You’ve probably heard the term “hosting” before, but haven’t the slightest clue as to what it means. A web host will provide you with the use of their server, allowing you to create a website, and maintain it there. Read the following article to find out which web host is best for you.
Shared or dedicated hosting, which one fits your needs? If your site is rather large and complex you may find out that shared hosting cannot handle the heavy volume of visitors that your site receives, as it will limit your ability to properly serve the customers. In a case such as this, consider a dedicated host to best meet your needs.
The web host you choose should be located within the country of the people you are interested in selling your products or services to. If you are targeting people in the United Kingdom, be sure your website hosting plan is with a provider that has their data center located in the United Kingdom, too.
You should select a web host service that offers enough space for your site to grow. Will you have the storage space to expand your website if needed? For hosting files alone, around 100MB – 1 GB should offer a good starting platform for your domain.
The amount of traffic you receive on your site can affect your hosting charges. Be sure to ask about your host’s billing strategy, so that you can budget accordingly for the price that you will end up paying.
Security should be one of your big concerns. This can be achieved via the use of a good secure server certificate, such as SSL. This certificate authenticates your domain and host; proceeding to display the results in the address bar of those whom visit your site. Thus, they will be informed that you are secure and maintain a secure website.
Most website hosting companies already require that you backup your own data. It’s vital to follow this rule so that you don’t lose data if something happens. Backing up your data protects you if your web host ever experiences a problem and loses your data.
Before you sign up with a web host, make sure they guarantee your satisfaction. A reputable company will give you a refund if you aren’t satisfied with your service in the first 30 days. Many webhosts advertise themselves better than they are.
When looking into a potential web host, extend your research beyond the promotional materials and website run by the host. Look for reviews written by clients of this host on independent websites to learn more about this service. Independent customer reviews will be a good indicator of quality.
Try and find an online host that uses the cPanel control scheme. This allows you to work with your email accounts, FTP access and other important parts of your website platform. These applications are usually user friendly and typically easy to install. Also, it makes management easier for your site.
Look for a hosting that has won lots of awards. This method is great for judging a host’s support and service. Although stuff like this can easily be faked, a lot of sites garner their awards on the up-and-up through people who have used their service and then cast a vote. Hosts that have several of these awards are probably companies with whom it is worth doing business.
The company you select should be able to meet both your current and future needs of programming languages on your website. Unless your provider can support the most popular languages, it will be impossible to get the most from your website. Also, if you intend to add languages in the future, your web host may not be capable of supporting them. It can be difficult when switching web hosts.
Choosing a good hosting company can be a big advantage to business owners. Hopefully this article has given you a clearer understanding of how website hosting works and what features can improve your use of it.