How’d we actually determine if a certain web host is good? Bandwidth and disk storage; do they still matter today? Which type of hosting service would be best for you? We’ll get all these and many others questions answered in this post so you better read it all over!
- Identify your hosting needs
Unless you know what you need, you can’t land the right web hosting service. So, put everything aside and answer the following queries!
- Type of website you’re building.
- Are you looking for something common like a WordPress blog for instance?
- Do you require a Windows application, a special software version such as PHP?
- Any special software your website need and volume of online traffic?
These are a few basic questions you should be familiar with but that’s not end of the line! Read on for more details.
For neophytes, a simple solution is to look for a good shared hosting account and start small. The account is easy to maintain plus sufficient for newly launched websites. You can always upgrade to Virtual Private Server (VPS) or dedicated hosting with time as your website grows bigger.
- Uptime scores/server consistency
A 24×7 web host is in much higher-demand nowadays! Look for web host that operated on a powerful server and over steady network connections. Make sure the uptime score remains above 99.5 percent for anything less is unacceptable. You can easily gather info related to web host uptime following several ways. One of these is through reading hosting reviews where test records of these different websites appear every now and then! You can easily track the web host from the server monitor tools and many of these are free for ease of users.
- Server upgrade options
Share web hosts are quite powerful these days and more preferable. A shared hosting account has to be sufficient thus supporting a neatly optimised WordPress blog that helps 30, 000 to 40,000 unique visitors. If your concurrent database connections are limited below 20 presently, there’ll be no service issue on shared host.
However, if website is to grow really big in coming years, you better consider picking the best web host that’s also flexible; means having room to grow along your business. The term “grow” here relates to update your web host from the basic shared hosting to virtual private or dedicated server. This is a fine option if speedy processing, greater disk space, memory capacity and security features are a concern.
- Multiple supplementary domains
With abundance of websites, cost of domain names today dropped allowing you to own more than one and it’s also irresistible. More than 80 percent voters own more than five domains while the remaining 20 percent have the count above 50. To accommodate the add-on domains, extra hosting space is also required. This makes it important having a web hosting account that lets you add several domains. Some budget shared hosting companies allow 25 extra domains in a single account but one can never be too sure!
- Hosting costs: Renewal v/s signup
Hosting deals especially the shared are usually selling cheap signup however charge immensely over renewals. It’s actually an industrial norm and unless you’re willing to circle between two to three web hosts every two years, there’s no running away from the costly renewal.
- Compensation strategy
Now this is important, what if you choose to withdraw from your current host during the trial period, will you qualify for full money return! What’s the refund policy after trial session and are there any cancellation charges? These are some basic questions to ask before you sign up.
You must be aware about managing customers and compensation if things get awry along the way. Some hosting companies charge extremely high cancellation fees if customers draw-back amidst the trial period. This is important if yours is managed hosting business needed to start following the right track!
- Ecommerce features
Are you operating an ecommerce website, using specific shopping cart software? Will there be any business transactions on your website or are you in need of any special technical support? If you agree with all, then find yourself a web host that provides sufficient ecommerce features that covers SSL certification, one-click shopping cart and dedicated IP.
Conclusion
Mentioned here are a few essential steps to pick up the right web hosting solution for your business. Be sure to follow them all!