Deciding on a good web host is as important as setting up other business essentials, perhaps more. Be it a small set-up or initiation of a big venture, failure is guaranteed if you make an ordinary choice.
So how do we make a smart choice for a good host?
Every individual or a business would want to go with one which provides optimum performance with maximum benefits in all respects. Pricing, ease of support, complimentary features, etc. to mention a few.
PERFORMANCE –
- Uptime is a great measure of how good a hosting provider is at keeping its systems up and running. A high uptime percentage close to 100% means they are putting in substantial effort towards superior performance.
- Disk space is the amount of space allotted to your website. Don’t let it be limited if you’re planning to maintain cumbersome blogs, an e-commerce site, visual content & videos for your business. If a hosting company has difficulty accommodating that, it would reflect in your conversions. You sure need pure unlimited space for your website.
- Bandwidth is nothing but the amount of data your website will pass to the customer. Videos and graphics take more bandwidth than plain HTML. Ensure that you’ve got enough to support your website traffic.
- Page speed makes a difference when browsing through a website. It can lead to frustration and one might lose on prospects and clients if the speed is below expectation. Ensure that your website has good speed.
Read More: Why Server Colocation Hosting in India is becoming more popular than Dedicated Servers?
PRICING –
- You don’t have to overpay. All your essentials can easily be met at $5 per month. If you are going with a free provider, be ready for limited usage (free hosts have their own usage restrictions).
- Before going in for a purchase, understand the pricing structure clearly. Down payment, recurring subscription fee and any other payment for add-ons.
- There could be instances when things might go wrong, in which case, you may want to cancel the host. It’s important to know how your web hosting provider handles this. Does it offer any retention packages or has a well-defined refund policy. To get a discount on web hosting, you can visit the Shared Hosting Coupon site.
- When starting a website, you need to find a good domain name that represents your brand or business. It is typically sold for a price. Now if you are deciding on a hosting provider too, you might get it for free.
SUPPORT –
- The internet is always ON. Ensure that you get an excellent and preferably a 24×7 customer support. If possible, test the response of the hosting provider before you indulge in any long term contract. Online chat service provides an instant resolution, unlike emails or tickets.
- Opt for a hosting provider that has a user-friendly and a functional control panel. You would need this, at least for some basic changes that you can do on your own.
- Also, get your business name and address displayed on the hosting provider website for appropriate visibility.