One of the most important details when starting or continuing an online business is making the right choice when it comes to a web hosting provider. Choosing the right web host can be the difference between a successful service that garners a lot of business and a complete failure that leaves your customers to the mercy of your competition.
If you’re just beginning to look for a new web hosting provider, finding one that’s right for your business can seem like an overwhelming task. Many web hosting providers display so much information that it’s sometimes hard to decipher exactly which features are required for your particular online application. We’ve put together a quick guide to help you make sense of some of the multitude of features and make the best decision when searching for the a web hosting provider.
Accessibility – In order to upload and manage your new website, you’re going to need a variety of access methods to both maintain and initially configure your site. Commonly, services such as FTP, SSH, and web panel access such as cPanel are an absolute minimum. In addition, never go with a web host who charges extra for these very basic options. Web hosting providers such as FatCow, HostGator, iPage, and GreenGeeks each offer all of these accessibility methods free of charge.
Reliability, Security, Customer Support, and Speed – One of the most important things to look out for when choosing a web hosting provider is the reliability, security, and speed of their network. Anything less than 99.9% uptime is basically a relic of the past. Web hosting providers such as BlueHost, FatCow, and iPage offer 99.9% uptime guarantees. In the off chance that your hosting does go down, make sure your provider offers 24/7 support via multiple means such as email, phone, and online chat. After all, you never know when a customer is going to stop by.
Pricing – When it comes to web hosting, the rule “you get what you pay for” does always apply. A reliable web hosting provider can provide very cheap but also reliable web hosting, that can compete with even the most expensive plans at other providers. Moreover, these low cost web hosting providers are also fully compatible with popular website packages like WordPress, vBulletin, Drupal and Joomla. Just because it’s a good deal doesn’t necessarily mean it’s a bad one. Be sure to do your research!
Monthly Data Transfer (Bandwidth) – In order to operate your site, you use up bandwidth with every visitor who stops by. Therefore, the more bandwidth allowance you can get on a monthly basis, the more traffic and growth your business can sustain over time. What you want is a web hosting provider that offers unlimited bandwidth. Anything less than unlimited is not worth it. Some web hosting providers like FatCow, JustHost, and iPage offer unlimited bandwidth.
Storage Space (Web Space) – With hard drive space so cheap these days, it’s not Unlimited storage space as a standard option. In fact, of all the web hosting providers listed in our overall top 10 list, not a single one offers less than unlimited storage. Each of these providers offer unlimited space meaning you can continually grow your website without worrying about exceeding limitations. As a result, you most likely won’t have to worry much about this aspect letting you get back to business.
Just remember, when it comes to finding a new web hosting provider, don’t be intimidated and do your research. Make sure you use our state of the art host finding algorithm to help you leverage our database of user rankings to find the perfect web host for your site.
