I’m sure you’ve noticed that there are a lot of web hosting companies available in the market today. There are so many, in fact, that it can be tricky to decide which one is the right fit for you. Fortunately, there are a number of factors you can use to evaluate each one. A good place to start is with speed, support, cost, security, and scalability. While those four may not be equally important for everyone, they’re the criteria you should consider based on your needs and experience.
What hosting do you need?
There are 6 main types of web hosting. Each option has unique costs, reliability, control, technical knowledge, server speed, and storage capacity requirements. These include
1. Shared hosting:
A web hosting service that lets multiple websites be connected on a single server. This usually ends up being the most cost-efficient option because you won’t have to pay for maintenance or other fees when it’s more than one customer paying for them.
2. Virtual private servers:
Virtual machines, which are typically sold as a service by hosting services companies, are an efficient way to handle complicated or specific IT needs. They operate similarly to dedicated physical servers but define themselves through software. This makes them less expensive and easier to create and configure to specific needs than traditional physical servers.
3. Dedicated hosting:
Dedicated hosting is a more expensive solution that’s often better for a company with multiple sites. It’s more secure and will have fewer errors or downtime – it’s the shape of things to come!
4. Cloud hosting:
Cloud hosting can use multiple servers to distribute the load and requirements of your site. This leads to increased uptime, thanks to the additional redundancies that having multiple servers provides.
5. Managed hosting:
Rather than handling the entirety of maintenance and upkeep, managed hosting is an option where you can have a 3rd party handle these responsibilities for you. This is often a secondary service that also includes shared hosting.
6. Colocation hosting:
Colocation hosting often falls in at the higher end of the pricing range. This form of hosting requires the purchase of specific hardware, which is used onsite, as well as renting space for designated physical servers within a data center.
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How To Choose A Web Hosting Plan That Actually Fits your Business:
Here are a few aspects to consider before looking for a web host:
1. Determine what your website’s needs are:
No two companies are exactly alike, so it’s important for you to decide what your needs are and weigh the different options that each potential host is offering.
For example, If your company requires many pictures or would benefit from having access to high-quality images, you might prioritize speed and storage options and you should also consider hosts that offer content delivery network (CDN) service. If your business deals in e-commerce conversations, then bandwidth and security features might play a bigger role.
And don’t forget to take into account the content management system (CMS) platform of your choice. WordPress enjoys over 60% of the market share when it comes to CMS platforms and has hosted sites with many web hosting companies catering specifically to WordPress sites.
2. Estimate how many visitors you think your website will get:
If your site’s goal is to get a lot of traffic, it will be best to invest in high-quality hosting that can accommodate that demand. Smaller sites with dedicated audiences might not require as much bandwidth, although the size of your website’s audience will also have an impact on your bottom line.
3. Confirm the subscription period:
Web hosting companies have one of two options for contract lengths — monthly or yearly plans. When you’re considering a plan, think how long you’re willing to commit to upfront. For example, if you’re unsure about the host, it may be better to choose a short-term contract so that you can try it out and make sure it’s a good fit. On the other hand, a longer-term contract can save you money in the long run.
4. Server reliability:
A critical aspect of your hosting service is what kind of uptime guarantees they provide. This will impact whether your website is reliable. This refers to the percentage of time that your site is online, without anyone experiencing any issues. You want the majority of the time that your site is online to be error-free and with no interruptions.
Of course, every web hosting company defines uptime in a different way. You’ll have to carefully read through their policies in order to see what they’ll guarantee for uptime most closely applies to them. You might also want to find out how they handle downtime periods – if it’s not optimal when you’re developing a following on social media or trying to strategize an e-commerce store because you’re not able to get in touch with people when it’s down – and confirmation that past reviews have indicated reliability moving forward.
5. Is the Host’s Refund Policy legitimate?
When choosing a web hosting company, it’s worth reviewing their refund policies. If you’re not satisfied with your host or change your mind about the site you’ve created, it’s important to know your options. To make sure you can cancel and get a refund, read the terms of service before signing up for anything.
6. Verify the primary features:
If you’ve figured out all of your needs from a web host, then it’ll be easier for you to choose one. There are hosts that offer very general services and others that may provide specific features that can make life easier for you.
When exploring the host’s website, you should be able to determine pretty quickly if what you need is offered by them. If you have to dig deep in order to find a certain need they might not really understand what your site requires. Reading reviews is also a great way to figure out if a given web hosting company will satisfy your primary needs. Customers tend to be quite honest in online reviews.
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7. Availability of ads on products or services:
If you end up needing some upgrades for your website, you need to make sure that the host offers the features or packages you want. Read the terms of services they will offer in your package.
8. Get to know the control panel you’ll have access to:
Hosting can sometimes be the most technical part of running your website. Most hosts provide a user-friendly interface for managing and configuring different parts of your web setup and software. The most popular interface you’ll see is called cPanel. However, some plugins offer a unique approach that may suit you better depending on your needs–taking time to demo or tour these interfaces before you commit to a hosting company is always helpful.
9. Check out the host’s server responsiveness:
One of the key elements of choosing a high-quality host is making sure you take claims and reviews with a grain of salt. Testing out the server response for yourself is the best way to do this. So, if you’ve signed up for a plan, you can use tools like Pingdom to judge the performance.
10. Check out the backup option:
With WordPress, you have a few options for creating backups to keep your website safe. One such option consists of using plugins from the Plugin Directory for direct control. One of the most popular and highly-rated solutions is UpdraftPlus, a plugin for hands-on backups.
Of course, it’s always best to remember the most important rule of thumb when selecting a plan: there are many different hosting packages out there, each with its own strengths and weaknesses. That being said, the good news is that providers know this, so they’ve created individualized service plans suited to your needs. All it takes is carefully researching options, taking these 10 tips into account, and gearing up to create content for your site!
