What You Need to Know Before Choosing a Web Host
So, you’re faced with a load of web hosts to choose from. It’s your first time and you know absolutely nothing about them. Tricky. You have no idea which would fit your website and possibly your budget. Your content is ready and you’re left with this huge decision of picking a host. You’re being as cautious as possible as you have a lot at stake. And that’s good too. Well then, here are a few things to consider before browsing through Google for your preferred Web hosting company.
- Know the host service needed (the platform you develop for)
- Flexibility of your host
- Server Resources
- Your pocket
- Think ahead
Know the kind of host service needed
Before selecting your website host, you should consider the type of site you want to host. Is it a business site? A blog? An online shopping site? Or any other type. Shared hosting (he should say where this is coming from. Is it a type of service host or it’s in another category) is acceptable for small site plans but if used for a bigger site such as an online shopping site, performance will suffer as the site grows. Basically because the resources from the sever is shared among thousands of others users. Shared hosting is simple with no complications. This makes it an excellent host choice for first timers and small sites.
Also you should purchase a host based on the platform you develop for. Linux hosting is far much cheaper than Windows hosting so if you develop for PHP and the Linux family, purchasing a Windows host will be cool but a total waste of money. And you cannot purchase a Linux host for a web app built with ASP.NET and Microsoft SQL Server which totally requires a Windows host.
Flexibility of your host
When creating a website, we don’t just look at a couple of days or weeks from its launch date, we also look at how long we want the site to last and the amount of contents we wish to upload. Basically, as the site grows, so does the traffic and the contents as well. Your host has to be flexible enough to accommodate this growths and improvements and at the same time, delivering the best of their services in a way that adapts to how you run your site, instead of sticking with a particular style.
Server Resources
Now we’re getting to the tricky and really important part of web hosting. Instinctively, any newbie in web design or creation will run to a host provider that would give them the most features for the least amount. This depends on the type of site (This part should not be here if you look at it well because all sites have hosts that charge less or more while offering different features right?). For example, a developer may go for more security and higher bandit rates in his site, while a company or business may prefer more email functionality. The technical part of web hosting might be confusing for a beginner but one needs to understand various hosting components and the limitations that can be imposed by the host. These components include;
- Storage space – the more storage, the more space you have for content upload.
- RAM – the higher the capacity dedicated to you, the faster your site works.
- Database – if your website uses a database such as MySql or Microsoft SQL etc, make sure it is included in the hosting plan. Also make sure the version correspond with yours.
- Bandwidth – the higher the bandwidth, the higher the amount of traffic you can receive periodically. When you run out of bandwidth your site will go offline for a while.
- Domain name and emails, security and so on.
When you know the kind of site you want to create, you decide which resource(s) is best for you and what host could give you the maximum resources for your money.
Your pocket
Well, I know that when it comes to pricing, we would all go for the highest resource we can get for the cheapest price. While cost should definitely be a factor, we shouldn’t give up quality performance for some extra savings. Most host servers cost very little monthly and there are some added discount when you pay for a whole year or more. Free hosting is a no-no as you will basically be under the sub-domain of the host you decide to choose. Always be sure that there are no hidden charges.
Think Ahead
Think ahead, think of the future of your website. What you aspire for it in the nearest couple of years, how much you can grow with your host and how much room there is for improvement with your preferred host.
Different hosting companies you can check out;
If all the steps we’ve discussed are put together, you’ll definitely make the best choice of host and it will be one that you’ll be happy to partner with.
