Choosing the Right Web Host the First Time
Choosing your first Web host can be quite a difficult thing, especially because there are so many different options that are available. The simple fact of the matter is, many of these options are simply told to you in order to make the hosting company look as if they were offering you something special. The majority of these options are going to be available on any given hosting service, so you can really overlook that part of the list.
That isn’t to say, however, that there are not some significant differences between the web hosting companies that you may choose. In order to cut through some of the smoke, however, we are going to tell you 4 different things that you should look for in the hosting company which will help you to make a smart decision.
Server Uptime
Almost all hosting companies are going to give you a guarantee of a minimum of 99% uptime. What this means is that your website is going to be available to the World Wide Web at least 99% of the time during any given month.
All this sounds well and good, but there are a few things for you to keep in mind as far as uptime is concerned. First of all, it is very difficult for you to track so if your website happens to go down, it may go down in the middle of the night and you would never know about it.
That is why we always recommend that you look at some actual user reviews in order to find out what the true server uptime is. This can be a rather eye-opening experience.
Data Transfer and Bandwidth
This is also something that is very important as if you do not have enough data transfer and bandwidth, your websites are not going to load quickly or perhaps will not load at all.
Bandwidth is the amount of data that travels through the connection to the Internet at any given time. If you share bandwidth with too many users, this line may get clogged and your website could be sluggish. Web surfers tend to be rather impatient and if the website isn’t loading quickly, they may simply click away to another site.
Data transfer is especially important if you have a busy website or one that is offering large files. This is usually seen in websites that offer video, audio or images. If you are going to be transferring a lot of information to your visitors, you want to make sure that you have the data transfer to accommodate it.
Server Type
Most people are going to start out with a shared hosting service or perhaps purchase a low end reseller account. There may be times, however, whenever you want to look for something that is a little bit more robust.
The next logical step up from a shared server is a virtual Private server. This is a server that is broken into several large chunks and you will own one of those chunks. It will act just like a dedicated server but you will still be sharing bandwidth and data transfer. You will simply be sharing it with fewer people.
A dedicated server is the next step up from a virtual Private server. This is where you own the entire server and do not share any resources with any other users. This is excellent for very busy websites or if you are transferring large files regularly.
Pricing
Most people put this at the top of the list but we are including it at the bottom, why?
Pricing is a concern and you’re going to find a wide variety of prices that are available to you. With a small website, however, you should easily be able to make up the difference of a dollar or two per month.
Pay attention to the pricing and gauge accordingly but make sure that you don’t go with an inferior host that will cost you more money in the long run.
Leave a comment