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I know buying good web hosting is a difficult task, especially when there are a lot of options available in the market that claim to provide reliable web hosting deals and services If you are one of those who are stuck with available options in the market and don’t decide which web hosting should choose then this article is for you. You should know that web hosting has a lot of impact on your website and you must select it carefully. There are many web hosting choices available in the market, but not everyone is good for you.

 In this article, I have listed all of the factors that you must consider before choosing web hosting for your business. Bearing in mind these factors would help you in selecting the most appropriate web hosting for your business. No matter how good web hosting services a company is providing, if they are not suitable for your business then it will never work for you.

When I was about to start my website, it took me so long to decide about web hosting because of the enormous available options in the market. I know it creates panic when you are unable to decide what is best for your business. In the advertisements and commercials, the web hosting companies only provide you with a brief overview of the product, and for the functional part analysis of the web hosting service, you have to do some extra research. I took time to research the web hosting services, comparing them with the business specifications that helped me find the appropriate web hosting for my business.

Specify Your Hosting Needs

When you search for web hosting, you will find that there are unlimited web hosting service companies. To find which web hosting is better for your business, you should know about your business web hosting needs. In web hosting deals, there are many services that the company offers. You should be very careful, and analyze whether the company is providing all of the web hosting services that you need in the deal.

If the company is not providing enough services for your business then you better look for another deal or you can contact with the company to add some extra services to the web hosting deal and accordingly the cost would also increase. There are also cases when the user might not need all web hosting services available in the deals, for example, there are 5 services the company is providing in the deal and users want only 3 services. In this case, the user should again ask the company if he needs only three services and the cost would decrease accordingly.

So, knowing your business needs is the first thing to consider while buying web hosting. 

Hosting Options for Upgrading

Web hosting companies also provide the upgrading of the software, sometimes included in the package, and sometimes require some extra cost for the upgrading of the software. I recommend looking for the upgrading option in the deal because it will automatically upgrade your system and you don’t have to bother about the upgrading. On the other side, if there is no upgrading option in the deal then you have to pay for up-gradation every time, it would be more costly for you. It is better to ensure; that the web hosting company is already providing up-gradation services.

Check the Reliability of the Server

The reliability of the server is the most important thing to consider when buying any web hosting service. Almost every company claims to provide effective and reliable servers for web hosting but it is not true all the time. To know about the reliability of the servers, you can contact the existing customers of the company (look at the reviews or ratings), and ask them about their experience with the web hosting of the company or if they are satisfied with the services of the company.

The uptime of the server is the major factors that give you the maximum estimate of the overall server’s reliability. The servers should have the capacity to work 24/7 without any downtime so that the customers would have a good experience on your website. Remember the server’s performance is crucial for the long-term success of your company.

Warning: Weak servers are not stable and they can also put your website offline because of downtime.

Signup Cost Vs Renewal Cost

Before buying any web hosting package, you must consider the signup cost (cost of first-time purchase) and the renewable cost. Many companies in the market offer discounts for first-time purchases to attract more customers but when the customers go for service renewal the prices of the company drop. So, while buying web hosting services you should also consider renewal fees that you have to pay to the company in the long run. You cannot blame the company for doubling your fees because, at the first purchase, they are just giving you a discount. 

Refund Rule

Change is a part and parcel of any business; it is obvious that the web hosting services that you need now, after 2 years, maybe of no use. With time, as your business changes, your web hosting needs can also change and it is possible that you have to switch from one web hosting service to another service. You may have to do a refund because you are not satisfied with the services. It is good to know about the refund policy of the company because you may need to change the service anytime in the future.

Reviews and Ratings

You can make a judgment about the reliability and performance of web hosting services that a company is offering through ratings and reviews. The ratings and reviews of the web hosting company are mostly made by the existing customers and it can help you to get an idea about the functionality of the web hosting that the company is providing. The reviews and ratings can help you but you should not completely rely on them because in some cases, the reviews and ratings are falsely maintained by the company and the company might not let you see the bad reviews about their product. 

Still, the response of the users is a good tool to have an idea about the company’s web hosting overall credibility.  

Account Limitations

There are some limitations of the web hosting account, that the web hosting companies might not tell you. Here are some of the account limitations that you might face in web hosting. If your CPU is consuming too much power then there are chances that the web hosting company would suspend your account because there is a limit to the web hosting that the company is providing you, although it is not mentioned anywhere in the agreement.

Similarly, the hosting provider might not allow you to host illegal services and files. So, you need to know about the limitations of your account and if you go beyond your limitations, your account will automatically be suspended by the web hosting company. Knowing the rules of web hosting would help you in carrying out business smoothly without any trouble.

Responsiveness of Server

The user’s experience with the website has a huge impact on the credibility of your website. The responsiveness of the servers is directly linked with the user experience on the website. The users of the website want instant response and for this, you need a server with high responsiveness.  For example, while searching on the internet, you might notice that some websites take more time than others, it is happening because these sites are less responsive and take more time to load a page.

The loading speed of your website also has a huge impact on your ranking on Google. So, having a less responsible server means a low ranking on Google which will be worse for your business. You should ensure the server response time from the hosting provider before making a deal and there is also the possibility that the hosting provider asks for the extra fees for better infrastructure and equipment for your server. When it comes to the user experience and your website ranking, you should go for extra cost because, in the long run, it is worth your money.

Site Backup

You should always be prepared for any mishap or disaster that can happen to your system or equipment in web hosting. The damages are obvious and to avoid any extra damage to your data and information, you need to make a backup to recover all the lost information and data.  While buying the web hosting you should ensure that backup for the data is also included in the services. Most web hosting companies provide backup facilities to the users and in case of disaster, the data and information are automatically restored without any loss.

Make sure that your web hosting provider offers regular backups to avoid any data loss in case of damage to the system.

Email Hosting

Many web hosting providers offer the email account hosting along with the website hosting. Before signing up for any web hosting you must look at the email features that it provides. It will be better if you find the email hosting with the website hosting deal, but if there is no option for the email account hosting then you can use other methods for this. G Suite is a Google service that you can use to host your email on the Google servers. For this service, you have to pay $5 each month.

Reseller Hosting to Save Money

If you have a low budget to start a web hosting then reseller hosting is a good option for you. You can contact any reseller hosting provider and get a good web hosting deal at relatively lower prices. The other option is also available for you which is reselling your web hosting services to a third party if you think it is more than what you need. In this way, you can make some money to manage the cost of web hosting easily. 

Go for an Ala Carte to Save Money

Web hosting companies offer different deals and web hosting packages for their customers. You can choose any of the deals that you think will go well with your business. In some cases when you need only one or two web hosting services and deals contain more services then it is better to go for Ala Carte. You don’t need to pay for the deals. Only pay for the services that you need. So, you have to carefully analyze the prices, like sometimes the package prices are more economical as compared with the Ala Carte. Try to compare different price options for web hosting services.

Look for Different Offers Available

When it comes to selecting the best web hosting deal, you have to search a lot because there are many web hosting alternatives available in the market. When you start searching, you will find that enormous companies are selling web hosting services in the market. Get into the profiles of companies that are offering web hosting services, you can also find the customer’s reviews on the websites of the companies. You can compare the alternatives, once you research the web hosting features that they are offering and it would help you to choose the suitable web hosting for your business.

Web hosting companies usually provide information about the general features of the web hosting on the website. If you want more specific information about the services then it is better to contact the company through the email address or the contact number provided on the website.

Hardware

It is good to ask your host provider about the hardware that they are using. The type of hardware used in web hosting has a lot of impact on website performance. You can ask your host provider questions like, how old is the equipment used for the website hosting? These questions would help to get an idea about the infrastructure and server of web hosting. The new hardware is preferable when it comes to web hosting services. 

Here are different features of web hosting that you also need to consider before selecting any web service.

Scalability

Go for the web hosting that provides the automatic scalability because if your web hosting is not doing it automatically then you have to put a lot of effort into upgrading the system, managing the website traffic and bandwidth, etc. The more scalability your web hosting provider is offering, the more room you have to grow your business. When it comes to online business, you have to look at the bigger picture and think in terms of the future. Compromising on the scalability of the web hosting might work for you now but in the future, it can put you in huge trouble.

Being an online business, you should always think about the growth and expansion of the website. You know that the growth in the online world is very rapid and you should always prepare for it. You should have a vision for your business in mind and select the services accordingly, so when you are in a growing phase, you don’t have to shift to another hosting option as it will waste your efforts and time. 

Data Recovery

As mentioned above, the recovery of data is something crucial for the business to be on the safe side because you might need it anytime. Web hosting providers should provide the automatic recovery of data whenever a disaster happens. The data recovery is a long process and if it is included in the web hosting package then your lot of efforts can be saved.

Control Panel

The control panel is the main feature when it comes to controlling the website. The control panel is a user interface that is offered by the web hosting provider to control the website. The more effective control panel features are; the easier the control of the website.

Take a deep analysis of the control panel that the web hosting provider is offering. Make sure that the control panel is easy to handle because the complex features of the control panel can make your website administrative tasks more difficult.

Tech Support

The web hosting companies also provide tech support to the users by providing an IT team to your IT responsibility at the backend. The team can do tasks like upgrading the system, backup, etc. The IT team is experts provided by the companies that do most of their work at the backend without you even notice and if you are getting into some trouble, you can ask the IT support team for help and they will resolve your issues.

Shared vs Private

There are different types of web hosting available in the market, you have to decide which one you need for your business. Web hosting can be private or shared and it depends on your business needs which cloud hosting would you prefer. In the shared hosting, you have to share your server with another website. On the other side, in private web hosting, you use a personal server for managing the website.

 Private hosting is more expensive as compared with shared hosting. At the initial level shared hosting can be a good option but if you are a big business with more user traffic on your website then I would prefer to go for private hosting.

Subscription Period

Many of the hosting providers insist their users make longer contracts, for example by saying that they would change their pricing structure after 2018. This strategy urges customers to go for longer contracts. I would recommend not making more than 2-year contracts with the companies because technology is changing rapidly and you may need to change your technological specifications after a couple of years.

The companies might offer you a discount if you make a long-term contract but it is not a good option for your business growth.

Conclusion

This article provides a comprehensive guide for selecting the best web hosting for your business. I have mentioned 20 things that you need to consider while buying any web hosting service. Keep in mind that one thing might have worked for someone, but it does not mean it will work for you. You have to consider your business needs to select the best web hosting. I hope this article will help to find the best web hosting service for your business. If you have any experience (good or bad) with web hosting, do share it in the comments section, it might help someone.