There are three fundamentals when it comes to great website hosting: support, speed, and security. Without these three key factors, your website is basically a parked domain and is lost in the abyss of cyberspace.
There are over 1.8 billion websites on the internet today — yet almost three-quarters of them don’t get the traffic or engagement they need, which is usually attributed to website hosting. This is why finding the right web host is crucial to getting your website out there and noticed.
Whether you’re looking for a first-time web host or a new hosting service, here’s what they should offer.
1. A Web Host Must Offer Scalability
This is important because your website’s target audience is (hopefully) not going to stay the same size forever. The goal is to grow your audience over time.
The web hosting provider you choose should allow for maximum growth, while offering resilience in being able to handle large growth spurts, too. The same goes for scaling back demand as and when needed. In short, you need a web host that can support your seasons of growth and downtime to suit your business.
2. Consider the Exact Amount of Support You Need
Do you simply need a web host that provides email access, ticket, and phone support, i.e. the basics? Or do you need a web host that provides 24-hour, round-the-clock support, such as full-service management?
Before you choose a web host provider, think about the kind of support your business needs and how your budget ties into this. The more support you need, the more it will cost. But today, most web host providers offer brilliant full-service management packages to suit your needs and budget.
3. Determine Which Server Type Serves You Best
If you have a very tight hosting budget, then a shared server may be the best option. This is where one server box hosts hundreds of different websites. Bear in mind that this can greatly impact your website performance. Generally, this type of web hosting is pretty limited and it may be worth paying a little more for added performance and flexibility.
Other server types include a dedicated server, which is one physical server box dedicated to hosting your site. This is only recommended if you have system management skills onsite/in your team.
Some of the best server options include cloud hosting with Amazon Web or Microsoft Azure, also known as VPS, and WordPress hosting. You may want to refer to trusted industry voices such as Trustgeeky Blog for tips on the best server choices.
4. Always Ask About Their Backup System
As we mentioned, support and security are two of the most important factors to consider when choosing a web host. It’s imperative that you understand your web host’s backup system in case your website faces some kind of crash, failure, virus, or hacking.
Make sure their backup policy is robust. They should be able to restore your site to full operation and offer minimal loss and downtime where possible.
5. Take Signup and Renewal Costs Into Account
When you sign into a contract with a web host you will face two major costs – the initial sign-up cost and the renewal fee. It’s important to note that the renewal fee is generally far more than the original sign-up cost.
This is just the nature of the industry and is pretty common practice among web hosts. However, you want to go with a web host that offers a reasonable renewal fee — nothing over a 100 percent markup after two-three years!
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The web host you choose plays an integral role in the performance of your website, which impacts just about every other aspect related to it. Two of the most important aspects include your website traffic and engagement. Do your homework and don’t settle for second-best!
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