Your 10-Point Web Hosting Checklist – Leave No Box Unticked!
Choosing a web hosting company can be challenging, but like most things in life, it’s about little more than ticking all the essential boxes and seeing who’s left in contention.
So, with this in mind, we’ve created a comprehensive 10-point checklist for making the right choice—leave no box unticked, and it’s almost impossible to go wrong!
Costs: Far from the be-all and end-all but certainly a point to consider, the package price is usually the first thing you’ll look at. But here’s the thing – opting for a bargain-basement hosting package that’s suspiciously cheap can be every bit as perilous as overpaying. Establish an average you should pay for what you’re looking for and stick to it.
Specialism: Some hosting companies are run by hobbyists, while others serve multinational corporations. Your business's needs should, to some extent, influence the hosting company you choose through its core specialism. See what kinds of sites they already host and choose accordingly.
Technical Stuff: Ask your prospective provider for details on the technical stuff like processing power, RAM, disk space and so on – you might not know what you need, but tell them about your site and your business, and they’ll be able to advise. Cheap hosting usually means low-end hardware, so ensure your chosen package accommodates you.
Support Service: A deal-breaker if there is ever one – never forget how big the difference is between 24-hour on-demand support and a ticketing system where you might not get a response for three or four days. If your website is your livelihood, you cannot afford downtime.
Uptime Guarantees: Speaking of which, it’s almost unheard of these days for a hosting company not to offer an uptime guarantee of 99.99%—anything less is a thing of the past.
Optional Extras: How easy or indeed possible does the hosting company make it to add extras onto your service package as and when needed? Will it cause chaos? Will it cost you a fortune? Is it even possible at all? This is a crucial consideration to look into.
Feedback: Finding out what the firm’s current and past customers have to say about them is of little more importance than finding out what they have to say. This is your window into what goes on once you’ve signed the dotted line, so be sure to look at plenty of feedback. And if there’s none on offer, ask yourself why this might be.
Security: Does the hosting company speak openly and confidently about security, or does it seem like a secondary afterthought? Nothing is more important for your site and your customers than the safety and security of data—remember this!
User Interface: Look into whether the firm uses one of the most popular and easy-to-use interfaces for its customers. Plesk and cPanel are the two frontrunners. You’ll spend a lot of time using your selected interface, so make sure it’s good!
Guarantees: Last but not least, does the hosting firm advertise things like solid support, unlimited bandwidth and the lowest possible price, or do they actually guarantee it? Make sure your money is safe and sound by only accepting promises backed by rock-solid guarantees.