When you want to create a professional website, it’s important to choose the right web host. Web hosting is a service that’s provided by thousands of companies. It can be overwhelming to see all of the ads, reviews and comments about different web hosts. Very often, you’ll see many positive as well as negative opinions about the same web host. The following web hosting tips will make it easier for you to choose the right web hosting company for your needs.
1. Decide Which Type of Web Hosting You Need
Before choosing a web host, you should identify the type of web hosting plan you want. Most websites use some type of shared hosting. This is the least expensive kind of plan and is sufficient for most purposes. If, however, your website is very large, has complicated features or gets a large amount of traffic, you may want to consider other options. Plans such as dedicated server hosting, virtual private server or VPS hosting provide you with more flexibility and resources. If you want to provide hosting for other businesses, you might want a resellerhosting plan. When you see web hosting prices and features listed, however, it’s usually for shared hosting plans. More advanced plans are costlier and mainly geared towards larger businesses.
2. Size and Experience of Company
Some web hosts have been around for over a decade and have millions of customers. Others are smaller and less well known. While it’s a personal decision what kind of company you prefer, there are advantages to signing up with large and experienced companies. They often have more modern technology and may have more data centers.
3. Disk space and Bandwidth
Some hosting plans promise unlimited disk space and bandwidth. Companies that sell multiple plans often have a cheaper plan that places limitations on these specs. Consider your needs and decide how much space and memory you need. Remember that if you’re starting small it’s always possible to upgrade to a bigger plan in the future.
4. Number of Websites You Want to Build
Many web hosts offer inexpensive plans that only allow you to build a single website. If you want to build multiple sites, make sure you choose a plan that provides you with this capability. Some plans offer unlimited websites, which is convenient if you think you may want to build a large number of sites at some point.
5. Control Panel
This is what you use to make changes to your website. Most web hosts provide cPanel, which is fairly easy to use. Some use Plesk. If you’re not a techie, you mainly want to make sure that the control panel is user-friendly and easy to access. If you have a programmer or team who handles technical issues, you can ask them to recommend the type of control panel they prefer.
6. Support
Hopefully, you won’t have to contact tech support very often. However, you want to choose a web host that offers quality support whenever you need it. Make sure that support is available 24/7. Ideally, you should be able to access support by phone, live chat or email. When looking into a company’s reputation, be especially aware of what people say about their support.
7. Bonuses
Many web hosts offer bonuses to motivate people to sign up. They may offer free domain registration, for example. Another common bonus are advertising credits with Google, Bing and Facebook. Check out any freebies or bonuses a company offers. You shouldn’t, however, make your decision primarily for this.
8. Cost of Hosting
You always have to consider the price before signing up for web hosting. You should not make price your main criterion, however. Because hosting is an investment in your website, you want to choose the company that provides the features and quality of service you need. However, if you’re undecided between two or more companies, it’s sensible to choose the cheaper one.
Understanding the cost of web hosting is not always as straightforward as it appears. Many companies offer multiple plans at different prices. When comparing prices, you have to make sure that you’re comparing equivalent plans. One plan may be cheaper than another but may not have as many features. Make sure that you don’t sacrifice important features just to save a few dollars.
Web hosts are constantly holding sales and promotions. You may be able to get a discount if you apply a promotion code. There may also be flash sales on certain holidays where you can get an especially good deal. Still another factor to consider is how long you have to sign up for. In many cases, if you want the best price, you have to sign up for two or three years.
9. Reputation
You have to consider a company’s reputation before signing up with them. You can research this by looking at ratings and reviews. It’s good to look at both customer reviews and objective reviews by industry professionals. When looking at reviews and ratings, you should look for patterns. Every large web host will have negative reviews and complaints. This doesn’t necessarily mean it provides poor service overall. When a company has millions of customers, there are bound to be some complaints. Very often, people are more motivated to write a review when something goes wrong than when everything is going right. That said, if you see a pattern where many people are making the same complaint, it’s worth noting.
These web hosting tips should all be considered before you make your decision. It’s a good idea to browse several companies and see which ones appeal to you. Then you can research prices and online reviews. You want to choose a web host that will provide you with great service for many years.