What Does Your Site Require?
Touching on the point above, the first thing that needs to be determined is your individual needs and what you are looking to accomplish. For instance, do you want a personal website? An e-commerce site? Does it require a blog or other additional software? These answers play a major part in determining the company best suited for your needs.
Cost Factor
The second factor that needs to be considered is cost. You need to establish a workable budget as the price for service ranges widely from free to very expensive. Free hosting offers the obvious benefit of not having to pay for your site but there are several limitations. In this environment you generally have little to no support as well as a lack of features and security. Furthermore, a free host may litter your page with third-party advertisements which could certainly blemish your credibility. If you plan to start a business online, we strongly recommend staying away from free hosting.
Storage and Bandwidth
Disk space and bandwidth are two of the most essential features of any web hosting plan. You will undoubtedly require a certain amount of space for your files be it simple documents or images. Bandwidth is also critical as it has a tremendous impact on your site’s performance. The more people you have coming in, the more bandwidth your site will require. The most important thing to consider here is growth. Don’t go with a low capacity just because it is cheap, and never buy into a plan just because it offers an impressive amount of storage and bandwidth. Find out what is reasonable for your needs and pick something that will support your site on into the future.
Reliability and Support
Last but not least, you should look for signs of reliability in a web host. If the company can’t be relied on, all of those attractive features and incredibly low price will not mean a thing. A reliable host will ensure that your site is always available and that visitors will enjoy a smooth performance. Keep in mind that slow loading pages and downtime are a surefire way to lose your visitors. Quality customer support ties in closely with reliability and is something that should never be overlooked. Look to do business with a company that offers support in various means whether it’s a combination of phone and email or phone and live chat. As anything could go wrong, you need the reassurance that someone is available 24/7 to address your concerns.