Congratulations! You now have a domain name, next step is a website host. With so many options, it may seem impossible to figure out where to begin. What should you look for? How do you know if they are reliable or not? This article can help you understand what to look for with web hosting.
Many website hosting companies offer add-ons to their services, but the number and type of features varies from one company to another. When comparing hosting companies, be sure the packages you’re looking at have similar features. For instance, a host that offers packages that are generally priced lower than other hosts might not necessarily be such a good choice if the key features you need are only available through expensive packages.
Should you choose shared or dedicated hosting? A large, complex site or e-commerce endeavor may benefit from dedicated hosting, to prevent a slow experience for your customers. You may be better off with dedicated hosting.
Choose monthly payments instead of subscribing for a whole year. It’s difficult to know if your web host will be a good one, and your business may change over the course of the next 6-12 months. The quality of the hosting service could decline or your site could expand so much that you have to move it to another server. Unless your host offers your money back if you do not complete your year-long agreement, go with a monthly subscription.
Do your homework and research online and don’t just choose a web host based on what their promotional advertising tells you. You want to find customer reviews so that you have an indicator of how reliable this host is before you invest into them. While a host can control what is said on their own website, they can’t stop people from posting legitimate complaints elsewhere.
Web Hosts
Many web hosts rely on other major hosts. These companies buy mass quantities of server space and “rent” it to smaller web hosts in order to turn a profit. Find out the true location of your host and then shop around to make sure you negotiate the best price offered for using that server.
Look for a web host that provides a cPanel. A cPanel allows you to add common applications to your site easily. Installing these applications is a very simple and straight-forward process. Also, this will allow you to efficiently manage your website.
Can you talk directly with current and former customers of web host companies that you are considering? Getting first person confirmation of a host’s advantages and disadvantages will help you to narrow your list of candidates. This will give you the confidence you need to make the best decision. Some of the best information comes from current customers.
Hosting Awards
Your web host should be the recipient of plenty of hosting awards. If a company has numerous hosting awards, for example, this can give you a good sense of the support and service they provide. Visitors and customers often choose the winners of these awards. While sometimes these awards are not legitimate, most are, so they provide a good way to judge a hosting company. Hosts that have several of these awards are probably companies with whom it is worth doing business.
Decide if your site requirements include a dedicated server. Your site may have high bandwidth or space requirements that can make a dedicated server a better choice. Your customers will have the best experience when visiting your website. Try to remember that people that are happy will keep coming back.
Seo Services
If your website is brand new, a web host that boasts SEO services may be the right fit for you. A SEO feature will allow your site to be registered with multiple search engines. If you are concerned with custom content, though, you may be better suited to add this information manually. Oftentimes, automated SEO services will not allow for personalized descriptions.
Some hosting providers operate under Windows, while others operate through Linux. There are some differences between the features of the two types, and you might have a small learning curve to get comfortable with using them. Linux is cheaper to operate than Windows, so you can lower your monthly rates.
As stated from above, now that you have selected a domain name and are about to set up your site, you will need to find a place to have it hosted. You will find it is not difficult to do if have a good idea of where you should look and which features you need. Apply the information from this article to help you quickly get your site online.