good web hosting provider?

since i'm now embarking on a new journey into the online world..well..it's quite a big leap..and its a big dream..for me..so i would like to start with a good web hosting..for my soon-to-be 'side income'..haha..it sounds really daunting..but i will do my best..to at least get myself a caldina..hehe [dreams..dreams..dreams..]

there are a lot of webhosting nowadays..too many to be frank..even i had quite a hard time choosing what's best for me..after putting a lot of thoughts..well for me..as a slightly-advanced-intermediate-webbie [web designing-or-the-likes newbie]..there are a few points i want to consider..and i'm sharing them with you..here..

oh..by the way i'm talking about a paid web hosting..not the free ones..why?

• free web hosting providers may and can put advertisements on your website, it's their source of income, and since you're using their service for free, they will put advertisements on your website so you can continue hosting with them for free..it's like a win-win situation la..sort of..got it?
• although free web hosting providers offers a variety of temptalicious web designs using their personal web site builder tool, it may be just that..it's good for beginners..but as i said before..i'm a slightly-advanced-intermediate-webbie..so i'll need more..more flexibility in the web designs..cause i might want to expand it..or customize it to the details of a pixel [i'm hard to please]
• bandwith..now this is one big issue with some free web hosting provider..ever tried accessing a website only to get a message saying 'This Site Has Exceeded Its Daily Bandwith Limit, Please Check Back Tomorrow'? it really frustrates me..especially when i came back the next day only to get the same message..again! i believe you understand that..next!
• hosting space..hurmm..actually its not quite a deal..but still its a deal..you'll need space to put pictures..or videos..if you have them..and in my case..i need space for autoresponder emails..well..this one is up to you..

well..i think that's that for free web hosting..on to the paid ones..
after digging for some info on the web with incik Google..the following are my consideration for choosing a paid web hosting provider..mind you..this is entirely my way of consideration..:

1. Uptime Guarantee - i want my site to be available on the web 24/7 [eventhough its not that updated] so i will look at the uptime guarantee claimed..it is recommended to look for the minimum 99% uptime..however even 99% is too low..it should be 99.5% or higher..usually the uptime guarantee is displayed on the homepage of the hosting provider..look for it..hard
   
2. Traffic/Bandwith - this is actually the maximum amount of data transfered from my site to visitors when they visit my website..you see..everytime a visitor visits your website, they will be downloading all the files of your website into a temporary storage on their computer so it can be displayed on their web browser..so the bandwith limit actually defines how much visitors you can have for the day..based on how big the files are on your website too..so if you're planning to have a website that host files..you'll have to get a hosting that offers a higher bandwith limit..for me..30GB-50GB per month wud be just nice..
3. Hosting Platform - usually providers provide two types of platforms, Windows or Linux..if you want to use PHP and MySQL better go for Linux platform..however if you are planning on using ASP or whatever that is .NET..pick the Windows platform hosting..also take note of the services and tools provided, such as databases (MySQL, MSSQL, etc)..if you wish to use CMS like Joomla or Drupal or others..you must choose a hosting that provides database..
4. File Management - i want the management of my web files to be as easy as possible..FTP access would be good so i can manage my files even more efficiently..
   
5. Technical Support - if anything happens to my site..i'd look for them..so i would want a provider that could give me support 24/7..[wah..bunyik macam serius jek!]
6. Hosting Space - hmm..normally websites files does not exceed 1GB..but if i get more space for a good price..why not? i could use it to store other stuff i might want to share somewhere else on the web..
   

hmmm..so basically that's that..i don't want to make it too technical..coz i'll be dazed trying to write all those techie stuf..its a stuff that i can only understand in my head..not in writing..feel free to comment if you think i should consider more points..i'd appreciate it much!

for your information, i got my inspiration from the following links..
http://webhostinggeeks.com/articles/How_to_Choose_the_Best_Web_Hosting_Service.html
http://www.thesitewizard.com/archive/findhost.shtml

thanx!