How to Choose the Right Host for Your Website
In my experience users need to make sure that their hosting company supports their business needs and does not invoke any obstacles to their website success. To do this we need to understand the types of hosting along with considering some basic criteria to help choose the best plan for your business.
What is web hosting?
Web hosting companies provide the service that connects your site to the internet. How does a business choose the one that's right for his or her business?
Types of web hosting plans
Individual plans
These are the most affordable options. As an example, JoeUSA.com cPanel Hosting and Plesk Hosting starter plans are $1.49 per month regardless of the term. Monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual. These plans provide hosting support for a single domain, 1 MySQL DB, 10 domain name email accounts, unlimited bandwidth and 30 GB data storage. More options are available with low start up costs offering more MySQL databases and storage.
This works for sites who just want a web presence and do not have a high traffic demand. Individual plans are sometimes referred to as "shared hosting plans" because they share space on hosting servers with other businesses.
Business Hosting
Business Hosting gives you the ultra-fast speed of a Virtual Private Server with a super simple control panel — a perfect fit for those who don’t have tech skills but still need powerful hosting. Business hosting starts at $29.99 per month regardless of the term. Monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual.
VPS Hosting
VPS (Virtual Private Server) Hosting is a server running within a server. One physical server hosts multiple virtual servers, each isolated from the others. This is accomplished with software, called a hypervisor, that segments the physical server and keeps each segment separate from the rest.
VPS hosting starts $29.99 per month regardless of the term. Monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual through JoeUSA.com
Dedicated Server
A dedicated server hosting plan means that your website is the only site hosted on the server. These plans will cost more. JoeUSA.com offers Windows and Linux servers beginning at $169 per month regardless of the term. Monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual. Options include Self-Managed, Managed and Fully-Managed packages. If you anticipate growing to a size that eventually requires this upgraded option, be sure to choose a hosting provider that offers both types of plans and allows for account transitions.
What to look for in a hosting plan:
Terms: Hosting companies offering discounts to start service often have a time period requirement to get the discounted rate. Monthly, quarterly, bi-annual or annual. JoeUSA.com offers your discounted rate for ANY term and the same cost when you reach your renewal date.
Once you've decided on the type of hosting plan, consider these issues in choosing a specific provider:
Cost - While it's important to look for a hosting provider that offers reasonable rates, avoid free hosting programs entirely, as they may be unreliable and their low costs are often subsidized by required on-site advertisements.
Customer support - You’ll want a dependable customer support team behind your web hosting plan. Things can and will go wrong on your website's backend, but getting support when you need it can go a long way toward minimizing any potential damage to your business.
Look for companies that provide 24/7 phone support, email access and online chat. Before committing to a plan.
Storage and bandwidth allowances. It’s important to be aware of any limitations to ensure that your plan has enough space for your website to operate effectively.
Script support. One final consideration is the hosting company's built-in support for popular web scripts. Say, for example, you want to run WordPress on your website. Some hosts offer built-in script packages that make the installation of this popular blogging platform a breeze. Make sure of the number of MySQL databases that can be created, which you'll need to run WordPress and other programs.
JoeUSA.com is a one stop shop for all website products. Hosting, Email, Marketing, Security, Domains - We offer it all!
