When you build a website, you need a place for it to live and breathe in a digital universe. Web hosting companies provide data center space and Internet connectivity for your website to make this possible. There are various web hosting companies out there, and it may be difficult or confusing for small/new businesses to know what to look for when researching web hosting services. Here are the most relevant areas businesses should know when determining which web hosting provider is right for you.
Types of Hosting - There are two basic kinds of hosting, shared hosting and dedicated hosting. Shared hosting is sharing space on the same server. Most shared hosting plans consist of personal and small business websites. It is also cheaper, because the cost of buying and maintaining the hardware is shared among all users. However, if you have a small hosting plan, you have a limit on the amount of memory or storage space your website can take up.
Dedicated hosting is another type of hosting, which is where your website has its very own server. This kind of hosting is more expensive, but it gives you more space and often more speed too, because there isn’t anyone else’s stuff on the server to slow it down. Dedicated hosting is the best choice for large businesses or anyone in need of a large website or ability to run a company database on the server.
Space – What amount of space will your company website require? It is good to be generous in estimating how much memory your website will need. Be sure to leave plenty of room to grow. This could make or break a business. (Note: Keep files updated and delete whatever you don't need. Extra files take up valuable space.)
Bandwidth – Another major element of web hosting is the amount of traffic or bandwidth your website is allotted. Every time someone visits your website, the files on the server must be downloaded to their computer. That is how they see your webpage on their screen. In order for this to happen, the server sends a copy of the files across the Internet. Most small and medium-sized hosting plans set a limit on how much traffic or bandwidth you get per month, and that determines how much information can be transferred to your visitors. For this reason, it is important to estimate how much traffic you think your website will be getting. Personal websites and very small company websites will most likely get minimal traffic. However, larger business websites (for example, sites with embedded blogs/audio/video or sites that will experience quick growth) should plan ahead for spikes in traffic. This will ensure that service is not interrupted.
Speed - Speed is not always discussed on a web host’s website, so it is best to research for user reviews, especially for positive comments regarding speed, outages, etc. Look for patterns in reviews rather than the number of positive versus negative reviews to get a better sense of the speed. Seeing what other customers have to say about a service will help you decide which web provider is best suited for your company.
Costumer Service – Customer service is another very important factor that comes into play when searching for the right web host. Before you choose one company over the other, be sure to contact the support desk to see how responsive they are. If your website is down for any reason, you will want to get the issue corrected as soon as possible.
Business owners must know that these items are very important to review when researching web hosting services. Other items to be aware of include domain registration, site setup, and site-building tools. Overall, there is obviously a lot to consider before making a decision and you may find after a year or two, the provider you chose is not quite right for your needs anymore. However, researching your options and understanding what to look for will protect you from making any major mistakes that will endanger your business.
VB Consulting offers a variety of website hosting options with fast, responsive customer service. For more information about our hosting plans, contact us today.
