Picking A Web Host That Fits Your Business Needs
What would happen if your online business just took off overnight? Could your web hosting service handle all of the extra traffic? Can you get enough bandwidth? Read the fine print on your hosting contract and see what extras your current hosting company provides. Additionally, read on for more important ways that you can review your current web hosting to see if you are getting the best value for your money.
Contact your favorite web host to see what website services they currently offer. Free websites often do not offer dynamically scripted pages as part of their free service. This will limit what you can customize on your personal pages. A paid host account will entitle you to more flexibility.
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.
Purchase a web hosting plan that offers you more disk space than you currently need. Anticipating this as your business grows is essential. At a minimum, you should get 20 percent more space than you need so that you can improve or add to your site in the future without running out of space.
Don’t choose your web hosting provider based solely on price. Although using a cheap or free web host may save you money in the short run, these hosts might not offer the disk space or bandwidth you need. Price should be only one factor in your final decision so that you ensure that you get what you most need.
When you are selecting a web host, it is best to pick one that has won multiple hosting awards. This method will help you judge a host’s service and support. Although stuff like this can easily be faked, a lot of sites garner their awards on the up-and-up through people who have used their service and then cast a vote. Hosts that have several of these awards are probably companies with whom it is worth doing business.
When choosing a free web hosting service, check to see how they make a profit from providing this service to you. Ask if they sell your personal information to third parties, and whether you can monitor which ads appear on your site. If there is no control over these things, then fork out the money for a basic package from a reputable hosting service.
Look for a web host that lets you create your own customized error pages. In case your site is not accessible, you will be able to apologize to your visitors and perhaps redirect them to your Facebook page. Instead of getting frustrated at the usual error message, your visitors will appreciate you apologizing to them.
Imagine getting the same kind of service, or better, with a web hosting company that actually charges you less than your current provider. It’s possible to find this type of provider by following the tips above, and make a real difference in your website’s profitability — and isn’t that what’s really important?