Website hosting is one of the first steps you must take when creating a website.
In this article, you will learn about hosting and some related terms, the types of hosting, and how you can choose the right plan and service provider.
Enjoy reading!
What is web hosting?
Simply put, hosting your website means renting or buying a space on the World Wide Web (basically, the internet). You can host every content your website is made of: HTML, CSS, Images, Videos, etc.
What is a web server?
The hosting service provider offers you a computer (server) that connects other web users to your website from anywhere. In their different plans, you can find one that fits your needs in terms of quality, connectivity, speed, bandwidth, and so on.
When selecting your hosting plan, you might be compelled to go with the cheapest option,
which is fine if you are getting started and want to kick things off. But there are better plans that secure a well-functioning website.
How to choose the right web hosting plan?
… Well, here are a few facts.
How to choose a website hosting for your business?
You will often find free hosting, but the service and operation will never be of good quality, and the resources will be minimal.
That is why, when choosing your hosting, you should consider the following aspects:
Web Hosting Resources
What exactly are Web Hosting Resources?
In simple terms, your website’s server capabilities. Resources include the server’s storage space, processing power, memory, and data transfer speed.
To understand what resources you require, you must have the purpose of your website determined. Many providers offer different plans with different web storage options, data transfer, performance, bandwidth, etc.
You should pay attention to the storage capacity. It’s the total size that your page can occupy, and this will limit or not the amount of content, images, and files that you can upload.
Server location
Server geographic location directly affects the loading speed of your page and affects your SEO positioning.
We recommend that your hosting be located in the same territory as your customers.
For example, if your clients are in Canada, your hosting server should be in Canada as well. You will guarantee a fast load of pages than if the server were in France.
What if the company is multinational?
Hosting for multinational companies
If you are a multinational company and your customers are located in different countries or continents, there is a solution. You can use a content delivery network CDN.
CDN is a network for multiple servers. It diffuses the content from the base location to where each end user is accessing the website.
Your users will be automatically connected to the server closest to their location.
Customer Service
Having the option to communicate with the technical support service will be very useful in case of need.
Try to get a provider that offers immediate help, either by chat or phone. You may encounter hosting-related problems with your website at some point, and you will need their assistance.
Reputation and pricing
It’s easier now than ever to get feedback from old and current customers. Seek their opinion online through reviews and experiences they detailed on Google My business or the provider’s social media. What do they think? Are they satisfied?
Regarding the price, as we said before, it’s easier to pick the cheapest package. However, it might be the biggest source of issues as you grow your business. Keep in mind that a cheap package is a synonym for limited options.
And an extra tip, think about the email part; ensure that the service you hire has webmail and offers you email accounts to help your company grow.
But wait, that’s not all! You should also think about:
Types of hosting
There are several types of web hosting to satisfy any need and budget; below we describe each one of them:
Shared Hosting Server
Here we find several websites from different owners on the same server. Your website shares the available hard disk space and server resources with the other websites. You also share the cost of the server, obtaining a lower price but reduced performance.
This server is recommended for medium or small websites with little content, such as personal or portfolio sites. If you initially expect a little traffic on your site, this hosting is a good start for your project.
🔸 However, you should know that if any of the hosted sites get “blacklisted” for sending spam or malicious content, all the pages associated with the server will meet the same fate or at least suffer some damage. This is due to sharing the same IP address.
Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting is an upgrade from shared hosting.
With this type of server, you have greater flexibility that allows you to determine the actual performance needed per period so that the site runs at peak performance without paying extra.
For example, make the server resources work at maximum between 8 am and noon if that is the period when you have the peak of visits, and the rest of the day, the resources are kept to a minimum.
Another advantage is that if one of the servers fails, the other servers work together to ensure everything keeps working perfectly.
🔸 If you expect a high traffic flow on your website, this is a viable solution. This server type is recommended for large-scale projects, news websites, or online stores.
Virtual Private Servers (VPS servers)
When you start to have a lot of traffic on your website,
it is good to move forward to a VPS.
You will have control over a powerful portion of the server. It is cheaper than a dedicated server, but with more resources than shared or cloud servers.
This alternative gives you more control and freedom over your resources; there is customization according to your needs. You will be able to manage the set of solutions, and you will be responsible for the server administration.
🔸 Most VPS plans are scalable, meaning that you can start with a minimum number of resources and, as your company grows, increase your plan to suit your needs.
Dedicated server hosting
Having a dedicated server is the most advanced and expensive option. Having a dedicated server is the most advanced and expensive option.
The access to the resources will be so wide that you will be able to use the maximum power that the server can offer for your web page to work.
🔸 This hosting is recommended for companies with corporate websites with large content that require other services within the server, such as the mail server or online stores.
Managed hosting, take it, or leave it?
Some hostings offer the possibility of acquiring your server, managed or unmanaged. This does not change the features and power of the server, only that when you purchase the managed hosting, you get rid of the technical part.
This service takes a big burden off your shoulders, especially if you don’t have in-house technical knowledge. Your provider takes care of:
- Maintenance
- Backup of your files
- Technical repairs
- Real-time monitoring
- Performance optimization
- Application installation.
This is recommended to reduce your IT resources internally and improve your security and performance.
If I already have a managed hosting service, can I change it?
Of course, if your current hosting is not meeting your expectations, you can easily change it.
The process is simple; you must contract the new hosting plan with another company and migrate your files to the new server. And to avoid your website being out of service, you can transfer your domain through the control panel of your hosting.
Don’t worry; there is usually a transfer wizard to guide you through the process.
If you are thinking of changing your hosting, or it is the first time, you can purchase it with our hosting provider. Using the following link, you can get a €20 discount on your service: https://vrlps.co/d8A782c/cp
Closing thoughts
I hope this article has helped you understand that pricing is not the only criterion to consider when choosing a hosting provider.
That’s all for today. Thanks once again for reading us, and we hope the article has solved your doubts.
If you are considering making your website, we take care of everything…
