How To Choose A Web Host That Works

Any online business is only as good as its weakest service provider, which is many times a third-party web page hosting provider. If you don’t program regularly, these fancy directories and words may seem confusing. When options get too confusing, purchasing at random can be the result. As fun as this may sound, this article will put an end to that overwhelming confusion.
While it’s common for web hosts to offer add-ons with their packages, the actual features and packages vary widely between hosts. When you’re looking at all the options, be sure that what people are offering matches what you’re looking for. For instance, one host can have a lower price advantage, but the feature you need may only be in a package that is higher priced.
Shared Hosting
Find out whether you need shared hosting or a dedicated plan. If your site is very complicated, with a high volume of traffic, shared hosting may not be a good option. If this is the case, then you definitely want to look into going with a dedicated host.
Your domain should be registered outside of the web host. This way you can keep the name in case of a disagreement between your host and you, or a shutdown. Your hosting provider will control the registration of your domain instead of you.
Just like shopping for anything else, making a list of your web host needs before you look is a wise idea. Take an honest look at what are features are essential for your business and then compare what services and features are part of the package from each host you are considering. You will be better able to meet the needs of your business website when you have a detailed list, rather than going just for the cheapest price.
When you choose a hosting service, pay the company on a monthly basis rather than in large lump sums. Because most businesses and even web hosts are unpredictable, you never know what your hosting needs will be in the long term. If your business grows too big for the host or your business closes, you may lose the money you paid, unless the host states otherwise.
Free Hosting
Are you stuck between choosing between a free hosting service and a paid provider? There are many disadvantages that come along with the benefits of free hosting services, including lack of backup services, so make sure you are creating your own site backups. Therefore, if your data is lost and you do not have your own backups, there will be nothing you can do.
Check and see if your host offers the option of having a secure server for your customers. You can make note of your security certificate on the home page of your site. This tells visitors that they can safely make purchases or provide sensitive information through your site portals.
If you are considering different hosts, check whether or not each one offers guarantees for customer satisfaction. If you are not happy with the service you receive during the first 30 days, you should be able to cancel the service and receive a refund. Not every web host is as good as advertised.
Many web hosts rely on other major hosts. They buy a large hosting account, and then hand out smaller pieces of it to other companies for a monthly fee. Find out where your site is going to be hosted and make sure you are getting the lowest price between two services relying on the same servers.
Look for a web hosting that has won lots of awards. This is a fantastic way to determine the quality of the service and support that you will receive from the web host. 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 with many fan awards should definitely be considered.
Hopefully this article has cleared up some of the confusion, and educated you on the industry jargon of website hosting. If you already have a hosting account and are locked into a contract, you can notify your IT department that you are preparing your site for an easy transition.