Bandwidth Or Data Transfer Which is Which?
Too often web hosts talk about bandwidth and data transfer in the same breath but truth be known they are different although very closely related. Bandwidth is how much data can be transferred at a time and data transfer is how much data is being transferred. Think of it this way. If bandwidth were a bridge, then the bigger the bridge is the more vehicles can pass through it. While data transfer is the number of vehicles allowed on the bridge in say a month. In essence, data transfer is the consumption of bandwidth. How It Affects Your Site The less bandwidth you have, the slower your site takes to load regardless of the visitors connection type. If you have more visitors, some of them will have to wait their turn. The least data transfer you have, the more often youll find your site unavailable because youre reached the maximum allowed until a new month rolls by or you upgrade your account. Determining Your Requirements Usually when a host talks about bandwidth, they are referring to