Web hosting services help to increase the number of visitors who will view your website on the internet. The web host will provide you with a space on the server where computers worldwide can access the website through any modem or network.
With thousands of web hosting services available on the internet, you must ensure that you are very keen when selecting the best hosting service. Certain parameters determine the plan you should go for. Below is the ultimate guide to choosing the best plan.
Determine the needs for the website
What’s the need for the website? This is the first question you should ask yourself when choosing a web hosting service. It will help you understand the purpose of the website well, and the website needs to function properly. A good basic idea is vital before starting the search for hosting plans.
There are several questions that you need to ask yourself to determine the hosting service that best suits your website. Do you have a domain name, or do you need one? What kind of website platform are you using? You must consider whether you need to rely on a visual panel like the cPanel to install plugins, software and updates. Bluehost is the most popular hosting option for many but there are others like HostGator, GoDaddy, SiteGround, etc, that are equally good. Consider a Bluehost alternative that will meet the website’s needs to increase your online presence and will offer the plan that suits your requirement perfectly.
Consider your size and growth potential
Different web hosting service providers usually charge different rates for their services depending on the traffic your website is likely to get and the space the website content takes. If your target audience is large and you expect a lot of website visitors, you will need to choose a hosting service that will match those needs.
You also need to consider future upgrading and scaling, as this means you will have to adjust your website to meet the target market demands. So, when choosing your favorite web hosting service, keep future requirements and other plans in mind.
Take time and learn types of web hosting
Before you settle on a particular web hosting service, you need to be well-acquainted with the different types of hosting available services. It will help you pick the best web hosting service for your website.
Shared hosting is best for personal websites and small businesses that use external e-commerce sites to manage their sales. The shared hosting services provide limited support, one-click management panels and website-building tools.
Dedicated hosting is designed for large businesses which have server administrators. These hosting services are also ideal for resource-intensive and high-traffic websites with many customization needs. For this hosting, you will need an entire server fully dedicated to the website.
There are also virtual private servers ideal for business sites that need a lot more customization than what’s found on the shared server. You will be able to manage all the aspects of the server’s backend tools and share the physical hardware with other customers.
Find out the tools provided
To run your website effectively, you will need services like FTP access, email support, analytics, cPanel and other blog integration services via the backend tools. This is why you should ensure that you choose a host with the best tools necessary for the website. Check out the operating systems that are supported by the hosting web service.
You will have to use a web hosting service that can support custom tools written with Microsoft.Net if you are using Windows. There are several security guidelines that you should go through to ensure that the hosting service has acceptable security tools for your website.
Check the amount of storage offered
Most web hosting services will often offer a plan that claims unlimited space. Though, this is somehow useless for simple websites. You must understand that unlimited space is a technical impossibility, and you will reduce the server’s performance whenever the host servers are overcrowded.
Ensure that you have room for future expansion and growth, as stated in one of the paragraphs above. What are the available storage upgrades? Only a few web hosting companies can provide the required space per your specifications.
Research about support options
This is one of the most crucial factors you should consider before selecting a hosting service. Ensure that the service provider you will work with is available 24/7 or when something goes wrong. This should highly be considered where you are not technical, and you must ensure that it will be rectified quickly if anything goes wrong.
The support services can be offered through email or a private chat. There is no need to pay extra cash for the hosting service support. Go for the service providers with affordable rates and those that have integrated support options to their web hosting.