Web hosting is essential for anyone who wants to do business online, and there is no shortage of companies out there to gain their business. In many ways, this wide selection for customers is great, but it also means that deciding where to host your website becomes much more difficult. The web hosting industry suffers from the fact that many companies make big promises and consistently fail to deliver. The end result is a lot of misinformation and frustrated customers trying to defame the hosting company they feel has been wronged. When you enter the web hosting space as a new customer, you are often faced with the daunting task of discovering what is not true about the company you are researching. On the one hand there will be aggressive warnings against using a company, on the other you will read glowing reports about their services. You often feel like you're negotiating a minefield when the whole topic is new to you and you feel like you're banging your head against a wall out of sheer frustration.
Have a simple answer to the question you want the best answer to "Who is the best web host for me?" Unfortunately, the answer to that question is almost certainly no. No matter who you ask for advice, there will always be disagreements during your research. That is web hosting. This is one area where some people are keen to blame certain hosting companies and often their anger and frustration is out of proportion to what they have done. Of course, sometimes complaints can be justified. The web hosting industry is not perfect and there are few official audits or standards. Anyone who listens to the whiners who wax lyrical about the company but have no experience with the company and are only interested in earning affiliate commissions can shrug.
Hosting companies and hosting offerings come in many shapes and sizes beyond the scope of this introductory article. However, there are some tips that will help you enter the competitive world of web hosting services.
1) It seems obvious, but do your research before you buy. When you find an offer that matches exactly what you're looking for, don't leave a single unsatisfied or negative review. There is probably no hosting company that doesn't get bad reviews. Use common sense. If you only find bad reviews, there may be a problem.
2) There is no definitive "best deal" in web hosting. You need to find the package that best suits your needs in terms of features and budget. Before you go shopping, make a list of the things that are important to you.
3) Many hosting companies operate through affiliates. It should in no way be taken as a red flag. A highly competitive market makes the affiliate program an essential requirement for this business. You will also find that often the only way to take advantage of special offers and coupons is through affiliates.
4) Don't believe everything you read. Many unhappy customers who do not choose wisely or read the terms and conditions of a particular company create their own problems. This is very common in the web hosting industry and many customers try to blame the company for the misunderstandings. The more severe the attack against a particular host, the more nuanced and soothing assessments of its weaknesses should be sought. Obviously, if all you see is bad press, beware. The larger a company's customer base, the more complaints they will find, but the law of averages always does. Read some web hosting forums looking for feedback. Note, however, that some of the profanity posted by users will not hurt either side of a particular story. Pay no attention to those who curse and are angry, but to those who speak honest and reasonable opinions.
5) If you have any questions, please contact the company before signing up for membership. It's also a great way to see how fast and efficient your customer service channels are. Good hosts offer multiple channels of communication to their customers, usually phone, real-time online support, and email. Various interpretations are possible with 24/7 support! me
6) As a new webmaster, you may not know how much bandwidth or memory you will need, and unfortunately, no one can give you definitive answers to those questions. If you're buying hosting for the first time, don't be put off by the numbers, as they often don't make sense. Shared hosting deals are usually good for beginners. You can always upgrade your hosting plan as your business grows. In most cases, you won't need to upgrade for a while unless you expect to get hundreds of thousands of visitors once your site is launched. Alternatively, create a blog or start posting large amounts of data from scratch. Don't worry too much.
7) Reliability and technical support are important issues if you are hosting a business related website. Uptime guarantees aren't always reliable, but companies should give you 99.9%. If not, it might not be suitable for a business site, even if its honesty is commendable. Excessive downtime is costly and customers are lost. Trust is very important. If you're not running a commercial site, it might not be a big deal, but you can rest assured that your site isn't offline when people try to visit you!
8) Cheapest is not always best. The temptation to stick to your monthly budget is strong, and there are plenty of very affordable deals out there. It should not be ignored, but for business users, it should be studied very carefully. Good quality hosting isn't expensive, but it won't cost you a few pennies a month. As with most things, you'll find that the universal "you get what you pay for" rule applies to hosting. Good shared hosting is still available at very reasonable prices. Cheap can be expensive.
9) Some hosting companies target specific areas of specialization. For example, if you're in the porn industry, some hosts don't want your business. No need to try to use a hosting company that doesn't want that type of website on their server. Sometimes it's not just adult sites that need professional hosting. If you think your online activity is out of the ordinary, talk to them about a list of potential hosts before you sign up.
10) Choosing a good hosting company early on can save you a lot of potential pain as your business grows. What's cheap to start with can end up costing you a lot more in wasted time and hassle down the road. Avoid free hosting for your critical business operations. In addition to hosting services, there are several hosting companies that offer recurring monthly commissions for their affiliate programs. If you want to offset your web hosting costs, this can be a great way to go and you can also see residual income from maintaining and promoting your web host. Not many hosts offer this, but if you are interested, you can find more information in the resource links below.
The world of web hosting is often a soup of confusing jargon and conflicting opinions, but ultimately you have to make a decision. We hope these top tips help you make smart purchases and have a happy future relationship with your hosting company.