How To Select a Website Hosting Provider?

What To Look in Web Hosting Company?

Starting a new business online or reinventing yourself. A very important aspect of a website is its hosting, basically like a place for online store on the internet. And like any other business decision, you have a ton of options when it comes hosting service provider; to allocate the space on the web server for your website.

So, when you might ask yourself "What should I consider before selecting a hosting service provider?" for it to be the most economical, reliable and right allocation of resources. We have crafted a list of various factors to consider before choosing the best hosting service company; for your business website.

Here you go:

Understand the type of hosting you require for your business, a crucial factor before understanding what should a web hosting provider should offer.

Well, this is the primary thing, website hosting is the amount of space allocated on a server for your website. It can be a shared, dedicated, VPS and reseller; which is differentiated by the kind of technology used for the server. The level of management provided and the additional services on offer. 

Just like various factors impact the success of your offline workspace, in the online world. Different type of website hosting impacts the website and user experience. The website represents your brand, for many businesses, it is also a platform to yield business leads and sales. Hence you need a good website hosting service provider to keep your website loading quickly and reliably for your visitors.

Shared Hosting:

As the name suggest, shared hosting is where you share a server with other websites. Where all domains share the same server resources, such as RAM (Random Access Memory) and CPU (Central Processing Unit). 

Pros

• Cheapest Option
• Require no technical assistance
• A great option available for an entry-level website hosting which many small business owners, community group, or people desire to start your blog.

Cons

• Less security
• Less control over the website

VPS hosting:

VPS or Virtual Private Server Hosting is an ultimate middle ground between a shared hosting and a dedicated hosting. VPS allows each website is hosted within its own space on the server, though it still shares a physical server with other users. 

Pros

• More scope for customization
• More storage 

Cons

• Ability to handle the major high traffic spikes
• The website can get affected by the other sites on the server.

Dedicated Server Hosting:

A dedicated hosting plan is a great option for the websites that expect high traffic and level of security as it allows website owners the most control over the server that their website is stored on because the server is exclusively rented by you and your website is the only one stored on it.

Pros

• Full root and admin access
• Control to everything from your operating system
• Control over security

Cons

• Expensive Option
• A high level of technical expertise required

Cloud Hosting:

Cloud hosting, a web hosting which uses different servers to balance the load and maximum uptime while it means many computers working together, running applications using combined computing resources. 

• Pros 
• The hosting solution works via a network and enables companies to consume the computing resource like a utility.
• It allows users to employ as many resources without doing capital investment on their computing infrastructure. 
• The resources that are being used are spread across several servers, reducing the chance of any downtime due to a server malfunction.

Cons

• The cost of data recovery outweighs the benefits if you are not dependent on uptime and instant recovery.
• If the internet connection is lost on the organisation side or cloud side, you won't have access to any of your information.

Managed hosting:

You will find many hosting packages in your search for the one in the market to be managed one. Yes, a hosting provider managing your system and offering you with technical services such as hardware and software setup and configuration, maintenance, hardware replacement, technical support, patching, updating and monitoring. 

Pros

• The day-to-day management of the hardware, operating systems and standardised applications is taken care of by the provider.
• It is one of the time-saving ways to have a website hosting.
• You do not require a high level of technical skills.

Cons

• The outsourcing limits you in terms of security.

Colocation:

A data centre facility in which a business can rent space for servers and other computing hardware. This co-located centre provides the power, bandwidth, IP address and cooling systems that your server requires in rented racks and cabinets.

Pros:

• Access to higher levels of bandwidth than a normal office server room at a much lower cost.

Cons:

• Technical skills will be required as you're left to your own devices (literally) and will be expected to take care of everything including the hardware, software and services.

Which website hosting service provider is best for you?

Apart from the type of plan you think is best suited for your website and business, there are many website service providers to choose from as well as offering distinct plans. Each plan caters to the specifications of different groups and realizing what are your needs from a website will help you ensure that you're choosing the right plan for you and your business. You should consider a website hosting service provider who:

Had a strong reputation in the industry: Look for reviews by actual customers, as you have already evaluated which type of hosting is best suited for your company type, you must go through the reviews by brands who are similar to your brand, like say a small business, or a e-commerce brand, etc.

They offer a variety of plans: different hosting packages with room to grow is essential especially if you have big dreams for your brand and you aim to grow. You may at some point want to upgrade to VPS hosting, cloud hosting and possible even a dedicated hosting, so make sure they have these plans.

Customer Service: For every brand online, it is essential that the website is available and efficient for users. In a scenario where you cannot risk disappointing the users with your website, a constant 24/7 customer service by the web hosting service provider should be a priority.

The right price: Even though the web hosting service provider industry is a competitive one, there are many brands which have gained the reputation and in search, make sure you compare prices of different plans by different providers to find a plan that is worth it.

A simple and intuitive account interface: Be it you or your technical team which is managing the hosting, an intuitive interface with all the web management tasks allows the domain name management, setting up redirects, managing your SSL, managing your domains= email addresses, adding new applications or databases to your website, etc.

Choose Your Web Host who offers you these services and of course some tutorials to get you started and security assurance won't hurt. So, get started!