What is the bandwidth?
Essentially, it’s just a term to quantify the rate of traffic and data allowed to flow between users and your site via the internet.
The term “bandwidth” is loosely use to describe “data transfer” but in reality these two are two different things.
Bandwidth is the measure of maximum data that can be transferred in a given time, usually measured in seconds. Data transfer, on the other hand, is the amount of data to be transferred; while bandwidth is the rate of the data transfer. You can imagine bandwidth as the width of a water pipe where data transfer is the amount of water flowing out from the pipe. How wide is the pipe width (bandwidth) determines how fast can water (data) flows. Fundamentally, data transfer is the consumption of bandwidth.
To site owners, the amount of bandwidth that a hosting company site offers can typically serve as a good indicator of that host’s capabilities – the higher the bandwidth, the better the speed; network; connectivity; and systems.
How to Calculate the Bandwidth you Need?
Think about bandwidth like a pair of pants: you need the size that you need. It doesn’t make a whole lot of sense to buy up a size, but at the same point, there’s a number that fits. If your waist is a size 36, you simply aren’t going to fit into that 32. Simple math.
Basic Bandwidth Calculation / Guesstimation
In bandwidth, it also doesn’t make sense to purchase up – this is why it makes sense to work with hosting providers who offer scalable solutions. As for buying small, that’ll only get you into trouble. Know your actual need to get the service that works for you – here’s how to calculate your required bandwidth:
Estimate the average page size of your site in kilobytes (KB).*
Multiply that average page size (in KB) by the monthly average number of visitors.
Multiply the result from step 2 by the average number of pageviews per visitor.
* If you don’t know, use Pingdom’s Load Time test on a few pages and take the average of those tested pages for your base testing number.
This is the base of knowing your required bandwidth – however, you’re not done quite yet. You also need to include an allocation for extra “room” in case your traffic spikes. Generally speaking, I recommend giving at least a 50 percent spread. But you need to allocate extra room to grow and traffics spikes – leave at least 50% tolerance.
Needed Website Bandwidth + Redundancy (without user downloads)
To do this calculation, use the following formula:
Bandwidth needed = Average Page Views x Average Page Size x Average Daily Visitors x Number of days in a month (30) x Redundant Factor
Average Daily Visitors: The total number of monthly visitors/30.
Average Page Size: The average size of your web page.
Average Page Views: The average page viewed per visitors.
Redundant Factor: A safety factor ranged from 1.3 – 1.8.
Needed Website Bandwidth + Redundancy (with user downloads)
If your site does not use or allow downloads:
Bandwidth needed = [(Average Page Views x Average Page Size x Average Daily Visitors) + (Average Download per day x Average File Size) ] x Number of days in a month (30) x Redundant Factor
Average Daily Visitors: The total number of monthly visitors/ 30.
Average Page Size: The average size of your web page
Average Page Views: The average page viewed per visitor
Average File Size: The total file size divided to the number of files
Redundant Factor: A safety factor ranged from 1.3 – 1.8.
- 86 Users Found This Useful
