Friday, March 29, 2024

Here’s What Really Matters When Looking for a New Web Host

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When it comes to finding a company to host your website, you won’t be short of potential web hosts. In fact, there are hundreds of web hosting companies operating all over the world who can offer you a wide selection of solutions for hosting your site.

Before jumping in and signing up with the first host that you come across when searching Google or your preferred search engine, there are a number of things that you need to pay attention to, as they can affect how well your website works.

The Main Factors for a Good Web host

Below we will take a look at the main factors that you need to look at when choosing which web host to work with. Each of the following factors are very important, so it’s a good idea to try and compare a few different web hosts and see which one looks better for your requirements.

Most people who are new to web hosting will likely go with a shared hosting account, so the factors below are related to that type of hosting, rather than VPS (virtual private server) hosting or a dedicated server. If you visit the Fortune Lords blog, you’ll find great comparisons between web hosts from all over the world.

Disc Space

The disc space for your hosting account is related to the amount of space you are allocated on the server for your website files. With shared hosting, there are usually 3 different packages, and the amount of disc space will vary from package to package, starting at around 1GB and going up.

There are some web hosts that will offer an unlimited amount of disc space for their shared hosting solutions, in which case, you won’t need to worry about the size of your site.

Data Transfer

The data transfer is the amount of data that is transferred from the server to a visitor to your website. Most of the time you’ll find that the amount should be unlimited, but there are still some web hosts that place a limit on this. It’s advisable to go with a host that provides unlimited data transfer and bandwidth, so you won’t need to start worrying if you are going to have enough.

If you use a host with a cap on the data transfer, and your website starts getting more popular, then you might find that your website could be offline unless you upgrade to a higher package. If you are with such a host, it’s important to regularly check your usage.

Add-on Domains

Most shared hosting accounts will place limits on the number of websites that you can run on them. Their packages will usually start with a single website and domain, with the middle package allowing 5 or 10, and then the third package should offer unlimited domains.

If you have a single website that you are managing, then the basic package should be more than enough. But if you manage a large number of websites, you’ll want to go with the package that allows you the number of add-on domains that you are going to need.

WordPress compatible

There are lots of different CMS (content management systems) that people use to develop their websites. The most popular is WordPress, which is a free to use platform and one that powers a huge number of websites. In fact, statistics show that WordPress is used on more than 30% of all websites online. That is a phenomenal number, which should give you some idea of just how powerful the platform is.

If you have developed your website using WordPress, then you’ll want to confirm with the web host that the hosting will be compatible for a WordPress site. Most web hosts will offer this without any problem on their shared hosting accounts, but you may find that there are some hosts who offer hosting solutions specifically for WordPress.

Though these will probably cost more than a shared hosting account, there are a number of benefits from using this type of hosting, as the servers will be specifically configured for that CMS platform.

Pricing

As with literally everything that we purchase in life, one of the main deciding factors is the price. The different types of web hosting options will have varying prices, with the cheapest option being shared hosting and the most expensive being your own dedicated server.

The average price for share hosting is approximately $10, though you may find it a little higher with some other hosts. You shouldn’t be paying more than $20 if you are on the highest package with the most options and features.

When looking at web hosts to use, you should be careful with the monthly prices that are displayed with their hosting packages. Most hosts will show their lowest possible price, but in most cases, this will entail you signing up to a multi-year contract with them. If you are looking to pay on a month by month basis, then expect the monthly costs to be slightly higher, than if you are paying annually.

Support

The quality of support from your web host is a very important thing to look at. Most web hosts will offer 24/7 support, though some may have support restricted to working hours. This is fine if the host is a local one, but if you are located on the other side of the world from the host, your working hours are going to be completely different.

A good web host will be quick to respond to support requests, and will do their best to resolve any issues as quickly as possible, in order to cause as little disruption to the clients website as possible.

There are a number of websites and forums where people discuss the different hosts that they use. These sites are a great source of information and can give you a much clearer idea of what the performance and support of a specific host is like.

Concluding thoughts

Spend time researching and comparing different web hosts that you are considering using. Don’t rush into signing up with one that you found online without properly researching them. You should also try and avoid basing your decision on pricing along. There are lots of $1 hosts that you can sign up with, but do not expect a high level of performance or customer support.

Go with a host that has a lot of positive reviews and feedback. Make sure the host has good support, and a range of different hosting options, as you never know when you might need to upgrade to a different hosting solution.

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