7 Aspects to Consider When Choosing a Web Hosting Provider

7 Ways to Ensure Content is of High Quality

When creating a website, one of the most crucial first steps is choosing a reliable web hosting provider. It’s what will determine the success of the site, how protected it will be from cyber attacks, how much traffic it can handle, and more.

It’s expected that by 2025, the web hosting services market will grow at an annual rate of 13.25%. Everyone wants in on that, and customers are left overwhelmed by the sheer number of choices among the different web hosting providers.

To make the choice easier, take a look at the seven most important aspects to consider before opting for a specific provider.

Choose the Type of Hosting Provider That You Need

There are a few different types of web hosting providers, and customers choose them based on their specific needs. The most popular types include:

Shared hosting
VPS hosting
Dedicated Hosting

Shared Hosting

As the name would suggest, shared hosting means that several different websites are hosted on the same server. This is often the top choice for those building their own website for the very first time, and for businesses that don’t expect too much traffic.

It’s the cheapest option, typically costing somewhere between $3 and $10 a month. The problem is that once the business starts growing and web traffic increases, it’s difficult to scale with a shared web hosting provider.

VPS Hosting

VPS hosting falls somewhere between shared and dedicated hosting. Like with shared hosting, VPS customers still share a single server, but they’re given a dedicated part of the computing resources. The price will depend on the CPU and RAM.

Dedicated Hosting

Dedicated hosting is much more expensive, but it’s perfect for growing businesses with higher website traffic. Each customer is given their own server, and they get the most out of server resources, and the highest levels of security.

Check the Site Backup

It’s crucial to check what kind of backup a web hosting provider offers. Even with the best software, hardware, and security systems, computers can fail, hackers can find their way around firewalls, and a website can crash.

A good web hosting provider will offer automatic, regular, full site backups. Customers should be able to back up their site manually as well, and easily restore their backup files by themselves.

24/7 Support

While almost every single web hosting provider will state they have an omnichannel presence and constant 24/7 support, this isn’t always the case, and customers don’t find out about it until it’s too late.

The easiest way to check whether a provider offers around-the-clock support is to read the reviews and do some online research.

Server Response Speed

Website speed is one of the more important factors that can affect a site’s ranking on Google and other search engines. It also affects website traffic, since the longer it takes for a website to load, the more likely the visitors will abandon the page.

Before subscribing to a web hosting provider, all customers should check the server response speed. If the information isn’t available, the price could be a telltale sign of how responsive a server is. The higher the cost, the more likely it is for a server to have a better response speed.

Security Is Key

43% of all cyberattacks target small businesses. A web hosting provider should follow the latest protocols to ensure a website’s security. It should offer a secure infrastructure, provide regular updates, and ensure security patches.

There are a few additional steps that customers should take to ensure better safety of their websites. Primarily, using a strong, unique password is of utmost importance.

Using a secure VPN every single time when they’re accessing their website and making changes is also crucial. A VPN will ensure that no one can intercept the connection, monitor the activity on the website, nor break into it.

Consider the Price

Depending on the necessary features, the prices of web hosting providers will vary greatly. But it’s important to check the renewal fees. It’s an industry standard to offer promotional fees at first, but then to raise the prices when it comes time to renew the contract.

Potential for Growth

Even though many customers don’t expect a lot of website traffic when they first choose a web hosting provider, as a business grows, so will its traffic.

It’s essential to choose a provider that allows a business to scale up (and down) as needed. Otherwise, customers will have to change their providers every couple of years.

Conclusion

It’s important to be careful when choosing a web hosting provider and to consider all the offered features, security measures, scalability potential, and price.

Harold Kilpatrick

Harold Kilpatrick is a cyber security consultant, freelance blogger and marketing manager. He is currently working on a cyber security campaign to raise awareness around the threats that businesses and individuals can face online.

7 Aspects to Consider When Choosing a Web Hosting Provider