Choosing Green Web Hosting

If you run a website or a blog, you’ve got some eco-friendly host options to consider. Actually a little more than some. Many green web host companies have popped up in recent years which is nice because it creates a price competition.

How to choose:

Basically, green hosts, like other non-green web hosts have perks and negatives. You’ll need to research to find out…

• If they meet your green ethics. Some offer more green perks than others (see below).
• If you like the price.
• If they offer enough space for your needs; both bandwidth wise and page wise.
• If there are file size upload limits.
• If they offer FTP – which I personally think is a mandatory requirement but you might be comfortable with the hosts online page builder. For paid web hosting, they should absolutely offer FTP.
• If they offer web services you need or want. I.e. stuff like one click WordPress installs, SSL (secure server for shopping carts – if you’re a biz selling something), or free design applications.
• If they offer email you like.
• If they offer 24/7 tech support – they should. Also, before choosing a host, call and see how long you have to wait to speak to a human.
• If they’re reliable – a hard thing to gauge, but doing some review reading online can help you to find a service that’s reliable.

Weighing a web host’s greenness:

After the basics above, you’ll want to see why a host is green. Do their green perks make sense to you? For example some green hosts do the following…

• Use green renewable energy (at varying amounts) to power their data center, web servers, office computers, laptops and office space.
• Purchase certified Renewable Energy Credits or carbon credits to offset their energy – some buy more than others.
• Offer cool perks like sustainable articles and tips to clients.
• Go entirely paperless and set up recycling policies and more basic company green efforts.
• Make donations to eco-non-profits or other eco-organizations.

A basic search for green web hosts will bring up a ton of hits. You can do that or stay tuned – I’ll list some of the best green web hosts in an upcoming post.

Are you using a green web host right now? Do you like them? Why or why not?

[image via personal clip art]