn't the most important aspect to consider when setting up a hosting account, it can become expensive and should receive some consideration.