Whether you are seeking to launch your new website or searching for a new and better web host for your existing website, you should do some research to make the right choice. Make sure to consider these 7 factors when choosing a web hosting provider for your site.
1. Bandwidth
Bandwidth limitations have an impact on how many monthly visitors can visit your site. It is equivalent to the total amount of data that is sent from your server to your visitors’ browsers. So, you should choose a web hosting provider who offers the maximum possible bandwidth for supporting your website.
If you found that your picked web hosting company does have bandwidth caps then look for other
similar hosts or read reviews about web hosting alternatives at AlterWebHost.com. They have compared
many popular hosts side-by-side to help you discover the most suitable provider for all range of
websites.
Heavy Files: If your website has lots of heavy files such as images, videos, audio files, or other heavy content, you should emphasize on higher bandwidth.
Visitors: The evaluation of this factor also depends on how much traffic you generate every month. If you have low volume of traffic, which is the case usually with new sites, you may opt for a host with lesser bandwidth limitations. However, if you have a website with high volume of traffic, you should choose a hosting provider with a plan that has high bandwidth limitations.
2. Storage Space
Your website, all its files, and databases need storage space. So you should look for a hosting provider that offers ample disk space in a plan that fits your budget and also has adequate bandwidth.
Your Website Needs: If you have a small business or a professional service that needs to host a simple website, you will not need large storage space. If you have a website that needs to collect large volume of data and has large databases or needs to run sophisticated applications, you should look for a web host that offers more space to store all your data.
A web hosting plan will usually have litigations on the storage space and/or number of files that can be stored. Also explore the option whether you can scale up your resources as your business/website grows. This will prevent you from buying extra space at the time that may not be required currently. Check the best website hosting servers at Mangomedia Matter.
3. Hardware
Check the information about the hosting provider’s servers. A reputed web host will highlight the hardware technologies they are using for providing their services to clients. Find out:
- The type of hardware they use to host websites
- Do they have top-of-the-line and latest technologies
If no information is provided on their website, you should ask them for details. The quality of the hardware is going to affect the performance of the servers and your website.
4. Scalability
While it is important to choose a hosting provider with plans that meet your current hosting needs, you should also check how scalable their plans are. With the small volume of initial traffic, a hosting package from a provider may seem to be just perfect for the time being. But as your business grows, you will need to upgrade. Does the web host have different packages that can accommodate your growing need for resources?
Only a few and large web hosts like InMotion have multiple plans that can accommodate the resource needs of businesses of all sizes.
- Do they offer VPS or dedicated hosting solutions?
- How easy it is to upgrade your plan?
When it comes to making an upgrade, you don’t want to consider moving to another host. It can be a time-consuming and slightly difficult process for those without the know-how.
5. 24/7 Technical Support
When you manage a website, you are likely to face a wide range of situations. Problems can arise even with the best web host because you don’t know how to fix things at your end. This is why it is so important to choose a web host that offers technical support 24 hours a day and 7 days a week. This is important to prevent or reduce the time for which your website is going to go offline.
Also check the contact modes through which technical support is provided. This should include phone, email, and live chat.
6. Control Panel
Does the web hosting provider offer cPanel or Plesk as the control panel for managing your website? Many hosts have their own proprietary control panels that may not offer the features that advanced control panels like cPanel can offer.
The control panel is an important part of your web hosting solution. It is from where you are able to manage your site and server (if you have chosen a VPS or dedicated plan with self management). This is where you can make changes to your website, install applications, make updates, add features, upgrade plans, and do lots more.
cPanel is considered the most popular control panel. it is not just rich in features, it is among the easiest to use too.
7. Check User & Expert Reviews
Before you choose a web hosting provider, check their online reviews. Features like disk space and bandwidth can be determined from the information provided on a host’s website, but uptime is something that is best learnt from the real-life experience of users. A host may claim an uptime of 99.99%, but only a user can tell you what the true uptime is. How often do they face downtimes? How responsive is the technical support team? How is the performance of their website? What security systems does the web host use? Make sure to check reviews from both users and experts to determine which web host to choose.
So make sure to consider all these key factors when choosing the perfect web hosting provider. It pays to explore all these features and factors, but the effort and time you invest in it is certainly going to help you make the right choice for the long term. You cannot afford to keep changing from one web host to another every few months. So give it some time to do the research and choose the one that is reputed, reliable, and resourceful.
