Deciding which web host to use is much like choosing a new home. The choice includes all of the deliberations that come along with this life-changing move, and it’s essential that you have the information that you need at your fingertips.
Here, we’re going to look at some of the primary questions to think about when deciding which web host best suits your needs. The service you select will have an important impact on the day-to-day running of your site, and will inform on the basic DNA of how easy it is to manage your endeavours.
HOW MUCH ROOM DO YOU NEED?
This is the first question, and a common stumbling block for many people and businesses when deciding where to go.
You should check with your IT staff, and or consult with people who can gauge what the initial and future expectations of your site are data-wise. What type of content will your site be using? Will it be ‘video heavy’? Will it be using high-resolution photos? And be sure to get specific when you start to look at storage requirements.
WHEN DEALS SOUND TO GOOD
We all know that the salesman at the door will smile, sometimes regardless of the finer details. One of the most overused buzz terms in web hosting is the idea of an ‘unlimited plan’. Sounds like a no brainer right? But when you get down to it, and get specific, the fact is: this claim is often based on the average user.
What ‘unlimited’ means in this sense is that the web hosting service in question has estimated an average amount of data by cross-comparing the majority of their clients. It’s a generalisation. Although they may posit a certain amount of data as a sensible amount in the fine print, they obviously don’t know about your business requirements before having communicated with you.
So look directly at what the service actually means by ‘unlimited’, and consider whether this fits in with your current and future predictions regarding your online content.
HOW DOES THE NEIGHBOURHOOD LOOK?
All reputable website hosts comply with PCI/DSS requirements, and understand the global standard of security protocols. But again, we need to look beyond the jargon, and find out if this website host has a security level relevant to your business needs.
Sometimes, hosts only encrypt up to 128 bits, which can be below the normative industry standard of 256 bits. This is exactly like checking how secure the doors and windows are of a new home. So let’s look at things from a burglar’s or hacker’s point view – if they were very organised! – and decided where to break in based their assessment of your building’s security. In the online world, your best hackers decide where to hit based on a website’s bit level of encryption, the lower the figure, the more open the window is.
As time moves on, the industry standard for encryption levels increases, since there is always the inevitable war between illegal activities and those who attempt to prevent them. So check this detail when considering which service to go with, based on the type of information your website handles.
WHEN HARD WORK IS LOST
Gone are the days when we scream about losing a 2,000 word essay at 4am in the morning. The automatic backup element of a web hosting service ensures that you can always restore information to an earlier point in the case of a mishap.
If your website gets updated daily with coding, it can be a nightmare if this work is lost for some reason. This also relates to the last point about hacking, where in the event that your site is compromised, some services are ahead of the game, and have immediate steps available to help restore your site to a previous stage.
This functionality in your web hosting service can have a huge impact on how your business deals with such issues, and is an important element to consider.
WHAT SPECIALITIES DO YOU NEED?
As you can see in this Inmotion hosting review, there are companies that have thought carefully about how to provide a service that works with your needs, as supposed to companies that see client needs in more a generalised fashion.
So the first question here is: what programming platform do you use? – as certain web hosts are more suited to particular ones. If your site uses a platform like WordPress for example, it makes sense to choose a hosting service that specialises with them, since they will understand the technical nuances that go along with it.
The ‘one size fits all’ ethos is passez in the online world, and the hosting providers who understand the need for providing a product that is tailored to fit you specifically are the ones leading the market.
HOW PROGRESSIVE ARE THEY?
All we have to do is look at how the global leaders in the digital industry think if we want to get an idea of what creates long-term success. The best web hosting providers always understand a particular vision, which is directed at understanding the full landscape of your business.
So the idea is to choose a service which has an affinity for the industry you work in. Contact them, and be polite but demanding, with the underlying question: “what experience does your company have in regarding…” The quality of the response from a representative is a reflection of how they would cope with any service requirements that you may have in the future.
THE CHECKLIST
Let’s look at a checklist of the most important points when weighing up service providers. This list shows us the nine most salient areas to consider:
- Price
- Technical specifications vs limitations
- Available support
- Understanding of available features and add-ons
- Understanding relevant hardware
- Online reviews from previous and current customers
- How easy is the graphical user interface to use?
- Are there any bonus elements included in the service package?
- How long has the company been in business?
MARKET AFFINITY
Following on from the last point, it’s important to assess how suited a web host is to your website’s individual needs, and how long they have been practicing in the area. Some providers are better at dealing with start-ups than others, and some gear their service more towards established groups.
In terms of the provider’s entire list of clientele, they will have a majority from certain types of businesses and people. They may deal with freelancers a great deal, or perhaps have a deeper knowledge of working with conglomerate brands.
CUSTOMISING YOUR HOME
Website hosts that understand the zeitgeist will help you to develop your website, regardless of where you are on the expertise continuum.
The best hosts include an integrated website builder. Of course, most of these companies have on-going deals to promote certain builders, so it’s worthwhile thinking about what type you find easiest to use before making your choice.
Most website builders offer drag-and-drop functionalities, undercutting the need to hire outside professionals. However, the website builder and the web host that you decide upon are linked, so be certain that you are happy with both, regarding their functionality, aesthetics, and market orientation.
ADVERTISING
Has this web host thought about your advertising direction? Many providers offer additional elements along with their services, like advertising credits. Most us are familiar with how popular social networking platforms promote the opportunity to create larger audience coverage via staggered payment options, which is similar to the perks that many web host providers offer as well.
These included marketing tools are an invaluable asset in the longevity of your website’s success, where it’s crucial to judge whether or not a prospective host has capitalised on this angle. If they haven’t, it’s unlikely that they are industry leaders.
MIGRATION
Fewer things are worse for a digital romance than a ‘DNS Error’ popping up if a website in unavailable. This situation often occurring in the downtime between transferring content from one website to a new host.
A good web host service should be able to suggest tips in this process however, even before you sign-up, in the interest of you becoming a future customer. Migration strategies are available from experts to ensure that the evolution of your content develops with as little hassle as possible.
In the end, a good web host should be able to provide you with a pragmatic learning platform as well as their basic service. These being some of the main points that make the difference between forward thinking web hosts and those which are more generic. There’s more good news in relation to the prices of current hosting plans, where the price to set-up a new website has dropped in the last ten years due to competition, where a plan can be as cheap as $6 – $8 per month.
As mentioned earlier however, always understand that many of the available add-ons with web host providers are linked to business partnerships. The final tip being that it’s business smart to assess how independent the company is, which can help inform you about the additional services that they may be offering.
How does a person go about doing this? Again, the best way is to interact with their customer support, and simply ask them about these individual options, where you
can then take away this information, and compare it for yourself across the market.