If you’re in the process of deciding which hosting provider then you’ve come to the right place, we cover the basics of what to look for in a hosting company and hopefully ensure your hosting experience is a good one.
We asked around to find out what was the most important thing to get from a hosting package by the average web design/creator, we put together a shortlist of the results and to say the least many of the results were a complete surprise to both me and the team.
$$ The Price
Cheap web space what’s the catch? There is nothing wrong in looking around for a good price, but remember generally the cheaper the web hosting, the less you might actually get in terms of quality of service, this can include speed, bandwidth ( as very cheap hosting might include bandwidth limits and additional costs if exceeded)
Be prepared to pay a fair price and get exactly what you’re looking for rather than saving money and compromising on what you need, it may seem like a saving and it will be initially, but in the long term you might end up having to spend more money when the package does not suit your needs.
After Sales Support
Having a decent support service after you’ve paid for your hosting package is vital, especially if you are in the process of setting up your very first website
It really makes no difference as to the size of the hosting company when it comes to after sales support, its all a question of how much the company wants to invest in this side of the business, one feature worth looking for though is live chat.
Reliability
Your could have the best website in the world, lots of potential visitors, but if your website is offline for any length of time it’s going to be customers lost, check with them before hand to ascertain which hosting provider has the least downtime for their customers websites, it’s better to email them to as this if possible as then you will have a record of their response.
Extras, MYSQL etc
Having extras such as MySQL or scripted installs may not seem like such as big thing when your starting out, but if you have any plans to expand and develop your website scripted installs can save lots of time, plus if you’re going to create a blog or dynamic website then having a backend database today such as MySQL is what you will need, if you choose an ISP that does not have or support this no matter how cheap they are it could be a really big mistake.
How easy to use
Remember to check, how easy the admin interface and everything else is to use, when deciding on which hosting provider, it can make things very difficult for yourself, particularly if your new to web hosting services otherwise.
Why UNIX hosting might be easier for you
Who would pick UNIX for web hosting? Many people particularly newbie’s may have no idea of the difference, or may assume that they need to use Windows as that is what they are familiar with. One point to think about is whatever you use, you will not see the actual server level unless you opt to manage the server yourself. Choose Windows or UNIX based on what you will actually be running on the site, by this I mean, if you want to run a blog or dynamic website, then use PHP & MySql with UNIX, or ASP with Windows. Of course at the end of the day it’s totally your decision, but do check around and see which one is right for you, I originally started out with Windows, but moved to UNIX for my web hosting simply due to PHP and MySQL being easier for me.
Renewing hosting and domains automatically
Of course your website could be the next latest and greatest thing, but in case it all goes wrong, or you simply move on to your next project, are you aware that your chosen website hosting company could be entitled to simply renew your hosting and charge you without notification? I had this exact thing happen when I setup a website, never touched it again and 11 months later got a charge on my credit card, as it turns out the hosting companies terms and conditions stated I had to contact them 4 weeks before the hosting came up for renewal or I would automatically be charged, so be warned.
Expanding your web empire
Starting a website costs can be kept to a minimum, but what if your website begins to grow very quickly and the traffic increases at a rapid rate, your current hosting package just might not be enough, for example you might find as your probably on a shared server the extra traffic load might can cause slow downs for your visitors as the server struggles to cope, thinking about this now and ask how easy it would be to upgrade if necessary.
Email accounts
If you’re setting up a website make sure you use the email provided, it will be associated to the domain name and it makes your website look much more professional than using one of the free services.
What would you rather use..
Webmaster@computer-adviser.com or webmaster2221@hotmail.com, the first appears much more professional, rather than using an address, generally associated to home users.
Finding which web provider is right for you; other considerations
computer adviser which hosting provider article