Are you looking to choose a web hosting provider for your website? Wondering which one you should go with? Worry not! We will today share with you 5 web hosting tips that will help you choose the right company. Once you follow these tips, you can curate the different options available and go with the best one. It will also ensure that you can choose not only the right quantum of resources for your website but also a secure web hosting provider.
Without any delay, let us look at the tips which you should follow when choosing a web hosting provider. If you have previously chosen a web host but are finding that it doesn't suit your needs be sure to check out our best website migration service to get you on a proper host.
1. Determine the resources which you need:
The 1st thing which you need to always take into account is that the amount of resources which you need. Only when you’re clear about that, you can go ahead and choose the right web hosting provider.
Many Webmasters, however, have no idea how much resources their website will consume. We will share with you a few examples below to help you understand and make the best choice.
- A new small static website having less than 5000 visitors per month will on average need only 1 GB of disk space or 5 GB of bandwidth.
- If your website is larger or growing at a rapid pace and has around 10,000 visitors per month or a considerable amount of pages often times you may need a larger package. For most intermediate website needs you can opt for a package having 10 GB bandwidth and at least 2 GB disk space.
Thus, from these numbers, you can get an idea regarding the amount of resources which you need. Now that you are aware of the resources which you need, you have to shortlist the web hosting providers who offer those packages. It will ensure that you need not pay more than what you require.
2. Go with an experienced host:
The hosting industry is filled with fly by night operators. If you go with any such a host, your website will always be at risk. That is why it is better to go with a web hosting provider that has a rich history behind it. Some ways in which you can check the history of the web hosting provider include:
- Through the about us page of the web hosting provider
- Through web hosting review forums
- With the help of WHOIS domain checks to see how long the web hosting providers domain has been registered for.
These three methods will help you know how old is the web hosting company. You can also inquire about the same from the support department of the web hosting provider. It will ensure that you are only going with established operators rather than ones that do not have much experience. It can be a nightmare to go with a young web hosting company that simply closes shop. This can lead to downtime and having to start all over with a new provider.
3. Do not ignore the reviews:
The reviews of any web hosting provider will let you know if the company is up to the mark or not. That is why you should not skip this step when you choose a web hosting provider. There are multiple ways that you can use to discover the genuine reviews of a web hosting provider. These include:
- You can search in the search engines for the reviews of the web hosting provider. You need to type the name of the web hosting provider, followed by the word review, and you can quickly discover the reviews.
- You can browse through the web hosting forums to know more about the web hosting provider.
- You can ask the web hosting company to provide you with references or their testimonials and customer reviews.
Using these three methods, it will be easy for you to discover honest reviews of the web hosting provider. It will help you choose the right company.
4. Test customer support:
Often-times, when you’re choosing a web hosting provider, you may be using them for an extended period. At least once or twice during your time with a provider you mayl need some help from them. It can be due to a hacking attempt or due to your website being down or any number of other customer support needs. That is why it is better to test the customer support of the web hosting provider in advance and see what channels are available. Ideally, the hosting provider should offer multiple support channels like:
- Email support
- Tickets support
- Live chat support
- Telephone support
- Social media channels support
If it offers multiple channels of support, it would be easier for you to get some help in case of an emergency. You have to also test the customer support by contacting them and observing how prompt is the reply. Once you do so, it will be easy for you to choose a web hosting provider who can help you out in case of any problem.
5. Choose a secure host:
One question which you should always ask any prospective web hosting provider is, What security measures do they have in place?
The web hosting provider should offer at least the bare minimum in security features like:
- Ability to automate backups
- Firewall activation
- Server-side SSL certificate
If the web hosting provider offers these three security features, you can add them to the list of potential companies. If it does not, it is time to look for another web hosting provider.
These five web hosting tips will certainly help you pick the right web hosting provider. With our guide above, you will never have to deal with a substandard web hosting provider ever again. Your web hosting is one of the most important services to consider for your website. You would do well to do a fair amount of due diligence before choosing your provider.