The Difference Between Bandwidth & Data Transfer
Although web hosting providers don't always clarify the difference between bandwidth and data transfer in their different hosting plans, there is indeed a big difference between the two.
Bandwidth denotes the amount of data that can be transferred in a unit of time. A high bandwidth means your data will load faster.
While, data transfer measures the number of visitors who call up your data. If, for example, you have large files in your site containing, say, videos or photos, each visitor will be transferring more data. The higher your bandwidth, the faster your visitors will get access to your site's contents.
Bandwidth is expressed in bps, that is, bits (or bytes) per second. Data transfer is measured in bytes, kilobytes(KB), megabytes (MB), or gigabytes (GB).
To understand which web hosting plan is best for you, we can imagine that your site gets 1,000 pageviews per month. A simple html file can have, say, 20KB in size. This means that your data transfer for the month will reach 20MB. So, if a hosting plan offers you 20GB of monthly bandwidth, that calculates to an average of 20,000 pageviews. Based on the above calculations, such a plan would work well for you.
There are web hosts who offer unlimited data transfer, sometimes calling it unmetered data transfer. Be cautious of such offers and be sure to read the fine print in the Terms of Service from the web host. Somewhere along the line, bandwidth will be spent and someone will have to pay for it. What you are likely to find in the fine print is a clause which states that the web host will reserve the right to pull the plug on your site if you waste too much bandwidth.
This is becoming a rather common offer from web hosts who want to attract more clients. They make this enticing offer because they understand that over 90% of sites don't waste more than 250 to 500 MB per month in bandwidth. But if your site becomes a success, what then? If your site becomes an expense to the web host rather than a profit, that little clause will simply give them the right to shut you down. Will they do that? Read the fine print.
To be sure your calculations are valid, always think big. This is particularly valid if you intend to include, for example, a photo album, a forum, or even videos. You may only be building a site for friends and family, but the world wide web is an open universe.
The Web Hosting team at WebHostCircuit is made up of website owners, website and design professionals. Together, the team boasts years of online experie
