Simply put, web hosting is an online service that lets you host a website or web application online. It is through web hosting that your website’s content is visible and accessible on the web. So, when you choose a web hosting facility for your enterprise, you are technically renting space on a physical server to store all your website’s data and files. This enables your web application or website ro work on digital devices like notepads, laptops, tablets etc. So, when someone types in your website’s domain on a search engine, the web hosting services provider is responsible for sending its content. You can make the most out of web hosting only when you choose the right service. In this blog, we will delve into the top 10 considerations of choosing a web hosting service for your enterprise.
Top 10 Considerations When Choosing Web Hosting Services
Average Uptime
The first thing to look for in a web hosting service is their average uptime. By average uptime, we mean the approximate amount of time your website stays up within a stipulated time frame. This measure is essential as it vehemently affects how much traffic your website gets. When a website’s server is down, it can lose millions of dollars in revenue. Even bigwigs like Amazon and Facebook have experienced gargantuan losses due to server downtime. So, you would want the average uptime of the web hosting provider to be 100 percent or as close to it as possible. Any number below 99.90 percent means that you should look for other options.
Understand Your Website’s Needs
The second step in choosing the right web host is to understand what your website actually needs. You will find innumerable web hosts, but aligning with the best services is only possible when you know the looming requirements of your site. Ask yourself questions about the type of website you are building, whether you would want to use Traffic, the traffic you are expecting, and so forth. These ostensibly basic questions can help you chart out the type of services that would best resonate with your needs.
Load Time
The third quality that you must look for in a web hosting service is load time. Simply put, page load is the amount of time it takes for a web page to load. Both uptime scores and load time impact the proportion of traffic a website gets. Slower web pages with a higher load speed frustrate users. A recent survey by Google reveals that a whopping 53 percent of website visitors leave if it takes more than 3 seconds to load a page. Thus, the web hosting company you choose must ensure page load time of 3 seconds or less.
Backup Facilities
You should prioritize web hosting services that ensure regular backings in their hosting services. This small but monumental measure ensures that your website’s data is safe and can be easily restored in case of any untoward incidents, such as data loss. Moreover, a web host that offers automated backups is even more worthy of your time and energy.
Scalability
The fifth quality you must look out for in a web hosting service is scalability. It means that the web hosting plan can accommodate the increasing needs of your website as it expands, flourishes and grows over time. A scalable hosting solution enables you to start with a basic plan, while providing seamless upgrades that accommodate changes in traffic, content, and functionality.
Bandwidth and Data Transfer
The sixth trait that makes a web hosting company stand out is bandwidth. It is the amount of data your website can relay to visitors within a specific timeframe. For example, if a website has images and texts equal to 4 MB, and 100 people visit the page, the website would consume 400 MB of bandwidth.
If your website has high-traffic footfall, you will need more bandwidth to accommodate the increased data transfer. When traffic exceeds the bandwidth allotment, you can expect longer load times or even downtimes. Sometimes, you may be slapped with coverage fees from your web hosting service.
Email Hosting Integration
Email hosting integration is a feature that your web host must provide. It helps create domain-specific email addresses. This tiny detail can strengthen your brand identity and offer more customization options than a free email service. Users can create multiple email accounts for team members or set up autoresponders. You should look for other features like easy account setup, spam filtering, reliable uptime, etc, along with email hosting integration.
Storage Capacity
A crucial aspect to keep in mind when choosing a web host is the storage space. Storage in web hosting is the space allocated by a provider to store all website files and data, such as images and videos. So, make sure that the web hosting company you choose offers versatile and diverse packages, as each site has its unique requirements for disk space based on factors like content volume and multimedia usage.
SSL
The penultimate quality that the web hosting service you choose must offer free SSL as a part of its plan. SSL certificates create an encrypted connection and establish trust. They also add the padlock icon before your URL and place the ‘S’ in HTTPS. This establishes trust among consumers, and secures the transactions happening on your website.
Pricing
Last but not least, you should understand all the web hosting costs involved, not just in the initial plans but also the prospective increases down the line. Remember that a lot of web hosting services start with a low introductory offer but prices go up significantly. Furthermore, beyond the base pricing, make sure to enquire about extra service costs, such as domain registration, SSL certificates, site migrations, data backups, premium technical support, extra bandwidth usage, and more.
Wrapping it Up
So, there we have it, a crisp overview of the top 10 considerations you should take into account while choosing a web hosting service for your business.
