Web Hosting 101: All You Need To Know
Suppose you purchase a hosting service with a complicated, unfriendly control panel. If you need to fix a problem on your website, you might not be able to figure out which controls you need to access or where on the panel they’re located. Then what? Nowadays, there are many hosts available for people who don’t understand tech too well. But how do you select the right company?
It goes without saying that you should avoid web hosts that have continual outages. If a provider has a history of frequent and lengthy outages, the host may be incapable of meeting your needs. This can also be an indication of an unprofessional company.
Be wary of hosting packages that tout unlimited services. For example, unlimited space plans often include fine print on the kinds of files that that space will support. Unlimited bandwidth claims may simply mean a tiered rate structure. Review your contract carefully, consider different kinds of plans and remember that there is, generally, no such thing as unlimited features.
If you are on a budget, consider using website hosting that offers free service. Free hosting sites have certain drawbacks. You usually have to put up with ads on the top of your web pages, and usually have very limited storage space. If you need to maintain a professional look for your website, though, avoid this kind of web page hosting.
Consider companies that use a cPanel. A cPanels will make it simple to add applications on your website, and it only takes a few clicks of your computer mouse. The majority of these applications offer high functionality and user-friendly navigation. A cPanel also streamlines the way you manage your site.
Current Customers
Find a way, such as message boards or forums, to discuss a potential web host with its current customers. Having the ability to ask questions to address any concerns you have can assist you in eliminating companies that don’t meet the needs you require. You can also determine if these companies have earned your confidence during these discussions. Current customers are the best way to gauge the quality of a host’s services.
A good web host should have a good reputation. Read reviews and articles on web hosts, and you will begin to see that some hosts have a reputation in their industry, that can offer you a sense of trust in doing business with them. Companies that do not give much of an effort or don’t fulfill the claims they make, should be easy to spot as well.
The company you choose should support all programming languages that your business uses, or plans to use. Not having this proper amount of support for all your languages means, you won’t have the ability to launch your own site. Also, if you choose to utilize some other type of programming language sometime in the future which isn’t supported, it’s likely your web host can’t support your site. Changing web hosts can be a tedious process, so choose wisely the first time.
If you find that your business is growing, you should look at switching to a web host that provides you with a dedicated server. This type of server allows you to have more storage space, bandwidth and security. With all of this extra power, you can more efficiently tailor to the needs of your customers. Keep in mind that a happy customer is one that will probably come back.
If your computer needs a dial up connection to get on the web, you should not host your own site. If you want your site to be up and running at all times, it needs a secure, fast connection to the Internet. If this isn’t the case, you will have times where your site will be offline.
As described here, every web host has its own packages of benefits and features. Follow these tips to learn which features are essential for your site. By comparing different companies, you will be able to find a hosting provider that gives you features for a good price, which will be good for your financial bottom line. Perfect!