When it comes to setting up a new website or blog, there are two things you need to get started…a domain name and website hosting.
While most domain name companies offer similar services, and usually similar pricing, website hosting is a whole different arena.
You’ll find not all website hosting companies are the same, and not all web hosting packages are the same, and unfortunately for many people that choose the wrong hosting service at the start is not always easy to change providers later, so getting it right from the start is a good thing.
This is a quick guide to help you choose the right hosting.
What to look for in a hosting company.
This will party depend on what you plan on doing with your site (eg, blogging, affiliate marketing, or small business website), however there are some key factors that every budding website owner should look for in a hosting provider.
- Speed and Connectivity
- Amount of Storage
- Bandwidth limits
- Email accounts
- cPanel access
- One-Click application installation
- CDN (Content Delivery Network availability
- Support Team & General Technical Support
- Affordable pricing
- Number of MySql Databases and PHP version
- Add-on Domain availability
- Uptime guarantee
Speed and connectivity
The load time of a website is becoming more important all the time, particularly when website owners want to add videos, sliders, and other elements that might put more resources on the server, slowing the site down.
Suffering even a slight bit of downtime or slowdown in loading speed can not only affect your visitors experience, but also your rankings overall. Choosing a hosting provider that hosts there servers closer to your proximity can make that little bit of difference.
Amount of Storage
The amount of space your hosting plan provides can greatly affect your website in the long term. Your site might not be huge to start with and use little hosting space, but as you grow the site, upload more content such as images, video, backup plugins, etc you’ll start filling your hosting space rapidly. Only choose hosting providers that after at least 100GB on their plans as this will ensure you plenty of room to grow. Some hosting providers even offer unlimited hosting even on their smallest plans, making it very affordable and convenient for every size site.
Bandwidth Limit
Some hosting providers have bandwidth limitations, which means that while it may not affect small sites with little traffic, if you are running plugins or videos on your site that need to load on demand, or have a lot of visitors you could find yourself reaching your bandwidth quota, which could cause downtime on your website for possibly even days.
Try and find a hosting provider that offers unlimited bandwidth.
Email Accounts
Most hosting plans provide email accounts and storage as part of their plan. Before signing up for hosting think about how many email accounts you might require and ensure they provide for this.
cPanel Access
Most good hosting providers offer a cPanel, allowing you to easily access the backend of your hosting area to set up email accounts, upload files, webmail access, creating databases for websites, adjust your PHP version and much more. Ensure before signing up to a hosting provider that they offer a Cpanel with your plan.
One-Click Application install
For those just starting out on their website , particularly if you are planning on running a WordPress site, the One Click installation offers by many hosting companies means you can simply click a button and within a minute your WordPress account is installed without having to install anything, know how to create a database or anything else technical. You’ll find the One Click Installation covers a range of popular installations.
CDN (Content Delivery Network)
Adding CDN functionality has two main functions…the first to speed up your loading time, but also to ensure that if your hosting does go offline your website still appears and functions fine for a period of time, reducing any downtime. Some providers offer this as a service, but if they don’t, check out CloudFlare.com for free CDN service.
Support Team
Hosting Support comes in handy and you never know when you might need to talk to an expert. Check to ensure the hosting company offers 24/7 technical support, and most importantly if they offer chat support to save you waiting long periods on the phone.
Affordable Pricing
Website pricing can vary quite a bit, but you’ll find major hosting providers such as HostGator, BlueHost Hosting or HostEasy (in Australia) offer affordable hosting plans as they have large volumes of clients, allowing them to split and absorb the costs. You’ll find the Shared hosting plans are usually very affordable, and while they may not always be as quick as VPS (Virtual Private Server) hosting plans, you’ll find them still very reliable for the average size site or blog.
MySQL Databases and PHP
Your MySQL databases are required if you are running any content managed platform that requires a database such as WordPress. Ensure your hosting provider offers a few MySQL databases as standard in case you need to expand or want to host other sites at any stage.
PHP is also required to run a database site, so check that your hosting provider offers a minimum of PHP 6.5 at least, as most WordPress themes now prefer version 7.0 to ensure all functions work fine.
Add-on Domains
Some hosting plans will allow you to split your hosting plan into multiple accounts by adding additional domains. This gives you seperate hosting space and email accounts for each domain without having to pay multiple hosting accounts. A little advice if doing this, ensure your websites are all well maintained, because if one site happens to get hacked usually any other site on the same account will also get hacked!
Uptime Guarantee
Ensure your hosting plan offers an uptime guarantee. Most good providers offer either a 95 – 99% uptime, ensuring they are liable for any downtime. You want to be are your site or blog is up as much as possible, so this is essential.
Follow these tips and you should find a good reliable hosting provider that offers a good price, service, and room to grow your online success!
