What would you do if your website was having issues and you could not navigate the control panel to fix your site? It is not uncommon for individuals to design and build sites independently; the ideal website hosting provider can allow them to do so with features and tutorials that are user-friendly. Read the following article and you will learn how to choose the web hosting service that can make keeping up your site much easier.
Determine if your hosting provider offers the ability to run server-side scripts. Free sites often prohibit scripts that generate dynamic content. If you have the need for dynamic scripting pages, your only option may be to find a pay host that is affordable instead.
Which do you need, shared or dedicated hosting? If this is your first website and it’s relatively small, a virtual shared server is probably good for now. If you’re moving a large website which already gets thousands or millions of views, shared probably won’t cut it. A dedicated host may be an optimal choice in these situations.
Target Audience
As you shop for prospective web hosting services, it is in your best interest to go with a company that is headquartered in your target audience’s country. For example, if your target audience is in France, the hosting data center for your site should also be in France.
Lump-sum payments can save you money at a web host, but monthly payments give you more flexibility. Consider monthly payments – what if you need to cancel service sometime down the road? If the host declines, your business expands past them or your account gets closed, you could lose any money already paid.
Figure out how large your website will be within the next year and choose a hosting plan that gives you enough hard drive space. An individual static HTML page should not take much space, but adding videos or pictures can cause your site to grow quickly. Look for a plan that gives you 100MB of space to develop your website in the next year or so.
Some website hosting services will charge you by how much traffic your site gets. Ask your host how your bill will be computed. The formula varies between providers with some charging a flat rate based on amount of traffic, and others charging a varying amount according to usage by month.
Web Host
When selecting a web host, figure out which one will give you in-depth information and data about how many visitors are accessing your site. Get a visitor counter on your site, and compare this number to the statistics given to you by your web host. This type of data allows business owners such as yourself to fine-tune a site to suit the target audience.
Think carefully before switching to a free hosting service. Most free hosts require your site to carry ads. You also lack control over the ads they choose. If you use random ads, your websites reputation will suffer.
Ensure that the web host you choose supports any and all programming languages that your development team uses now, or might use down the road. If your host does not support the languages you currently use, your site will not successfully load from their servers. Also, you want to know any languages you intend to use in the future because you want to ensure that your hosting company will be able to support you down the road as your site grows. Keep in mind that switching hosts can be extremely difficult and time consuming.
It is obvious that each hosting company has its own advantages and packages of features. Use the tips above, to help know what to look for, and which features are most important for your site. Comparing many hosting companies before committing to one will ensure that you find the host that best suits your needs at the best possible price. Good luck in your efforts!