If your website domain name is your digital address, then your web host is the apartment. Your hosting provider houses your website on live servers and allows browsers to access it anytime.
So, choosing the right web hosting provider and hosting package is one of the most important decisions you will make for your business. You must pick a reliable web host with specific features to ensure your website stays optimal. Otherwise, you’ll be set for failure due to intense competition in the online space.
In this article, we outlined some of the things you should consider when choosing a web hosting provider. After all, your web host can make or break your online success. Let’s dive in!
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Variety of Hosting Services
The first thing to consider when selecting a web hosting provider is the variety of services they offer. The most common type of hosting service is shared hosting. Other popular ones include VPS, dedicated, WordPress, reseller, and cloud hosting. Choosing the proper hosting type will ensure fast website performance while not exceeding your budget or overspending on services you don’t even need.
For instance, if you are just starting a new blog and you are anticipating low traffic in the early stages, shared hosting is best for you. It is the cheapest form of hosting, and it comes with pretty good security features.
On the other hand, if you want to build a website that contains sensitive personal information, like an e-commerce store, a school, or a hospital database, it is best to use a VPS or dedicated hosting plan. If you get shared hosting, you can put your users in danger.
Furthermore, reseller hosting is perfect for entrepreneurs, web developers, and every other person that plans to make money from reselling web hosting services. Learn more about reseller hosting and its potential profit opportunities as a side hustle.
Prices and Payment Options
Before you sign up on any web host, make sure their bills and payment systems are transparent, and you are ok with it. Search for any bills, automatic renewals, time-based subscriptions, and other vital details.
Most web hosts allow Mastercard, PayPal, and Visa for payment. However, some also enable crypto payments to maintain anonymity. So, choose a hosting provider with a price and payment system that works for you.
Also, feel free to read web hosting reviews to timely discover any hidden fees and extra charges.
Availability of Control Panels
Your control panel is where all the magic happens. You get to manage your website files, emails, certificates, codebase, and everything else from one place.
Most web hosts use the modern cPanel for efficient website management. However, a few web hosts still use traditional panels for management.
It is best to opt for a web hosting provider that offers cPanel or another user-friendly alternative, especially if you are a web hosting beginner.
Automatic Backups
Websites are digital creations which means they can be affected by malware, server downtime, and other factors. If your website crashes for any reason, automatic backups will restore your files and make website recovery super easy.
For example, if you run a $10k/month blog, you don’t want to lose all the data on that website to a one-time crash. So, before signing up for any web hosting provider, ensure they provide automatic periodic backups even in their cheapest plan.
Technical/Customer Support
Customer support is essential for a web hosting provider. The three main things you should consider when rating customer support are the support channels, the speed of the response, and the relevance of the answer.
A live chat support channel is the best option for a business that needs 24/7 assistance. Customers can chat with support agents at midnight and get responses to their questions. Yet, some web hosting providers use the live chat support channel but don’t respond to inquiries until after 30mins to 1 hour (poor).
If the live chat team responds to your questions speedily and provides relevant answers (even when you are not a customer yet), they are a good choice. Otherwise, it’s a no-go.
SSL Certificates
SSL certificates are what allow browsers to authenticate your website. Without it, you can essentially forget about traffic. Customers today value their security online, and so should you.
Fortunately, most web hosting providers offer free SSL certificates on their cheapest, most basic plans. If a web hosting provider doesn’t automatically provide a free SSL certificate for any hosting plan you buy, find another one.
Uptime/Server Speed
Uptime refers to how consistently your browsers are online, and server speed refers to how fast your website loads when searched on a browser. If you want your customers to have a smooth user experience on your website, choose a web host with a 99.99% uptime and 2 seconds server speed.
Most web hosts claim their uptime is 99.99%. However, you can check the accuracy of their statements by running their hosted websites on tools like GTMetrix.
Migration Options
Website migration means moving from one web host to another. If you are unsatisfied with your current web hosting provider, you can migrate to a better one. However, make sure the new web hosting has free migration as part of its features. This way, you’ll save a lot of time and hassle on your journey.
Conclusion
When choosing a web hosting provider, consider the hosting packages, reliability, and customer service first. And remember, if they don’t have your required hosting package and their servers and support are not reliable, the other features even won’t matter!
