How to Opt for a Professional Web Hosting Provider
Merely launching a business with selling products and services in the market physically isn’t sufficient. Nowadays, for such an act of luring the public into the store, the presence of an online identity is mandatory.
The online presence has the power to bring in customers for physical sale. Those days when entrepreneurs used to rely on the conventional methods of advertising are now obsolete. And establishing an e-commerce trade portal is a must. In fact, it is just a basic criterion which one has to fill while planning to launch an organization.
The website of your company is the podium of conducting business online and also has the potential to keep the flow of sales running and effective. And for that, the incorporation of a web hosting provider is inevitable.
However, this article presents things to consider while choosing a professional web hosting provider. Adhering to the underlying guide will assist the concerned entrepreneurs in choosing the right web hosting partner.
1. Ensure that you Own the Domain
Firstly, before moving on to the other essential regards, make absolutely sure that you own your website’s domain. And it indicates that you have handed over the responsibility of the management of your business to a separate body. Also, it makes for a difficult operation when the question of brand maintenance arises for altering hosting providers as well as launching a fresh website design. In case you are already a proud owner of your domain, then it’s all well and good. But, if otherwise, you must proceed to figure out the procedure to gain ownership. Also, make absolutely sure that the transfer of ownership takes place.
Or else, you may find yourself in a challenging as well as time-consuming operation as you attempt to fight off vendor lock-in. However, in the worst case, you tend to lose the domain entirely. Now, this calls for engagement in lengthy legal wars or even start all over once again. Therefore, it is your website as well as your domain which you must own.
2. Maintain Honesty Regarding the Technical Knowledge
Play your part assiduously before planning to employ the services of a web host. Introspect in order to figure out the things and elements necessary for the fulfillment of your demands. One of the things that you must add into the list is the factor of honesty. Maintain such transparency regarding the technical knowledge that you bear. This makes it clear for the web hosts and presents them with clarity regarding the necessary guidance that their client would require.
Also, the awareness about the actual knowledge of their client helps them manage and walk them throughout the entire process. Thus, such essential prior information must be dispatched for the host to manage all sorts of crises. Keeping that as a base, you will be offered two alternatives, one, a managed or another, a non-managed assistance. However, stick through in order to note down each of their significances.
Managed vs Non-managed Service
Particular inclusive services tend to vary from one hosting provider to another and also by the type of plan you are currently on. Hence, you must ensure if you have clear receptive power for apprehending everything which is included or even an excluded while opting for a hosting plan with a provider. And when the question of managed and non-managed services arise, certain differences across providers are present. However, read along to note down the basic difference.
- Managed Service
On the basis of a managed service, the hosting provider becomes the manager of your system and you tend to delegate the management of your website to them. This not only renders more attentive support for customers but the hosting partner also tends to tackle setup, maintenance, configuration, security, upgrades, backup and more.
- Non-Managed Service
This is the alternative which is ideal for the ones who have enough knowledge regarding the technical knowledge of servers and web hosting. The non-managed plan of web hosting services involves relatively less hand-holding. However, you tend to receive assistance with the initial setup and configuration even though you can ask to cease the guidance. The clients tend to enjoy access to an online ticketing system or a support email. Also, you may gain access to the phone support and it can be 24-hour assistance or even be confined to certain hours.
However, you may notice that the turnaround time on answers and requests for support to the clients’ question tends to vary and can also bear a lower priority. The vendor, at the same time, might respond to those questions but will not perform as your system’s administrator. The non-managed option is a way which is better suited and is ideal for people who possess sufficient technical knowledge in order to manage servers. But, they may still desire an answer almost frequently.
3. Consider the Foreseeable Traffic that the Website will Bring in
One of the significant considerations, while opting for a web hosting provider as well as deciding on availing a plan, is to take into account the amount of traffic that the website may get. Generally, the plans for hosting are centered around the overall bandwidth as well as the usage that your website needs on the server. In case the website is simple and is not able to fetch enough traffic, it would not hold a high rate of usage.
However, in case you desire to drive traffic into the website and develop, an unexpected surge in traffic could drop you in a jam only if you transgress the bandwidth requirements. Websites with high-traffic possessing plenty of heavy resources and those which seek to develop must consider cloud servers or VPS in order to ensure that their server can tackle any hikes in traffic without inhibiting website performance.
4. Note What you must Seek in a Web Host
One of the productive equipment, when one decides to opt for the services of a web host, is to note down and know the essential things which must be present in a hosting plan. However, in terms of website performance, there exist four big essentials to look for. Read along to know the factors.
- Speed
A server’s pace has the potential to make an enormous difference and contribute to the website’s performance. Overloaded servers or those with slow responses can result in the website to load slowly. A fast and prompt loading page contributes to the seamless user experience.
- Support
The degree of support that one receives is dependent on the plan that the client opts for. However, the client must ensure that the service provider he chooses adheres to the support that is promised for the selected plan. Also, they must possess the right infrastructure as well as systems positioned in order to tackle the hosting demands they offer. For keeping the interests of both parties safe, the client must be assured that the web hosting providers will have their assistance ready during times of crises.
- Security
Another essential aspect is the security of the website. So, one requires a hosting provider which operates with impressive security practices as well as grants backups of the website. Impressive website security demands more than just a great host. However, a host which assists to keep the environment of hosting secure definitely doesn’t hurt.
- Scalability
Scalability is another factor which one must seek in the hosting plan which they decide to take. You will have answers to certain questions like if the resources will have the potential to scale up during a traffic surge with minimal downtime to your website. Also, you can upgrade the services which you provide over time. All these are possible if you partner with a reliable hosting provider which enables the website to develop with them as required.
5. Abstain from Web Hosting Red Flags
While assessing various web host providers, be alert for major red flags. In case you notice any, it is better to seek a different host.
Red Flag no. 1: Offers which are too Good to be True
At times, you may receive offers which are too exciting to be real. And this is the same case with web hosting. Now, obviously, it is possible for you to receive a great deal from the web host but you must look out for things which are simply excessive. And that is when you can spot red flags. For instance, certain hosting providers claim to grant unlimited storage as well as bandwidth at a cheap rate per month.
Similar to the data on the network of cell phones, the term ‘unlimited’ too comes with certain contingencies which enable the provider to turn the website down after a particular point of usage. That is unless you proceed to pay some more, obviously. Either that or simply to slow down the performance.
Red Flag no. 2: Anything which would Trigger Vendor Lock-in
Stay away from things which have the potential to lock you into a certain host. Clients must make sure that their website is formed in a CMS or Content Management System which is portable and can process on diverse types of servers and function with various hosts. Also, ensure that you possess plenty of alternatives available before you. Make sure that you don’t get stuck with the website builder too. This also assures the maintenance of ownership as well as authoritative power over the website. Also, it decreases the downtime for the website as you tend to switch to a different host partner.
Red Flag no. 3: Recent Acquisitions
While opting for a proper web host, always begin with some digging and inspect for some recent acquisitions. Usually, service tends to decline once a larger entity acquires a hosting provider. Hence, in case you examine a hosting provider’s recent or past acquisitions invest some time in order to inspect and assess the latest reviews of their service. And this has the potential to keep you away from an unfavorable web hosting partner as well as plenty of hassles.
Wrapping Up
A web host does the final practical and significant task to make an online presence. It publishes the website online for millions of users to visit, learn and take inspiration. And this is how businesses nowadays extend their empire and make fertile attempts to increase the conversion rate as well as sales. Therefore, it is mandatory to choose a reliable and expert service which claims to render exceptional services in hosting the website of their clients. For that, all the client requires to check are the above-mentioned criteria which would assist in handpicking the most relevant and suitable web host to a particular website.
