Five Things to Look for in a Web Hosting Service
Trying to figure out which hosting company to pick can be pretty confusing. With all of the different options you have, all of their promises, and everything else that comes with picking a hosting company, you should really only be focused on 5 important aspects. In this article, we will cover what those five important things are and why you need them.
1. Features This is usually the most important aspect that will be the deciding factor in which company you will go with. When it comes down to it, all companies will get you up and running on the internet, but which of them will be able to provide you with exactly what you need?
Things such as different e-mail programs, different data centers, regular backup services, free domain privacy, and plenty more features can really make a difference in your experience as a website owner. If you expect a massive amount of traffic to your website, you are going to want to make sure that the hosting company has different plans and features that can handle it to ensure that your site doesn’t go down.
2. Content Management Systems (CMS) Content management systems (CMS) have become extremely popular for not only blogs, but any type of website. They make it easier to update, run, and grow your site with minimal coding. You will want to make sure that the company you pick will allow you to install your favorite content management system for free. Most major hosting companies will offer some type of free installation, but you will still run into a few companies that don’t.
3. User Interface Even the least tech savvy person will still need to make some changes, such as installing WordPress, getting E-mail accounts set up, backing up the website, and plenty of other things. You should not have to call your hosting company to get this done, it should be a simple task for anyone, with an easy user interface. Check and see if they offer cPanel or Plesk, which makes updating and implementing modifications easier.
If they use some other program which uses an interface that makes it hard to get everything completed, you will continue to run into problems as you try to update new things. It can be one of the worse aspects of being with a hosting company, but if you make sure everything is easy, it can be one of the best aspects.
4. Support If you run into any trouble, you shouldn’t have an issue getting a response from the support team. It doesn’t matter which subject you are contacting them about, getting directly in touch with them should be easy and effective. A lot of companies are now using social networking sites to make support go by much faster, but you should still have the option to call or just send an e-mail.
You may run into all types of issues, from installation problems, interface questions, to your entire site going down. You want to make sure they will be able to handle any situation you may encounter as fast as possible.
5. Price This might be a bit obvious, but the price matters. Just because a hosting company is more expensive, doesn’t mean they are more effective. You want to check and see what they can offer you for their price compared to their competitors. Also, the plans that they offer will usually cost higher with the more services they give you. So, if you decide to go with a more premium plan, make sure your website will need it. No point in paying extra money for a plan that can handle millions of people a month if you only expect a few thousand.
Overall, hosting companies will claim to be the best and will offer their services but the choice comes down to these five things. If you find a company that can fulfill your needs on all 5 aspects, then you have probably found the best choice for your site. Like I said earlier, all hosting companies will get your website online, it just all comes down to which one will fit your specific needs. If you still don’t know which company to choose, you can always read reviews from other people that have used their services. This usually helps the decision making process.
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