The importance of good web hosting for the performance of a website cannot be stressed enough – it is the most important factor which enables a website to run smoothly. If you have chosen the right web hosting company, you will not experience such issues as slow loading, having your website down, poor SEO (Search Engine Optimization) ranking, or data loss due to malware attacks. No web hosting company is perfect and each of them has its pros and cons, so opting for one feature often means having to give up on another. For this reason, choosing the right web hosting company means finding the most suitable combination of what they offer to fulfill your needs. Here are some things you should consider before choosing a web hosting company.
1. Different types of hosting for different websites
There are several different types of web hosting, such as VPS (Virtual Private Server), Shared, Managed or Dedicated web hosting. Each of them has different characteristics — their prices vary but so do their features, some are easy to use while others require server knowledge, so you should acquire information about all of them in order to find out which one meets your needs. You may even begin with one and switch to another as your website and business grow.
2. Ability to scale
The goal of every website owner is to generate as much traffic as possible, and if you expect this to be the case with your website, you need to choose a web hosting company which can accommodate this traffic increase without making you website inaccessible at times. Some websites do not have a constant amount of traffic, but only experience a rapid increase at certain points, and your hosting options should be able to deal with this.
3. User interface
A user-friendly interface should allow anyone to manage their websites easily, even if they are not particularly knowledgeable when it comes to computers and the internet. If the hosting has a control panel which is easy to use, you will be able to do most of the website management on your own, whenever you desire to do so. Otherwise, if you are having trouble finding your way around and understanding how it works, you will be forced to constantly call your company’s technical support.
4. Tech support
Regardless of how reputable a company is, you should be prepared to experience problems with your website. When this happens, you will want to talk to an actual expert who can help you address the issue, to have your website back online as soon as possible. Most companies claim to have tech support available 24/7, but this may not always be the case. Make sure that you read customer reviews and complaints before signing a contract and choose one that offers great and reliable tech support.
5. Reliability
Choose a host with an excellent server uptime record – while no company can guarantee 100% uptime, anything below 99% is out of the question.
6. Cost
Do not choose your hosting company based on the price alone – if something is cheap, there is usually a reason why it is so. It is much better to pay some extra money for reliability, but this does not mean that a more expensive one will be necessarily better for you. It all depends on your needs, so you should always check what you get for the money you pay, or else you may find yourself paying for features you do not even need!
It is not uncommon that you can find virtual coupon promotions online which can lower your initial costs and help easing into a change from one hosting to another. These are not small amounts of money you could save and should always check out if there are any coupons to be found when switching hosting. Also, before making a final decision, don’t forget to check customer reviews so do a careful research around the Web for each of your shortlisted candidates – if they offer similar features and are in the same price range, user satisfaction may help you make your final pick. A serious company cares about its reputation and should invest some effort into making its users happy with the service they receive.
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