Even if you are just hosting a typical blog, any type of downtime or lag can mean that you lose a good number of visitors. This doesn’t even compare to what can happen if you have an eCommerce business. The thing is, when people make the decision to trust you to handle their money, they have a tendency to be quite cautious. If they notice a lag, they might be afraid that their order might not be accepted even as their money is taken right from their account regardless.
As for any downtime, they can always find the item they are looking for somewhere else. These are just a couple of the reasons that your web hosting provider needs to be up to the job and completely reliable.
What to Look For
When it comes to choosing a web hosting provider, you might want to take a peek at the best web hosting providers first. You will definitely want to compare more than one before you make your decision. Some of the things that you need to pay close attention to are the reliability and the speed of access, the rate of data transfer, available disk space, tech support, SSL, Email, POP3, Autoresponders, Mail Forwarding, and more.
What You Need
When you are choosing a web hosting carrier, it really helps if you know exactly what it is that you need. There is quite a long list of various services that go along with the hosting of a website. Dedicated, shared, and delivery networks and even more will all play a role when it comes to the capabilities and functionality of a website. It is critical that you know which ones of these services you will need for any project that you might undertake.
Do You Need Help?
When you find yourself in the position to choose a web hosting provider, you might want to have an idea of the type of help that you will need. The basic customer service will give you access to things like ticket, email, and even phone support. The time it takes to handle your requests though might vary. You will find that some of them take as little as 24 hours to respond while others can take significantly longer. The thing about non–managed services is that will your vendor might be able to answer a few questions if they are simply about the basic configuration, the vendor will not be your systems manager.
If you happen to be of the mind to completely delegate the site management completely, then you might want to think about getting a managed service. Managed service providers will ensure that your system is properly configured for the load you need. They will also keep a good eye on the security while they install patches as needed and manage any backups or other necessary tasks.
What You Have Right Now
Take a look at your current website. What does it do? Maybe it is a site that you made to practice or just for fun. Is it for a blog, or for your business? Is it a store? Finding the answers to these questions will allow you to more easily determine the things that you need to look for when it comes to finding a web host.
If your site is for personal use, you might be ok to go with a free hosting service. There is a pretty good chance that it will be lacking in speed and have a few ads, but it will allow you to practice working with various web servers.
Consider Growth
Are you experiencing a boom with your business? Are you at a point where you are getting new customers on a daily basis? Are you planning for your visitor numbers to increase significantly? If you answered yes to any of these questions, then there is a good chance that what you have now in terms of a website will need to grow in the future. When you are trying to choose a web host, try to always plan for the future.
All of these things and more need to be considered when you are choosing a web host.
