When it comes to your website, reliable web hosting is essential. There are few things more important. It is what makes your website available to other people on the internet. Without it, it’s as if your website doesn’t exist and choosing the wrong one can be costly. It can hurt your SEO rankings, it can lead to malware and security attacks, and it can cost you customers and lead to loss of revenue.
So how do you choose the right hosting provider for your website when there are so many options? We’ll help you narrow down your search by going over a few of things you need to consider before choosing a hosting provider for your website.
How do you choose the right hosting provider for your website?
We have our preferred hosting provider (WP Engine) and a few we would recommend avoiding (Go Daddy and Bluehost) and if you are considering just letting your web designer provide your hosting for you, you can read our thoughts on seller rehosting. But there are literally thousands of options and you have to find the one that will work best for you. Here are some things to look for that can help narrow down your options.
Security
While there is no way to guarantee your website will always be 100 percent safe from malware or attacks, security should be number one when choosing a host for your website. At the most basic, your host should provide security for its physical servers. Beyond that look for firewalls, malware detection, attack and virus protection, email spam filter, HTTPS and SSL certifications, two-factor authentication, CDNs or easy integration with these security add-ons to keep your website and its visitors safe from cyber attacks. You’ll also want to consider the provider’s reviews to make sure the security measures they have in place are effective.
Support
The internet never sleeps, and neither should your web support. Many companies claim 24/7 support, but this does not guarantee a fast, knowledgeable response. You want to make sure you choose a web hosting company that offers excellent customer support at all hours. Just in case something should go wrong, you’ll want the assurance that they’ll be there to answer your call and help you get your site back up fast no matter what time it is.
Server Quality
Poor server quality in a hosting provider can lead to slower load times and frequent, unplanned downtimes, potentially costing you customers. Ensuring server quality should be a requirement of the hosting provider you choose. The company should be taking every precaution to guarantee maximum uptime. Although I wouldn’t put a lot of stock in an advertised guarantee. 100 percent may be unrealistic with necessary updates and hardware changeouts and 99% still allows for over 7 hours of downtime a month. Instead look to reviews and ratings for a more accurate picture of server quality.
Backup & Restoration Solutions
Servers go down. Websites crash. Select a hosting service that provides backup and restoration services so that you don’t have to worry about losing all your files and customer data. Be sure to read the backup policy and find out how often they will backup your data to a remote server, if emails are included and if restoration will be easy in the event your site is hacked.
Development or Staging Environment
A staging site or testing site is a clone of your live website, hosted on the same server, where you can test out changes before making them live on your actual site. It can be extremely helpful if you ever want to make major changes or add new features to your site and is certainly something to consider when choosing a hosting provider. A staging environment will allow you to test these changes in a secure environment so you can work out any issues without worrying about how it’s going to affect your live website.
Choose A Company You Can Partner With
We put a lot of stock in customer service. It is the backbone of our company and we believe in working with companies who also seek out their customer’s needs and exceed them to create lasting relationships and business partnerships. The hosting provider you choose will be crucial to your business. So do your homework and choose wisely. Basing your decision on price alone is not generally worth the hassles and headaches caused by downtime, security issues and lack of helpful support.
It’s always important to work with companies you can trust and count on. We work hard to make sure our clients are comfortable with all aspects of their websites, including hosting, and are always happy to help them figure out the best solutions for their needs. If you are looking for a web company to partner with, contact us online or by calling (414) 232-7862.
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