Choosing a web hosting company takes time and research. You don’t want to just see a banner ad, click on it and make up your mind. Instead, you need to go through the process so that you will get the right hosting company for your specific needs.
If you want to go through the best process of choosing a web hosting company, just consider the following questions:
Should you Pay for Hosting or Choose Free Hosting?
If you’re new to the world of hosting, you may be faced with the decision between free or paid hosting. The key to making this simple decision is weighing one of the most important cons about free hosting and pros about paid hosting: speed.
You have, at the very most, 3 seconds to make your first impression on a new visitor. If your site takes more than 8 seconds to load, you’ve made your impression and it wasn’t a good one. Choose a free hosting company and this will happen more often than not.
Another huge part of your first impression is your domain name. Many free hosting companies will actually give you a subdomain instead of a real domain name. This doesn’t help with your first impression, as it makes you look small.
Paying for hosting means you will get more speed, the ability to use your own domain name and you will be able to scale your website as you see fit. If you choose free hosting, you will be stuck when you grow, your site will be slow and you may not get to use your own domain name.
Can you Afford Paid Hosting?
Paid hosting starts with the cheapest option of shared hosting and goes up to the most expensive option of dedicated hosting. Shared hosting can be as low as $1 per month, but a good shared hosting company will range from $3 to $8 per month. This type of hosting will fit perfect for about 95% of new websites.
Do you Need Technical Support?
Unless you are a hosting expert, you will need good technical support. When you choose a company for your cheap website hosting, you need to test the support. They should respond fast, answer your questions in a friendly/professional manner and provide accurate information. This is a very good sign for any hosting company, as good support means reliable servers
Does the Company have Positive Reviews Online?
Looking at the web hosting reviews of any hosting company can be a bit tricky. Some review sites provides real reviews, while others may have been paid for by the hosting company or a competitor. Real reviews will often include a story or something showing it comes from a real customer experience.
Finding a few positive reviews from real customers will help give you a feel for the company. If you are struggling to find anything positive, you may want to avoid that specific hosting company.
When it’s time to make a decision for a new hosting company, you need to go through the process. Ask each of these questions and you will be able to find the best hosting company for your specific needs.
