Choosing a web hosting service can seem a daunting task, especially if you are someone who is new to websites, but rest assured it is not as difficult as it might seem at first. In fact, if you apply the same due diligence and common sense to choosing a website host as you would when choosing any other type of service, you should be able to make the right choice.
As part of that due diligence, you will want to research each hosting company and within that research, seek to ascertain a hosting provider’s credentials and performance in relation to a few key factors. Many of these will be available online and may appear on the hosting provider’s website. If a hosting provider is able to tick the box with regards to meeting each of the seven hosting parameters that follow, then they are definitely worthy of your consideration.
Positive Reviews
Any web hosting company which has provided the promised levels of service and performance to its existing customers will undoubtedly have positive reviews which will attest to that. Look for reviews on their website, but also do searches online especially on review websites where you may find more detailed reviews, and where customers may leave the hosting company a score out of 5 or 10.
Proven Performance
As well as knowing that the hosting company has satisfied customers, you will also want to know that it meets all the necessary levels of performance that your website will require, especially if you are running a business that your own potential and current customers will visit. You want to know specific functions: bandwidth allowance, load speeds, disc space, and uptime.
A Choice Of Hosting Plans
If a hosting company is offering at least 3 different hosting plans, then it shows that it has considered for its potential clients in the sense that it knows not every business needs the exact same features when it comes to hosting its website. Any hosting company which has just one plan should be avoided, for the simple reason that if your business and, subsequently, your website grows, it may will likely not be able to meet your future hosting requirements on its single plan.
A Money-Back Guarantee
Unless there is a perfectly valid reason for a company not being able to provide a money-back guarantee, it should always offer one, which certainly applies to web hosting companies. You want peace of mind knowing that if you make the wrong choice you can withdraw, and if a hosting company has no money-back policy, the question has to be ‘Why not?’
Back-Up And Recovery Services
More than a few sleepless nights have occurred due to a business owner discovering that their website has disappeared or been wiped from the face of the internet due to either a technical blunder by one of their staff or some nefarious activity. Thankfully, the better web hosting companies all have complete and robust and backup and data recovery protocols in place which can restore your website to full working order, should the worst ever happen.
cPanel Website Management
Whether it is you or a member of your staff that will be managing your website, the means by which that is achieved is all-important. Whilst there might be some different ways of doing so, we are in no doubt that a hosting service that uses cPanel is the optimum choice. cPanel is easy to understand, simple to use, and provides everything you require to successfully manage your website from behind the scenes.
24 Hour Live Support
One of the points of having a website is, unlike a brick-and-mortar store, it can stay open 24/7 and can be accessed from anywhere in the world. However, this falls apart if it has a technical problem, in which case you will need technical support. Having that support available to you every minute of the day is a huge advantage and means that any hosting company offering 24/7 support is preferable to one that does not.
