Audio Website Hosting: What you need to know

Audio Website Hosting: What you need to know

Audio website hosting is becoming more popular, as it is becoming ever easier to record and share music and other recordings over the Internet. An audio web host is not just the domain (excuse the pun) of basement musicians looking to upload their latest experiments - nor is it solely for file-sharing among those with bootlegged copies of concerts or songs.

Audio website hosting can be used effectively by individuals, businesses and organizations, for a wide variety of purposes. A church group may turn to an audio web host to share the weekly sermon for those who couldn't make the service on Sunday. An advocacy group may have a speech to share. How about a seminar or workshop? A podcast of your favorite radio program? What about a little background music on your site? And, of course, to musicians, concert promoters and fans, audio streaming is one of the best online tools to emerge in a long time.

When looking for audio website hosting, there are a few things to keep in mind.

Look for streaming audio. A streaming audio web host will allow your music or other audio file to play almost immediately upon page access. Your site will open with a song, if you like! As well, streaming audio allows site visitors to hear the audio file without having to download it first. In most cases, there is no need for a separate audio player. Streaming audio makes your sound files easier to play, listen and access.

What about streaming video? You may have audio website hosting on your mind, but what about the future? Your band may eventually want to put a video on your site; you may want video with your webinar. Any presentation may benefit from the use of video. Fortunately, most audio web hosts also have video hosting capabilities. It might be worth checking just to be sure, before you sign on

Disk space. Audio (and video) files are quite large; this is exactly why audio website hosting providers usually offer unlimited or at least significant disk space. As always with the word "unlimited," make sure to read the small print that goes along with it. There are always limits of some kind; make sure you know what they are so you don't get hit with extra fees by your audio web host. Check out Hosting-Reviews Top 10 Unlimited Web Hosting Companies.

Bandwidth/transfer space/traffic. Bandwidth is also an important consideration when choosing an audio website hosting service - this is the feature that ensures your audio file will play smoothly and without interruption. There's nothing more annoying than long pauses in a song or speech you're trying to listen to! Even if your site is quite busy, you want to ensure you have the capacity to deal with demand.

Know the rules. No web developer can take songs or audio files from elsewhere and post them on an audio website hosting site without permission. Copyright rules are important to the people who make their living off these files - and to the community as a whole. In many cases, it's as easy as asking for permission first - this is much better than being hit with a fine or being caught later. Many audio web hosts will, rightly, suspend or cancel your hosting service if copyright laws are blatantly ignored. Stay above board with your audio website hosting and your site will be around for a long time to come.

Reliability. Just like any web hosting service, an audio website hosting service should be reliable and offer solid uptime guarantees. Most of today's top web hosts will offer these features, plus enough capacity for more audio website hosting needs. Visit our Overall Top 10 Hosting Companies and have a look!