How To Choose A Web Host – Web Hosting Guide

For bloggers, developers, influencers, and small business owners, choosing a hosting company is difficult, especially when we have so many options to choose from–ranging from affordable to way too expensive. If done right, you can rest assured that you’ll have a hosting provider who can be reached over a chat, call, or email. After all, your host provider is paid to deliver your website’s content to users.
If you’re about to launch a WordPress website or have already launched one and need to find a hosting company but don’t know where to start and what to look for, we have got you covered. In this guide, we’ll discuss what to look for in a hosting company so that you can save your time and channelize it into your business.

1. Decide which type of hosting company you need.

Before you start to look for a hosting provider, consider what exactly you want from them. There are different types of hosting:

• Shared Hosting – In shared hosting, several customers and websites share the same server. One physical server stores all site files and split amongst hundreds or, for that matter, thousands of website owners. It’s a solid option for small business owners with a limited budget.
• Virtual Private Server Hosting – Storage of all site files are on a virtual private server and bifurcated amongst 20 website owners. This type of hosting is ideal for e-commerce websites or websites anticipating growth in the future.
• Cloud Hosting – Quite similar to VPS hosting, cloud hosting has endless resources. This type of hosting is for highly trafficked websites.
• Dedicated Hosting – In this type, you rent one physical server and store all of your site’s files. Here you control the server’s hardware without having to worry about anyone else. This type of hosting is expensive and is only for established companies.

2. Consider Built-in security Features

Everyone, including you, works hard to build their website, publish engaging content, and drive traffic to it. It would be totally unfair and ridiculous to lose all of this because of a distributed denial-of-service attack or a hack.

Before choosing a hosting provider, look for the following built-in security features :

• Offsite backup solutions and site restoration in case of security breach or crash.
• Premium SSL certificates to protect the financial information of your customer or clients.
• WordPress experts to help with any issue.
• Malware scanning and removal, security patches and updates, and site clean-ups in case your website is hacked.

3. Don’t forget to check the customer support a hosting company offers

Operating a WordPress account will never come without any hurdles. Even if you have years of experience, you can always get into an issue you can’t solve by yourself. That’s where customer support services play a crucial role. Make sure your hosting company offers the following:

• Availability – The foremost thing is the availability of customer service. Since a website runs 24/7, choose a provider who can match your timings.
• Ways to contact – Always available executives means nothing if you can’t reach them on time. While choosing a hosting company, closely analyze the methods of contact a company provides.
• Additional Training Services – Though it’s not a mandatory requirement as training has not a lot to do with customer support, but this is an extra mile you can cross for added security. Training can be one to one sessions, training webinars, videos, and on-site training.

4. Know about Domain Name Registrations

Not every hosting company will let you register your site’s domain name with them. So if you chose a company that doesn’t have this feature, you would have to buy and register your domain name with a third-party company.

After this, you have to carry out the process of directing your site’s name to your hosting provider. But some providers help with this complicating process–but know it may not be every time. So if you want efficiency, you can choose a company that lets you to register your domain name as a part of their hosting plan.

5. Find out the ability to add domain names

When you launch your website in the beginning, you may have one domain name, but as your company grows, you may have another subdomain name to keep things smooth.
While researching for host providers, pay attention to whether you can add domains or not.

6. Check for Guarantees

Every reputable company will give you the option to cancel subscriptions any moment you are not happy with their service. Some even give 30 or 90 days money-back guarantee. On the other hand, if decide to switch hosts after the completion of your contract, it should be hassle-free. Some web host providers even help you to make the transfer, so you don’t have to face the risk of your site going down.

What to avoid while choosing a Web Hosting Company?

• Choosing a free hosting account – Such accounts can work for someone who is launching the website for hobbies or posting personal blogs. But for professional websites, they’re a poor choice.
• Not considering Customer Reviews – Always check customer reviews no matter how good a hosting company is. If it cannot satisfy its customers, it’s of no use to you. Look for reviews related to the service you want to use and consider everything.
• Signing up based on the price – Some owners with a tight budget sign up for the first deal they see only because of its price. This may seem like a steal, but this can lead to surprise expenses when you realize it isn’t the service you were looking for, this plan has way too restrictions, or the customer support is unsatisfactory. Review a lot of options before signing up.

Final Thoughts

Knowing which web hosting company to choose could be tricky but not as hard as you may think. As long as you know what works for you, it’s actually a breeze. While doing so, keep in mind the tips mentioned above and begin your journey to a successful WordPress website owner.