Deciding which web hosting company to choose can be daunting.
With a lot of companies promising at least 99 percent uptime, excellent support, and unlimited resources, there has to be a way to cut through the slack and make an informed decision, right?
So what do you need to look for when picking a hosting provider for your business? In this post, we'll discuss the eight factors that you need to consider:
Customer Service
If for some unknown reason your website goes down, can you contact someone ‒ especially a live person ‒ over the phone? Aside from that, will they figure out what’s wrong and fix it? Or provide you with a timeline when you'll get your site back at the very least? Is the company staffed 24/7? Do they outsource their support team?
Before deciding to work with a hosting company, see if there are various ways to contact them whenever you need support via email, chat, toll-free phone, and so on.
Eventually, you'll find out that not all hosts are created equal. Some focus on giving the best support crew to their clients, while others think of it only as an afterthought. Steer away from the latter.
Features and Add-ons
Before choosing a web hosting company, ask yourself these questions: What makes this hosting extra special? What kind of benefits and advantages do they provide so that they can make your site more compelling and attractive?Whether its energy-saving practices, several data centers, and additional features like free domain privacy, there are hosting companies that will always tend to offer more.
So if you find something that you need or you find important, then it's already a good sign that you should be working with that company.
Price
Price is probably the first aspect that we will look at first when hosting a reputable hosting provider. However, note it shouldn't always be the main deciding factor.An in-house support team and high-quality hardware will always cost you a lot of money. So, if you go with a hosting company that charges you only for 2 dollars a month, then chances are, you won't likely have these features.
Carefully review what each web hosting provides, and start comparing the prices afterwards. Check out the Hostinger coupon code for the best web hosting deals.
Server Reliability
This is probably one of the most important factors that you must consider when selecting a web hosting provider. After all, you don't want your website to go down even for a short period.You must, therefore, pick a web host that has a powerful server with a stable network connection. That's why it's highly recommended that you select a web host with at least 99.5 per cent or more uptime score.
Anything below that is unreliable, and therefore unsuitable for website hosting.
Website Functionality
A site’s functionality largely depends on the software being used. It helps determine:- The different ways the content is presented to the user
- How the content is kept updated and fresh
- The various features it offers
When selecting a web host, see to it that the provider can support the applications, scripts, and software that your website will be utilizing.
Customer Reviews
Customer reviews are something that you need to be a little creative on as you do your research on a particular web hosting company, Ubokia provides informative reviews.Look them up on Twitter or Facebook and see what their customers are saying about them.
Is it convenient to contact their support? What is their average time on responding whenever you contact them for a ticket? When they come across a problem, what's their immediate course of action?
In fact, this is one of the advantages of social media ‒ you can ask a question about a company, and you're more likely to receive answers.
Availability of Site Backups
If you're running a site, there's a possibility that your website will crash and become inaccessible for users. There could be several reasons behind a crash.It’s possible that a hacker might have damaged your whole database. Once you have this problem, it's crucial to have at least a site back-up so that it's possible to restore your site.
Another reason websites crash is that you're creating code customizations and then you've accidentally deleted or added a code with errors and you don't know how to correct it.
Here are some questions that you can ask your web hosting provider before finalizing with them:
- Do you regularly do automatic backups?
- In the admin control panel, do you have options for site backups?
- Are there options for a manual site backup?
- Do you provide plug-ins for site backup?
- Do you assist in restoring a site backup?
Website Speed
Having a quick-loading site will mean more leads, customers, and profit.Speed matters. People love speed, and they can't get enough of it. Most of them are searching for answers quickly, and if you can't give that to them instantly, they'll move on to your competitors.
If you have a slow loading site, your online business will suffer. Why? Because you could be potentially losing out sales and conversions.
A fast-loading site means better user experience. It means more customers are happy, more people will sign up for your email list, sharing your content, and trusting your business.
