Have you ever tried choosing a web hosting service?
If you have, you would know that there are thousands of web hosting providers to choose from. The results of choosing the wrong web hosting provider are pretty grave.
To help you navigate this maze of thousands of web hosting providers, we will share a few things to consider before choosing a web hosting service. Choosing the right one becomes easy once you judge a service on these few parameters.
Now, here are 11 things to consider before choosing a web hosting service:
1. Type of hosting on offer:
Most web hosting providers provide you with different types of hosting options. All these options can be quite confusing for a beginner or even someone who just runs a personal blog.
We highly recommend anyone to use Siteground for web hosting, although for different hosts with their specialty check out another 10 great web hosts
We will help you understand which hosting option you should choose below and help you understand what each of them means. Accordingly, you can shortlist the right service suitable for your needs.
Shared hosting
Shared hosting implies that the server’s resources are shared across different websites. It is the option you should go with if you’re just starting a completely new website.
Bluehost got good hosting but it’s almost a must for new websites that expect low traffic at first
Reseller
Reseller hosting offers you a larger proportion of the server’s resources, and you can host multiple websites in a single package. If you’re growing multiple websites, this is the package you should go with.
VPS
In both the above packages, there are chances that the performance of other websites might slow down. If you do not want this, you can go with VPS, which is nothing but a virtual private server. That way, you can improve the uptime and speed of your website.
Dedicated
If you have a large website and need a dedicated server, you can go with dedicated hosting.
this option is the best if your website is expective huge amounts of traffic.
Specialized
Many web hosting providers offer specialized hosting options for certain types of websites like WordPress, e-commerce websites, etc. If you are sure about the type of website you are building in the content management system you’re using, you can go with a hosting provider that offers specialized hosting solutions.
Once you’re sure about the type of hosting you need, it is easy to shortlist the right web hosting service providers.
2. Resources
Under each type of hosting option, every web hosting provider will offer you a different amount of resources. That is why; you have to figure out which one provides maximum bang for the buck when it comes to resources.
Usually, the resources of a hosting package:
- Amount of storage space
- Bandwidth (number of visitors)
- Dedicated or shared IP
- Type of server
The first two are the most significant, and the more visitors/higher bandwidth, the better it is. Similarly, the higher the storage space, the better it is.
Since these determine how large your website can grow before you need to scale your hosting package, these factors are pretty important to consider.
3. Server location
Ideally, the server location should be near to your audience. That way, your website will load up quickly. Search engines also prefer websites that load quickly. That is why considering the server location is important when choosing a web hosting service.
4. Uptime:
This is the Achilles heel for most web hosting providers. Ideally, you need 100% uptime; however, in the real world, that is hardly achievable.
The next best thing is to go with a provider which offers you 99.9% uptime. Also, while comparing the web host, you have to prefer the one that provides you with an uptime guarantee of around 99.9%.
If the web hosting server is down for a significant time, you will lose your visitors and your search engine rankings. So; it is good to consider the uptime of the provider before choosing one.
When enquiring from a provider, ask them for their previous 30 days’ uptime record. You will know which provider has a better uptime record and choose accordingly.
5. Customer support
another thing to consider before choosing a web hosting service is whether it is to buy a hosting package, upgrade it, or due to a glitch in the hosting package, you will have to contact the customer support of your web hosting provider sooner than later. In a nutshell, customer support is another important factor on which you can judge the service provider.
Ideally, the web hosting service provider should offer numerous customer support channels like:
- Tickets support
- Email support
- Live chat support
Also, you have to look at the operational hours of each support channel as well. If it provides 24/7 support and the support channels are responsive, you have to give preference to that provider.
6. Security level
There is no point in choosing a web hosting provider which cannot even secure your website. As soon as your website becomes somewhat popular, the chances of a hacking attack increase significantly.
In case the provider does not have enterprise-grade security on the server, your website can get hacked pretty easily.
That is why, while comparing the providers, inquire about the security measures they have.
At the very basic, the security should be able to thwart DDOS and other such common attacks. Only then can you go ahead with that provider.
7. Control panel
Merely buying web hosting is not enough. After that, you will have to integrate your domain with the package. Not only that, but you will also have to use the control panel to set up your website.
Did you know that different providers offer different control panels?
While cPanel is the most popular control panel, different hosting providers can use different panels. So, it is important to know beforehand the type of control panel they have on offer and whether it is user-friendly.
8. Customer reviews
Even after checking these factors, you might choose the wrong web hosting provider. To eliminate this possibility, it is a good idea to go through the reviews of the web hosting provider.
For the same, you can search for the reviews of the provider on search engines like Google. Other than that, you can also check the reviews on forums like trustpilot.com
You should leave no stone unturned in going through these reviews and conducting proper due diligence on the provider.
Only when other customers have had a positive experience with the provider can you go ahead with one.
9. Scalability
We all start to run our websites keeping in mind the growth we can achieve. As the number of visitors starts growing, you might need more bandwidth. If you plan to increase the number of pages on your website, you may also need higher storage space.
We aren’t just speaking about increasing these resources by 20 to 30%.
What if you need to triple them?
You might be surprised that many providers do not offer you such scalable solutions. Only when you try to procure such a package from your provider, do you realize that they do not provide scalable solutions.
You might have to migrate your website and find a new provider at that time. That certainly means risking the traffic on your website and once again searching for a suitable provider.
To avoid all this, you have to choose a web hosting provider who can provide you with hosting options up to dedicated servers. They should provide you with multiple dedicated servers if needed.
10. Hosting speed
Visitors do not like websites that take long to load. Similarly, search engines also do not prefer to rank such websites.
You should always choose a web hosting provider with faster servers. The server speed matters a lot.
The question is, how to test the web hosting speed?
There are two ways in which you can do so.
2 ways to check hosting speed:
Check host site speed
Using a site like GTmetrix, check the loading speed of the provider itself. While this might be an indirect method but if the website of the hosting provider is not fast enough, the websites which they will be hosting won’t be fast enough as well
Get a test IP
Most web hosting providers will be happy to provide you with a test IP to test the speed of their servers. You can procure this IP by contacting customer support and checking the speed yourself.
Only when the server speed is fast enough should you go ahead with that web hosting provider.
11. Pricing Of Web Hosts
We have deliberately kept this factor for the end. Unfortunately, most Webmasters give the highest importance to the cost. Instead of doing so, you have to consider this factor in the end.
If you’re merely going with the cheapest provider, they won’t be able to provide you with the appropriate service.
Rather than making this mistake, it should be one of the factors which you should consider.
Also, instead of aiming to go with the cheapest web hosting provider, you should go with the one which offers you better value for money.
examples of hosts to value companies:
Bluehost is the best for low cost and new websites (starting 2.95$/M for the first year)
Siteground brings the best value for your money (starting 3.99$/M for the first year)
Cloudways is the most flexible since you change the cost on spot depending on the number of resources you need your website to have (starting 10$/M with no change in price)
Conclusion of 11 Things To Consider Before Choosing A Web Hosting Service
Once you consider these eleven factors while choosing a web hosting provider, you can choose the best one. After choosing the right web host, you can focus on your business rather than always worry about your website and the hosting. That way, your website will be up most of the time and will be blazing fast.
We hope that these 11 things to consider before choosing a web hosting service were helpful and feel free to ask anything in the comments.