Web hosting can be one of the most annoying parts of setting up a new business on the internet, but once it’s done, it’s not something you are going to have spend a lot of time managing. The annoying part of the process is taking the time to research each host, compare prices and see which is best for your web site, blog or business.
Not all web hosts are created the same… and when it comes to the reliability and uptime of your site, this is something you shouldn’t skimp on — especially when it comes to daily backups and making sure your site is safe!
There are thousands of hosting companies to choose from, some that are run from basements in a house, to others that are run in huge data centers. Before choosing your next web host, be sure to consider each of the key factors below.
Quick Guide to Choosing a Web Host
When choosing your next web hosting service, here are some of the important things you should be looking out for:
- PRICE – Unless you are pushing a ton of traffic through your sites, you are likely going to be fine with a $10 a month hosting plan. This would be on a shared server with a bunch of other site, but this is usually fine for 90% of the sites out there. For higher traffic sites you should look into dedicated servers which are catered in pricing and specs to cater to any site size.
- TECH SUPPORT – While it may not seem like tech support is a huge issue for you, this will drastically change if your site ever goes down and you need to get in touch with someone. I like to go with a host that offers online chat, email and phone support… all available 24/7.
- ONE CLICK WORDPRESS INSTALLATION – With more people now using WordPress than ever before, more hosts are using one-click solutions for their customers as well. This makes it a lot easier to setup new WordPress sites and software on your server, versus having to download and upload files through FTP. Here’s a walk through on how one click install works.
- CUSTOMER REVIEWS – If you want to get the best feeling for how a company is doing, simply look up reviews for them online. Be sure to look at reviews from different places and some brands have posted their own reviews which can skew ratings in their favors. Also look for individual site reviews and forum mentions.
In addition to the key points listed above, it’s also a good idea to look at your scalability options, the control panel and platform options and making sure that you don’t get locked into a long term hosting agreement that you can’t get out of.
Top 25 Hosting Companies
As mentioned earlier in the post, when it comes to choosing a web host your head might just spin around with all of the different options you have. For some people the process of choosing which web host is best in itself is enough to stress you out and stop you from starting your first site in the first place.
The following infographic is a great resource of the best companies to go with when it comes to choosing a reliable web host. (source: Blogging.org)
Now that you have more than enough information to go off of, simply visit a few of the hosting companies that you were looking at joining and compare their rates, features and service plans. At the end of the day most of these services are pretty similar, so it’s always a good idea to stick with the best rated companies versus trying to save an extra buck or two per month.