13 - Point Checklist to get the Right Hosting Service
Link Building HQ
We take all the stress and hassle out of link-building while you focus on your clients
In the information age, having a website is a great opportunity for any business, big or small. But how do you choose the right web hosting for your website? This is an important question that requires careful consideration and research. In this blog post, we will share some tips and factors to help you make the best decision for your web hosting needs.
Follow our checklist to find a web hosting that will help your website survive in the wide array of websites on the internet.?
1. Server Reliability and Uptime Score of at least 99.5%
If you want your website to be reliable and accessible, you need to choose a web hosting service that offers high uptime. Uptime is the percentage of time that your website is online and available to visitors. The higher the uptime, the better. A web hosting service with an uptime score of 99% or above means that your website is only offline for less than an hour per week. However, even that can have a significant impact on your website performance and reputation.?
That's why we suggest you look for a web hosting service with an uptime score of 99.5% or above. This will ensure that your website is online for more than 99 hours out of 100. Don't expect to find a web hosting service with 100% uptime, though. That's impossible, even for the best web hosting providers in the industry. The highest uptime score you can get is 99.999%, which means your website is only offline for less than a minute per year.
Uptime scores indicate how often a website is accessible during a certain time period. You should check the time period when comparing uptime scores. A web hosting service with robust servers and stable network connections will help your website run smoothly and satisfy your target audience. It will also reduce the chances of problems or errors. A reliable server and high availability (Highest Uptime) will boost your website's rankings as Google considers the availability and frequency of a website.
?
2. 24/7 Customer Support
If you're looking for a web host, you should check how good their customer service is. Your website will probably need some updates and fixes along the way, and you don't want to wait for hours or days to get help. You want your website to be online all the time, so any problem should be solved quickly.
But not all web hosts offer that. Some of them use a ticket system where you have to send an email and wait for a reply. They might say they have 24/7 support, but that doesn't mean they'll answer right away. That can be frustrating and time-consuming.
That's why you should choose a web host that has 24/7 live chat and social media presence. That way, you can talk to a real person and get your issues resolved faster. You don't have to deal with the annoying email or ticket system that slows you down.
?
3. Availability of Site Backups
If you don't want to lose your website data, you need to have backups. Hackers can mess up your site, or your server or hard disk can crash. That would suck, right? So, you should choose a web hosting that does backups for you regularly. That way, you can restore your site quickly and easily if something bad happens. It's like having a safety net for your website.
?
4. Registration and Maintenance Costs
If you want to start a website, you might be tempted by the low prices that some web hostings offer. But don't be fooled, because they will charge you more later for renewing and keeping your site online. The only way to avoid this is to switch hostings every year or two, but that can be a hassle and affect your site's performance.?
Another thing to consider is whether you get a free domain name from your hosting. This can save you some money at first, but you will have to pay more when it expires after a year. If you care about SEO, you might not want to change your domain name, because it can hurt your rankings and traffic.
?
5. Ability to Add Domains
If you want to grow your website, you might need to add more domains to your hosting. But not all hosting services let you do that. Some of them have a limit on how many domains you can add. So make sure you check that before you sign up for a hosting plan.
Adding domains can be useful for different purposes. For example, you might want to launch a new brand under your main website. Or you might want to create a microsite for a special event or campaign.
That's why we suggest choosing a hosting service that allows you to add multiple domains when you're looking for one. You can also compare the different packages they offer and see which one suits your needs better. Of course, the best hosting for this would be the one that gives you unlimited domains, so you can expand as much as you want.
?
6. Account Limitations
Before you sign up for any web hosting service, you should always read their terms of service carefully. Sometimes, they have hidden clauses that can affect how you run your website. For instance, some web hostings don't allow you to use scripts that take up a lot of CPU power. If you do, they might slow down your website or even suspend your account. That's not cool, right? You don't want to get stuck with a web hosting that limits your growth or shuts you down. So, make sure you choose a web hosting that has clear and fair terms of service that suit your needs.
?
领英推荐
7. E-Commerce and Email Options
One of the benefits of having a good web hosting service is that you can also have email hosting. This means you can connect your emails with your website's main email. You should always choose a hosting service that lets you create your main email with your domain name.
This way, you can have an email that looks more professional to your audience, and you can also create emails for different purposes, like support, help, etc.
?
8. Minimum Load Time
You don't want your web pages to take forever to load, right? Well, your web hosting has a lot to do with that. Of course, you also need to make sure your web pages are not too heavy, but your hosting speed is a key factor. Remember that many people will visit your website from their phones, and they won't stick around if your web page takes more than 3 seconds to load. That's why you need a fast web hosting service.
?
9. Bandwidth and Storage
Bandwidth is how much data you can send to your visitors in a certain time. Some hostings might say they have unlimited bandwidth, but that's not really true. You should check how much they actually give you. The best hosting is the one that has the most bandwidth.
Storage is also important for your hosting. You want your website to have a lot of cool stuff that makes people want to buy from you. But if you don't have enough storage, you'll have to pick and choose what to put on your website, and that sucks. So, look for the web hosting that gives you the most storage for the best price.
?
10. SSL Certificate Availability
If you want to keep your visitors' data safe, you need an SSL certificate for your website. SSL stands for Secure Sockets Layer, and it's a way of encrypting the information that goes between your site and your users. This way, hackers can't steal their personal details or credit card numbers.?
Some hosting services offer a free SSL certificate, which is awesome. But if they don't, you can also make your own for free. It's not easy, though, and you'll need some coding skills to do it.?
Google likes websites that have SSL certificates, and it rewards them with better rankings. Also, if your site doesn't have one, your visitors might see a scary warning message instead of your homepage. That's not good for business, especially if you're selling something online. So make sure you get an SSL certificate for your website, one way or another.
?
11. Refund Options
If you want to try out different hostings, you should pick ones that have a refund policy. But since a lot of them do, you need to check how easy it is to get your money back. The best way to do that is to read what other customers say about the hostings you're interested in online.
12. Server Location
You might not think much about where your web server is, but it can make a big difference. The closer it is to your visitors, the faster your site will load for them. But if you have a global audience, this might not matter as much. If you want to learn more about how to reach people around the world, check out this blog on International SEO. It will help you optimize your site for different countries.
?
13. Extra Features
Finally, there are some extra features that you should also keep in mind to have a complete checklist of what factors to consider when choosing a hosting provider. The presence of the following factors will ensure that your hosting is giving you the best value for money:
?
Conclusion?
So there you go, you have a wholesome checklist that will help you find the best hosting provider! All you have got to do, is to find one and begin your web journey.