Many people say that choosing a web host is a rather simple process, but that is only the case if you understand all the different charges. You need to be aware of the fine print and understand the different things that can cause you to pay more money, or in some cases, have your site completely shut down.
This article will show you what to look out for when selecting a hosting company.
Make sure the host you choose has minimal to no downtime. It is frustrating if you try to log on to your site, and the server is down. If you have a business that relies on the internet for sales, this means you will lose a lot of money because your site is not operable.
Though it sounds technical, you need to find out whether the web hosting service you are considering has “blackholed IPs.” If a provider has blackholed portions, that could mean that they do not regulate what kind of businesses are on their server, including porn sites and spammers. If your host has been blackholed, you may have trouble with other networks refusing email from or to your site.
Be aware of what type of storage the web host offers. This is only relevant for certain site owners, though. If you have a site that requires a lot of videos and music, then you need to ensure the host offers the space necessary. Decide how much space you need in advance to ensure you are getting a host that supplies you will just what you need.
If you are getting started with your website, you should look for a web host that allows you to use 30MB of storage space. This is the average size of a new site, but you should expect it to grow as you add more content overtime, at least up to 100MB.
A very important thing to consider when trying to choose a web hosting service is to check how often a hosting providers’ sites are available online. You don’t want to sign up with a hosting service that is constantly causing your website to be down all the time, do you?
You need to take the time to read the reviews that are posted on the internet about the web host you are thinking about using. This will allow you to learn about their customer satisfaction and about if they have good customer support in place. Both things are essential when it comes to a good web host.
It is important when trying to decide what web hosting service to use, to join various forums on the internet to gain better insight as to which providers are good and which providers you should avoid. This is a great place where like-minded people can get together and share their experiences.
If you read or find out that a service as a low up-time, this could be a sign that they are filling their servers with too many websites and cause them to crash often. This means your site will be down regularly and loading your pages will take a lot of time.
If you are environmentally conscious, consider using a green web host. Green web hosts are dedicated to using alternative energy sources, such as wind power, to power their web servers for their hosting. The features and customer service offered to clients are usually no different than those offered by non-green hosts, so you will not need to make any sacrifices for choosing green.
Make sure that you choose a host that has support 24/7. You don’t want to run across a problem or an issue and not be able to get a hold of somebody quickly. This could harm your business or personal en devours. Once you’ve picked a host, try calling them at an odd hour to see is support service is available.
Weigh your web host’s customer reviews in your decision. Customer satisfaction is the best way to tell how well a host performs. You can get an ideal of how their customer support operates and performs, how manageable their downtime is or any amount of other information. Do not make this your only deciding factor, as sometimes, less scrupulous companies will self-create customer reviews.
When choosing your web hosting service, do not rely on someone’s recommendation, or only on the info you’ve read online. Most services have affiliate programs and the people recommending the service may not have any direct experience with it. You should take more than recommendations into consideration when choosing your web host.
You need to find a host that offers 24/7 customer support. Issues can arise at any hour of the day and you need to work with a web host that will be able to help you right away so that your site works the way that it is supposed to work.
You should avoid any downtime when switching to a new host. You can do this by keeping your old account and uploading your site to a new one. Change your DNS settings once your site is successfully uploaded to the new server so your domain name redirects to the new server once everything is ready.
You should know that not all web hosting services support Flash plug in. Using Flash on your site allows you to create a more interactive experience for your visitors, for instance with videos, games and new design possibilities. If you are not planning on using Flash, this is not a feature you should worry about.
If you want to use a shopping cart software, make sure it is compatible with your web host. A good web host should support certain features such as Web scripting, dynamic content or executable files. These features will allow you to add different ways for your visitors to interact with your website, for instance by leaving feedback.
As you are now aware after reading the article above, choosing a web host is not always cut and dry. There are many elements that make up a web hosting service and if you are not aware of these things, you could end up paying a lot more money.
Apply the advice from this article so you are more confident in selecting a host provider.
