No matter if you’re an online retailer, a blogger, or a freelance developer, you need to have a solid website to build a solid online presence. Above all, you should invest in a reliable web hosting provider to back your site up. Hosting impacts your website performance, user experiences, and brand reputation in multiple ways. This is why you need to go with a reliable option that meets your website’s needs and, at the same, allows you to grow.
Here are a few key features to look for in a hosting company.
1. Website Hosting Requirements
Before you invest in a hosting plan, you need to write down your hosting needs. For example, ask yourself what kind of website you’re building – a blog, an online store, a personal site, or an online portfolio?
You should also think about the perfect type of hosting for your business. Some common types of hosting are:
- Shared hosting is perfect for small and medium-size websites. This is where several websites share one server. It’s a perfect option for new websites, as it’s simple and affordable. However, the problem lies in the fact that you’re sharing server resources, which may affect your website speed and performance. Therefore, if you want to get serious about your online presence, you will probably choose some alternative options.
- VPS hosting provides greater flexibility for growing websites. Namely, VPS is divided into virtual machines that serve as independent dedicated servers. Even though VPS users still share one server, they will be provided with larger server space and have greater control of their hosting plan.
- Dedicated hosting plans provide you with the ultimate security and greatest server resources. As such, they’re ideal for high-performing websites. In this case, you would have an entire server dedicated to your business. You have full control over your operating systems, security systems, system customization strategies, load balances, backups, and so forth. The major problem related to dedicated servers is, unsurprisingly, pricing.
Read More: Steps to optimize your website
2. Crucial Features and Resources your Website Needs
Always keep in mind that just because a hosting plan is expensive doesn’t mean it will work for you. So, instead of looking for the priciest and the most popular hosting partner, focus on observing its features and making sure they are compatible with your long-term business goals. For example, if you’re a small business, you will probably prioritize greater email functionalities over massive storage. For web developers, on the other hand, advanced security features and high bandwidth are a priority.
Here are some key hosting components you should know before investing in hosting:
Domain name registrations
Hosting and domain registration are generally two completely different services. Your domain can be registered with any domain registrar, irrespective of your hosting options. However, if you want to keep your hosting resources under the same account, you can always choose a web hosting plan that provides domain registration options.
Email addresses
Email hosting usually attracts those businesses that want to build a recognizable brand name. Apart from including your domain name into your email address, may hosting providers will offer some exclusive features, such as forwarding, autoresponders, greater security, or spam filtering solution.
Storage
Disk space, or storage, is the simplest hosting component to understand. However, it plays an immensely important role in your hosting choices. For example, you will see that many shared hosting companies provide unlimited storage. Most personal websites, blogs, or SMB sites usually don’t come close to reaching these limits. With VPS and dedicated hosting plans, your storage can be scaled as your online presence grows.
When it comes to disk space, you should pay special attention to solid-state drives (SSD) that are more reliable and, logically, more expensive. The traditional hard-drive options are usually included in unlimited plans, given that they provide greater capacities.
Another factor to consider is your RAM. Hosting plans with a greater RAM will read and write your stored data faster.
Data transfer
Bandwidth is the rate at which your data can be transferred between a website and devices connected to it. It is an important element in all hosting packages and it’s calculated on a monthly. Simply put, bandwidth determines how fast your visitors can access your site data when landing on your page.
Uptime rate
In the online world, time is money. Your customers expect your site to be up and running all the time. Downtime directly hurts your brand reputation, customer experiences, productivity and, of course, your sales. The majority of hosting providers will reimburse you for any accidental outages.
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Security
Many website owners are familiar with the fact that their online security directly depends on their online behaviors, antimalware software, password strength, etc. However, did you know that your company’s hosting is also one of the greatest cybersecurity risks?
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This is why you should seek hosting providers that offer security monitoring services, firewalls, automatic backups, and similar security features. They should also provide real-time customer support and provide responsive and actionable assistance whenever you need it.
3. Web Hosting Pricing
Although the price of a hosting plan is high on your list of priorities, it should never be a deciding factor. Never sacrifice your security or performance because of a low-cost hosting plan.
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Now, the cost of a hosting plan can very. It may start as free or as low as $3 per month and then go all the way up to $600 or higher. This depends on a bunch of factors, such as the type of your website, your monthly visitors, or how many advanced services you use. For example, domain name registration costs typically cost between $10 and $15, while the cost of SSL certificates goes from free to $450.
Above all, the price depends on the type of hosting you use. For example, entry plans will be cheaper than mid-tier ones. Shared hosting plans go somewhere between $2.75 and $15 per month, while VPS hosting costs between $5 and $80 monthly. Dedicated plans come with the highest price that varies between $80 and $730 per month.
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Over to You
Choosing a hosting plan doesn’t need to be a tedious task. You just need to think about your website requirements – what kind of website you own, how many visitors you have, your traffic, etc. Then, familiarize yourself with some key hosting features, such as domain name registrations, bandwidth, uptime rates and set your priorities. Finally, check how pricing varies, but never make it a determining factor. Even the most expensive hosting plan is purposeless if it doesn’t meet your website’s needs.
How did you choose your hosting plan?