What would you do if your website was having issues and you could not navigate the control panel to fix your site? Building a site is easy if your web host provides different tools and features that allow you to create pages without having to write any code. But how do you select the right company?
When selecting a hosting service, opt for the provider that has a favorable track record for outages and downtime. A lot of companies make up excuses for outages, but this is a sign that are not planning ahead of time. Do not make any commitment to such companies because this is a big sign that they are unprofessional.
Be sure to register the name of your domain separately from your hosting service. In case the service shuts down, or you have conflicts with the company, you will still own your own domain name and can just change to a new host. Your host would actually have a tighter grip on the controls of your domain than you!
Website Hosting
When determining your needs for website hosting, be sure to choose a host that is geographically close to your target demographic. For instance, if you target customers in the UK, make sure you choose a website hosting company whose data center resides there as well.
When you have chosen a web host, make sure to have monthly payments instead of paying a lot in advance. You can’t predict the future of your company or of the hosting service. If your web host’s service goes down the toilet or you end up having your account closed for a breach of terms of service, you’ll lose out on what you’ve already paid.
Are you considering a free web-hosting company for a website? Remember that free hosts rarely offer backup features. If you go with this option, you should be diligent in backing up your own data. If you don’t back up your own data, you’ll lose it forever if something happens to it while on the free server.
Don’t select a hosting service that has enough space for you right now; select one that gives you room to grow. An HTML page takes very little space, but adding pictures or videos will need a lot more space. For most websites, 100MB of space is adequate for the future growth of the site.
Service charges coming from hosting providers could be correlated to the traffic your site generates in some time period. However, this is not the case across the board, and the method of calculation may be different among separate hosts. You should take the time to determine the rates your site will average before you commit to a contract.
Check and see if your host offers the option of having a secure server for your customers. This allows you to add a security button on your site to tell your visitors they are in a secure zone. People will trust your site and will buy from you.
As you now know, web host features and benefits vary from company to company. Follow these tips to learn which features are essential for your site. Comparison shopping makes it easier to locate the provider that can best meet your needs, and at a price that is within your budget. What more could you possibly want for your website?