Choosing a web hosting company is not a simple task these days. It might look like thousands have launched over the last few years, and that's likely accurate. With all of the web hosts to sift through, most business owners don't know where to turn.
For those of you who don't spend your life on online, here are a few tips for finding the best web host for your circumstances.
1. How long have they been around? A company that started a month ago may have the best intentions, however they haven't ironed out the issues that will arise yet. No matter how much knowledge their staff have, until the business has been operating for a while, things won't run as smoothly as you may need.
2. Are they actually the hosting provider, or are they just a reseller? If they are a reseller, they can only offer a certain amount of support. All problems have to get passed to them, then to the actual provider, and the response is then passed back down to you through the same route. This means that support takes longer.
3. Do they offer a guarantee? All reputable web hosts have some sort of guarantee.
4. If you're investing in shared hosting, which you probably are, how many sites to they usually host on one web server? If they have too many, then your website will load slowly. If you're running a website that gets lots of traffic, you should avoid shared hosting completely and invest in a dedicated server.
5. Do they offer all of the features that your site needs? If you plan to host many domains on one server, but they don't allow add-on domains, then you have a problem. You need to specify whether you want a Linux or Windows server, as well. There are lots of potential variables, so it's best to speak to the web host about your specific needs.
6. Do they offer 24-7 tech support? Are they available by telephone? Some web hosts charge extra for telephone tech support, so if you don't have an IT staff to handle any issues that may come up, that is definitely something to consider.
7. How do they handle pricing for bandwidth? Some web hosts provide unlimited bandwidth, but others provide a set volume and bill you for any volume over that. Since most web hosts provide unlimited bandwidth these days, you're probably better off choosing one that does unless you find a tremendously better price and you're pretty certain that your traffic will usually remain below the limit.
8. How much disk space to they provide? Most web hosts provide unlimited storage, however there are often restrictions, such as, most will not allow you to use your hosting account for file storage. Another example is while they may say they provide unlimited disk space, they may refer to the total capacity, however, restrict you to a specific quantity of files.
These are just a few tips for finding the best web host. Before you make your final decision, make sure that you read their terms of service agreement.
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