Last updated on March 30, 2019
There is a wide array of website hosting providers available in the market, with prices ranging from a few dollars to up to thousands. Deciding on which web hosting provider can be daunting, especially for those who are just starting to build their business’ online presence and has minimal knowledge about website building and hosting.
What you need from a hosting provider will ultimately depend on what type of business you have and what specific needs and features you need. You have to fully understand what your company needs and cater your website plans, and consequently your choice of hosting provider, accordingly. Despite the differences, there are a number of things all businesses must consider in choosing a hosting provider.
Estimating the traffic you expect
Providers basically charge depending on storage and bandwidth usage you want to avail. Knowing how much traffic you’re expecting will give you pretty much an idea how much storage and bandwidth you will need. As your business grows, adjustments in bandwidth usage and storage subscription should be made accordingly.
Server types
If you know how much traffic you’re expecting, understanding different server types is the next step. Inexpensive hosting plans usually have websites running on a shared server. This should not be a problem if you are not expecting much traffic, but keep in mind that performance of sites on such servers depend on the load of all the other sites you’re sharing it with.
If you’re expecting heavy traffic on your website, dedicated servers might be more suitable. You’ll be able to fully utilize the server’s resources and performance. However, these types of servers are more expensive and knowledge on server maintenance and management is needed to fully utilize the server’s potential.
Nowadays, cloud-based servers are becoming quite common as it offers flexibility in terms storage and bandwidth adjustments. If you need to be able to handle big surges in traffic, you can seamlessly scale by paying more money.
Website and systems management
All hosting companies will provide the basic customer service such as access to email ticket and phone support. However, turn-around time on request vary from one provider to another. There is an option, however, to delegate the management of your site completely to the provider. They will make sure that your website is maintained and configured properly, patch software as needed, manage backups, and keep your system secure.
Avoiding lock-ins through portable content management system
You may be getting the beast deal from your current provider but if you’re locked in to a particular host without any backup whatsoever, anything bad that might happen to the provider will affect your business. Having a back up practice using an open source content management system will make sure that you can seamlessly change providers, retaining your site’s data, media, and structure without any fuss.
Most people use WordPress as their portable contement management system because it will run on just about anything. This may seem difficult for those who have limited knowledge on it. Fortunately, a Bluehost WordPress tutorial video is available for online to assist you on the basics of WordPress utilization on content management.
Your domain must be yours
Lastly, you have to make sure that you own the domain you will be using. This will help you be more flexible if needed and you will own any earned SEO (Search Engine Optimization) benefits.
