Finding the right web hosting company that provides superb service and yet offering the service at an affordable price probably is not an easy task. Especially if you are a new guy in the web building field and have limited experience in choosing web hosting. However, there are several steps you can take that hopefully will help you weed out the bad hosting providers and find the best one for you.
Check their support response time
This is probably the most crucial factor when choosing your web hosting provider. There is no perfect web hosting, you will for sure face some technical problems. In this case, you will need to be able to contact your web hosting provider anytime during the day. The faster they can handle the problems the sooner your website will be running normally again. So make sure they can be contacted anytime and their response must be excellent.
Send an email or two to the web hosting company before you decide to use their service. Take note of how fast they respond to your email. You can ask whatever you want on this step since your purpose is just to measure their response time. If there is no phone number on their website (bad sign), ask them whether they provide phone support. Some web hosting companies also provide online chat support. Try to contact them (through email, chat line, and phone call) during non-working hours. Let’s say at 2 AM. A reliable hosting provider usually offers 24 hours customer support via online chat or even better phone line.
Check their server speed
It is important for you to ensure your website can load fast since a slow loading website surely will make your visitors away. No one wants to wait, so it is very important to ensure your site loads fast. Fast loading is a very critical factor you must consider when choosing your web hosting.
Do they have their own server?
Many web hosting providers do not run their own servers. In many cases, they just buy servers from other web hosting companies. Make sure your web hosting company has its own server since you will get a faster and better response anytime you face any problems with your hosting. If they do not run their own server, all problems will be redirected to the real hosting company that has the server. It will require more time to handle the problems, and you don’t want it, right?
Check their hosting features
If you plan or already have a website using certain programming languages such as PHP, asp, or other languages, make sure the web hosting support and can provide the features you need. If your website requires a database make sure the server provides Mysql or other databases. Most standard hostings have these features, however, you should make sure that they are available.
How much Space and Bandwidth you need?
Every website requires different spaces and bandwidth, depending on the website size and traffics. Most hosting companies provide this information on their hosting packages. Make sure you get enough space and bandwidth for your site. You also need to consider that you will probably need more space and bandwidth in the future once your website grows. Make sure your hosting can support your website growth.
Do they support multiple domains?
Find out whether the hosting plan you choose supports multiple domains or just one domain hosting. Maybe you only need to host one website/domain for the first time, however, when your business grows probably you want to build another website. In this case, if your web hosting plan supports multiple domains, you can save money since you don’t have to buy another hosting service. Some hosting providers will charge you to host another domain, ask about it first and make sure you will not get charged to host your other domain on your server.
Choosing the right web hosting is very crucial for your website’s success. Choose the wrong one can damage your business. Make sure you do your research before you buy your web hosting service.