Things You Should Know Before Choosing a Web Hosting Service

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Its 2am and you’ve spent the last three days working on your site design, creating content, and tweaking your home page. Now that you’ve got everything ready, it’s time to choose a web hosting service for your domain. With a plethora of choices available today – how do you know which one is right for your business?

How a Web Hosting Service Works

Nowadays, it’s important for businesses to have their own site hosted in the internet. Things like quality service, good marketing, and availability will separate you from the rest of the competition. No matter how big or small your organization is – you need a hosted website to establish your name and credibility in the industry.

A web host is a business that provides server space for an individual or organizations’ websites. It makes the hosted website available via the World Wide Web. A web hosting company will also provide connectivity, help run programs, create databases and provide a data center space. With a good web hosting service your website can function more efficiently.

 Web Hosting and Domain Names

People often get these two interchanged. To clear the confusion – a domain name is similar to your home address while a web host is the piece of land where your house (website) is built. Domain names are used for one or more IP addresses. They end in suffixes such as com, edu, gov, org, net, etc….

Types of Web Hosting

There are many types of web hosting. The challenge here is finding the right one that will fit your budget and business needs. But invariably, the most important thing to consider when choosing the type of web hosting is the server speed – as this has the biggest impact in your website’s overall functionality.

The following are the different types of web hosting:

Shared Hosting – This hosting plan is suitable for websites which needs minimal web space and whose primary goal is to target a specific audience. Shared hosting is used by 95% of websites on the internet and is cheaper compared to other hosting services.

 Dedicated Hosting – This hosting plan is great for powerful websites who have high traffic and lots of visitors. Companies who choose dedicated hosting have more security and more control over the site’s server. This is also the most expensive type of hosting plans – perfect for established websites with steady income streams.

VPS Hosting – This hosting plan is perfect for websites that need to setup their servers in a particular way. Just like dedicated hosting, this service is best used by websites with high traffic since it’s quite expensive. In this service, a website rents an entire server for itself. Because it doesn’t share with anyone else – files in these websites are more secure.

Cloud Hosting – This hosting plan is best for websites of small business who have limited needs and budget. A cloud hosting can reduce major IT costs by outsourcing maintenance of hardware and software. It’s the perfect solution for small businesses that need to save more money from IT operations and software updates. What makes cloud hosting different from other hosting services is its ability not to rely on servers and hardwares perform functions for a website.

Guidelines in Choosing the Right Web Hosting Service for your Business

 Buy a Service According To Your Hosting Needs

Depending on the kind of website you are building, you should get a service that will suit your needs. If you’re not sure what’s right for your business, you can check out these web host customer testimonials by AWA webmasters. These reviews will help you decide which web hosting service fits your needs. It will help you narrow down all the best web hosting services out there so you can choose the right one for your business.

Check for Server Reliability

A good web hosting service should operate on a powerful server with stable connection 24/7.  How would you know your web host uptime info? Aside from reading customer review, you can also use uptime monitor tools to know which web host metrics to explore.

Compare Prices

Some companies simply look at the price as the deciding factor in choosing their hosting provider. However, this shouldn’t be the case. Grabbing the cheapest deal isn’t always the best idea – more importantly if you’re using the site for your online business.

Scalability

And lastly, you have to consider a web hosting that will help you for your future plans. Choose a web host provider that will meet your needs two to five years from now. To make the most out of your purchase consider asking the following questions to your web host service provider:

  • What is your service’s average monthly uptime?
  • What types of e-commerce features are included in your plans?
  • What are the limitations of your unlimited hosting plan?
  • How do you handle personal data – and what is your privacy policy?
  • How do you manage security and server back-up protocols?
  • If I’m going to buy a shared hosting plan, what is the maximum number of clients I can assign to each server?

Choosing the best web host for your organization can be a daunting task. There are many web hosting services out there, and you have to dig through their features, compare prices and read reviews to find the one best for your business. When you’re armed with all these knowledge, you can now make an informed decision to make your best purchase.

Armela Escalona
Armela Escalona is a blogger, freelance writer, and content marketer. Her works have been published in various blogs, websites and magazines on the web. Find her on Twitter @ArmelaE.