How to find a good web host
From the thousands of web hosting companies out there, how do I find a good web host?
- Is the speed that matter?
- What about the security?
- Maybe paying the least amount possible
- or you just want 24/7 support?
Here is the thing, they all offer the same service. So…how you decide?
Why Website Speed Does Matter
Readers will lose patines and leave your website if it takes a long time to load. What is a long time? well the average website takes 3 seconds, and that is too long.
But here are three more reasons.
- You can actually reduce operating expenditures
- Google’s minimum requirement for being considered a “fast” site will be met.
- Decreasing page load time can drastically increase conversions
Secure Your Website or Else
If your website cannot secure your content, then the content your site will be constantly hacked and no one I know likes when the website is hacked.
Unless you are looking or want to be completely hands of when it comes to your website management. Is important you find a web host that will take responsibility for constantly securing your site if something happens to slip through.
Daily backups is also a good security feature, just in case.
24/7 Technical Support
Technical support is all about piece of mind knowing that your web hosting company has your back.
That means 24/7 experts in your chosen CMS and your specific configuration every single day of the year, including holidays.
I have used different combinations of web host, databases, configurations, etc…over the years. While most of my experience have been good and served their purpose, I have had some bad experiences too.
Just imagine one day your site is running fine and the next day the web hosting company is completely gone. Shut down. Your site and all your files completely gone. Vanished. Your host can’t be reached. Total blackout! Any long term webmaster or marketer will encounter hiccups here and there.
It happened to me, that’s why I started my own hosting company now we are DataVIking.com.
Fortunately I had my site backed up.
Check what features your web host is offering and for what price:
- How much storage space?
- Daily traffic limit or transfer?
- Email system? How many accounts…
- What type of server Linux or Windows?
- How many other sites will be sharing your IP address?
- Do You need SSL or a secure site?
- Are sites/files backed up? How often?
- What are the support hours?
Don’t try to get the cheapest one
Keep in mind; you always get what you pay for. A cheap web host won’t save you money if it’s a poor service and your site is always going down. So don’t always pick the cheapest web host.
Match up your hosting service with the type of site you will be running; a simple HTML site will have or make simple demands on your hosting service while a database driven website will consume more resources.
