Things to Consider Before Getting a Hosting
Last Updated on 20th September 2023 by Ajmer Singh
You’re soon going to start a new website and you need a place for it, yes? You’ll choose a hosting option and be done with it… right?
Well, my friend, think again! There are quite some things to consider before getting one.
| My Blogging Picks of 2023 |
|---|
15+ Things to consider before getting a Web Hosting
1. Cheap isn’t always good
You probably want the cheapest hosting like Bluehost, yes? But a cheap solution may not be the best choice. I mean, what is your primary goal?
If you just want to share files with the world – do it via FTP or some other file sharing service.
You won’t even need a domain name.
2. Uptime isn’t guaranteed
What if your website suddenly has no visitors because it is down? This will kill the traffic and henceforth your business!
Do you think that’s what you want?
When choosing a hosting solution, choose one with an uptime close to 100%. To be more precise: pay close attention to the uptime.
Cloudways has an uptime of 99.999%.
3. Bandwidth, disk space and add-ons are all important
Do you have lots of images? Or large files that are shared among many people? Make sure the hosting has enough bandwidth. And disk space!
You’ll want to put more than just a few pages on your website – at least I hope so.
The more images, the more files you use (music, videos, …), the more disk space you’ll need. And also… upload speed!
With cloudways, you can scale up or down with just a click.
4. Support isn’t something to take for granted
What if something goes wrong? Do you have a friend with experience when it comes to hosting? Or will you just create a ticket and hope for the best?
Don’t know much about servers, operating systems etc.?
Then choose a company with 24/7 email support. Or even better: have someone to help you when you need it.
5. Popular is good
You don’t want your website down because of too many visitors.
You probably won’t be popular in less than a week, so make sure there is enough space for you.
If your website gets too much attention, it may be difficult to handle the traffic. So choose wisely!
Cloudways is perfect for this situation. You can easily upgrade with just a click. No extra charges – Only pay for what you use.
6. Choose a company that does what they’re supposed to do
I have been working on the Internet for quite some time now and I’ve seen a lot.
Have you ever seen a hosting company that doesn’t offer email support?
That won’t allow you to upload files bigger than 2 MB through FTP?
Or even worse: does not provide MySQL databases when buying “web hosting”?
Companies like this should be avoided at all costs – they don’t know what they’re doing, and you can’t rely on them.
7. Trustworthy companies are better
You don’t want your website to be hacked! So choose a hosting company that is trustworthy.
This does not mean they’re big, but it does mean you should avoid fly-by-nights.
If the company has been around for years and still gets good traffic, it’s probably a good choice!
Want the best one in the market – try cloudways – Use code AJMER20 and get an additional 20% off.
8. Uptime monitoring isn’t bad
Imagine you have a 100% uptime with your hosting company. Everything is fine and dandy, but what if they’re just pretending?
It may be easier for them to provide great service, but how do you know that the servers are working as they should?
Choose a company that has uptime monitoring, so you’ll see when the servers are really down.
9. Location matters
Do you store your images on the hosting server? If so, then know that if the server is in Singapore and you’re in The Netherlands – it will be slow!
You can’t do much about this (unless you choose a hosting company that has servers in your country), but make sure the location of the server suits your needs.
10. You get what you pay for!
The rule is simple to understand, but hard to apply: It’s difficult to find a cheap yet good web hosting service.
Some companies offer “unlimited space” or “unlimited bandwidth” but don’t be fooled: they may not offer you what they promise.
Always read terms and conditions or ask professional bloggers.
That’s why I always recommend Cloudways (for best performance).
11. Stay updated
Make sure the hosting company offers some kind of update service, so you can keep all your scripts and designs up to date.
It’s so frustrating when hackers break into your website and put their own ads on it – yeah, I know. Stay updated!
Cloudways provides a premium security plugin, SSL certificate, daily backups etc.. for free with any of their hosting packages.
12. Usability counts
Does the control panel look like something out of the nineties? It probably is.
How hard is it to find the options you need? Again, choose wisely!
The easier it is for you to handle your website, the better it will be for your visitors too.
13. Money back!
A good hosting company will offer a money-back guarantee, so you can try them out.
If they suck, just say so and ask for the money back – it should be no problem.
Some companies offer a 30-day money-back guarantee – this means you have enough time to test them out!
Cloudways is the only company that offers a 3 day free trial without adding your credit details.
While other companies charge you before starting then offer 30 day money back.
14. Think about the future
Do you plan on creating more websites? How much space do you need? What’s your bandwidth usage like?
These are questions that you should be able to answer before getting a hosting service.
If not, just don’t take my word for it and ask yourself these questions. It’ll save both of us some time!
Let me share with you the secret.
- Cloud hosts are better than shared hosts. (99% of people know this)
- Cloud hosts are cheaper than shared hosts in long term. (A truth that no one shares)
How cloud hosts are cheaper. Let’s do some calculations with the best shared hosts and cloud hosts,
Siteground offers \$3.99 per month. (Cheapest)
After the offer ends they charge $14.99 per month for the same plan. (Renewal charges)
Cloudways offers $10 per month. (Cheapest)
They have the same $10 per month. (No renewal charges)
Hope you understand what I am trying to explain here.
15. Be careful with the contract
If you are not 100% sure, don’t sign a hosting contract. You can’t always cancel it later on.
Remember to read everything before signing up, because once it’s done it cannot be undone. If you are unsure about the company, don’t sign up!
As I already explained how cloudways are cheaper than shared hosts.
Now it’s the second point where I tell you why to choose Cloudways.
Shared hosts charge you yearly. And you can’t get back your money in case you want to change your host after 4-5 months. That’s the contract.
Once you pay, you are locked for 1 year.
With cloudways, you are charged monthly. Even if you want to change host after 15 days, you are charged for that 15 days only.
Cloudways supports pay as you go system.
Try cloudways 3 days free trial if you thought I am lying.
16. Ask for information
If you have any questions, just ask. If they’re not willing to help out with a simple question, avoid them at all costs!
A good hosting company has competent support staff that can answer pretty much any question you might have.
And they’ll do so quickly and efficiently.
17. A good support service is everything!
This is something you’re going to need more often than not: a good, responsive support team.
If they don’t reply within 24 hours (guaranteed), then either the company sucks or there’s just too much traffic for them to cope with.
Don’t go for ’em!
18. Choose wisely
There’s not much else to say, is there?
You have to learn about shared hosting vs. VPS vs. dedicated server and so on – just look around and read a lot of reviews before choosing one.
If you do this, you won’t regret your decision later on!
Which Hosting provider do I recommend and why?
I am in this field for more than 5+ years – used more than 4-5 hosting providers. Some are worst, and some are good.
But in the end, I point out the above things and choose Cloudways.
Their support is awesome, other things like uptime, c-panel, and security all are great.
They have a separate:
-Bot protection feature,
-varnish server caching system,
-Object cache pro for free,
-free migration by their professionals,
-uptime monitoring feature,
-daily backups,
-automatic wordpress updates,
-latest PHP version,
-latest MySQL database version,
-vertical scaling feature like you can move from 1 GB ram to 2 Gb or more in just a click and
-a lot more which you can check in this review –
The best part is that you don’t have to pay for the whole year as another hosting provider asks for. No, renew prices like other hostings.
You can pay for what you use. They have a pay as you go system.
Let me give you an example for clear understanding,
Suppose, I purchased a shared hosting from Bluehost or from any other hosting provider at $3 per month for 1 year (approx. $36) – good – but here are a few things they never mention.
1. Renew prices – After 1 year they charge $10-20 per month (approx. $200+ per year)
2. They offer everything like every other hosting provider does but what about the most important thing – Speed (Loading time of a website).
Google already cleared that speed is one of the factors for ranking in the Google search engine.
3. Locking system – Suppose you choose 1GB ram under their basic plan for 1year, that means you can’t change your plan during this period.
If your traffic increases, you need more space and better bandwidth – then the only option is to forget your 1-year plan and get a new one – forget your previous used money – they cant offer a discount or money back for the remaining months of your basic plan.
In this situation, what cloudways did is offer you a pay as you go system. You have to pay monthly based on your usage.
For example, you choose a 1 GB plan for $10, after 15 days you want to move to a 2 GB plan then they charge you for – 15 days for the previously used 1 GB plan and the next 15 days for the 2 GB plan.
Hope you get it, why I recommend CLoudways Hosting.
They also offer 3 days trial for free, without adding your credit card details – this one is important because no other hosting provider has the guts to offer a free trial – they know after the free trial they lost the customer.
Remember Locking System 😉
Don’t believe me – why not try their free trial.
If you get what I am trying to explain from the above points, then save this code “AJMER20” and use it later. You will get 20% off immediately.
What is the most important thing in cloudways is speed and performance. After switching from my last host Siteground to Cloudways Digital Ocean Premium – My loading speed changes drastically.
It was like 1.8 – 2 seconds before, now it is under 1 sec (Something like 400-500 ms)
Check the screenshot of my site’s performance.
Other things also matter like a well-optimized theme.
We use Themify Ultra – It’s my recommended theme.
Why does good hosting matter?
If your website is slow, hard to use, or for any other reason – it’ll affect the number of visitors that return.
This might not be a huge issue if you have only one site, but imagine having multiple sites hosted on the same server.
The more websites you have, the bigger impact downtime will have on them.
How to select a good hosting company?
There are many things that influence the quality of your website hosting, so don’t focus on just one.
The following points should help you find a good web hosting service:
1. Reliability and support
– remember what we talked about earlier? If they have a lousy support team or unreliable servers, you’re doomed.
2. Uptime
– try to find a hosting provider that guarantees at least 99% uptime. If they don’t, look for another one!
3. Bandwidth and disk space
– I highly recommend choosing unlimited bandwidth and disk space for your sites.
After all, if you need more you can upgrade later on. Just make sure the company doesn’t forbid it.
4. Price
– this one shouldn’t be an issue if you’ve already done your research. Don’t pay too much, but don’t go for the cheapest hosting service either!
5. Control panel
– a good hosting company should offer a user-friendly and intuitive control panel.
Good hosting vs Bad hosting
On the Internet, there are different types of hosting, which include: shared hosting, dedicated server, and cloud hosting.
Each type has its pros and cons.
The more you will know about what you need for your website, the better it’ll be for your visitors too!
Shared hosting is a very popular option among newbies because it’s cheap and easy to set up.
However, if you experience high traffic on your website this might not be the best choice for you.
2. VPS
Virtual private server (VPS) hosting is better than shared hosting in almost every way, but still isn’t as effective as dedicated servers.
If you need a powerful hosting service, VPS will be a good choice.
3. Dedicated servers
If you want a really fast and reliable website, dedicated servers are the way to go.
You can configure them however you like and expand them with ease – but they’re also expensive!
If it’s your first time going for a dedicated server, choose a small one to test the waters.
If you follow this list, you’ll make a great choice when it comes to hosting your very own website!
Remember that these rules are not set in stone – feel free to experiment with different types of hosting until you find something that works for you.
If at first, you don’t succeed, try and try again!
Wrapping Up
There’s no such thing as the best web hosting service, but there are differences between them.
As you can see from my article, I highly recommend Cloudways Hosting for your website hosting needs.
They have awesome support staff, their servers are reliable, and their control panel couldn’t be any easier to use.
Hope this article was helpful! Keep an eye out on my blog for more of them!
And if you have anything to add or ask – feel free to leave a comment below.
People also search for:
- PPC Simplified: Understanding Pay-Per-Click Advertising and Its Mechanism
- Reaching New Heights: A Deep Dive into Skyscraper Content
- The Art of Click-Worthy Titles: How to Write Catchy Headlines for Blogs
- The Cornerstone Concept: How to Leverage Cornerstone Content for SEO
- SEO Supercharge: How Internal Linking Boosts Your Website’s Visibility