The Most Important Steps In Choosing A Web Host
A company cannot outperform its weakest link, often which is the web server it uses or a third-party hosting service. So if you’re not familiar with a lot of the jargon, when it comes to web page hosting, you can get confused and make a mistake by picking the wrong type of service. Many people cave in when confronted with a decision and just take what comes first. Make sure your ultimate selection is a company that truly will meet your needs.
Most web hosts offer various add-ons in their packages, but the number of features may differ from one host to another. You should also make note of availability for each feature you are interested in, especially when you are narrowing down your choices. For instance, one host may offer a low price package, but you can find you really have to get the higher priced package to get the feature you want.
Shared Hosting
Trying to choose between dedicated and shared hosting? If your website receives a great deal of traffic, shared hosting might cause problems. If this is the case, then you definitely want to look into going with a dedicated host.
Avoid web hosts that have a great deal of down time. Unreliable providers will have a consistent track record for lengthy and frequent outages; this is an indicator that the host is ill-prepared to offer satisfactory support. Frequent outages are an indicator of an unprofessional service you should not commit to.
Select several providers you are interested in, and keep their contact information. If your first choice turns out to be problematic, you’ll be able to move quickly without having to start your search from scratch.
Ask about a potential web host’s security precautions before signing up for service. Websites are a frequent target for attacks, and are susceptible to many other threats. Choose a host with procedures efficient enough against DDoS attacks. You need to ask about the potential risks associated to your website if your web host is under attack.
After choosing a website hosting provider, choose monthly payments rather than a year contract. You never know if your host might go bankrupt, or your website could close. If the host declines, your business expands past them or your account gets closed, you could lose any money already paid.
Make sure that you are doing your own backups of your site. This is absolutely necessary to ensure your data is safe besides complying to what your server’s requirements. In case something happens, your data will still be available.
Hosting Service
Look for a hosting service that lets you have access to statistics and detailed information about your traffic. A good way to double-check the traffic numbers provided by your hosting service is to install a visitor counter on your landing page. This type of data allows business owners such as yourself to fine-tune a site to suit the target audience.
Does the company offer a portion of your money back if you want to end your contract early? If you don’t like the service within about 30 days, you should be able to cancel it and get your money back. Some hosting services may exaggerate their quality in their advertisements.
Don’t choose a hosting service just because the company doesn’t charge you for hosting. Hosting services that are free typically force you to have ads on your site. Your control over these ads will be limited, at best. Also, these random ads placed on your site give it an unprofessional look and feel.
Look for opportunities to interact with current or past customers of different hosting providers, check online discussion boards and communities. Being able to ask questions, that address your concerns, will help you eliminate companies that may not meet your needs. Positive discussions will also bolster your confidence in the host you ultimately choose. Current customers may be one of the best sources of information you can get.
Now that you’ve read this helpful advice, you should have a better understanding of website hosting services, and the positive and negative features you may come across in the different service agreements. When you register for a hosting plan and it’s contractual, you can prepare everything for the IT guy.