For both beginners and starters, choosing the right web hosting option is not easy task and it can be tricky. In simper terms hosting is like a house and the website is the people living in it. If you opt for a two bedroom house for a family of ten, the space will not be enough. The same case applies to hosting. Along with choosing the right hosting option, there are other factors to consider such as what the hosting company offers in terms of package in each hosting plan. You can choose either shared, VPS or dedicated hosting.
Among the three major options for running your website, choosing the wrong option for your website will see you face all types of bugs and problems. For VPS option, it is considered as the intermediate between shared and dedicated. This does not mean that it is perfect for all website projects but it might be considerate depending with the web hosting companies package. Dedicated option is beast for high traffic projects and favorable for developers.
What to look for when choosing the right company for your website
The Price
While this should not be the priority, it is advisable to get what you pay for. The purchased package should cover your website needs. Check for payment terms and options. This is important because different web hosting companies will offer different payments options and duration before you renew the package.
Reliability
This is the server uptime in relation to downtime. The company hosting the website should guarantee minimal downtime throughout or otherwise compensate for loss incurred. Servers that have a high chances of downtime are not successful for business websites.
Support
Online services depend wholly on unforeseeable factors but the service provider should play their part and communicate effectively to their customers. The support services for any issue with the services should be accessible any time. In case of technical issues, they should be ready to offer fast solution to ensure your website is up and running smoothly.
Upgrade Options
Upgrading or downgrading options for any hosting package should be available. This can be related to how your website visitors interact with the pages. For high traffic, large bandwidth allocation is preferably while for personal start-up blogs may use shared hosting and upgrade later. Websites which require high security due to the business transaction, VPS or dedicated could do better as the admin can access and customize the security settings from the control panel.
Terms of Service
Before subscribing to any hosting package, read and understand their terms of service. This is for your own good and make you confident that you are ready to host your website with them. Although most website hosting companies state that their terms may change without notice, check regularly for any updates. Unfavorable terms may be inconvenience to your online business.
Money-back Guarantee
Any time you think of purchasing web hosting services, web hosting companies or any third party services, check for money back guarantees. This is simply a commitment that the company will deliver their services as promised otherwise they should refund your money. However, there are companies that do not have this offer but they will have free trial option where you can access unlimited services without pay and then purchase latter after testing. Anything that may interfere with the smooth running of your website should never be given a chance under any circumstance.
The shared hosting has a number of limitations and disadvantages which you can view on the next slides.
