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What To Look Out For In Web Hosting Solutions

Finding a suitable web host can be a very tiring process, especially for people who have never done it before. If you select an unreliable web host, you might end up with inadequate features for your site, poor support from customer service and lengthy downtime.  Here are some of the factors you need to consider when looking for a web host.

1. Determine your hosting needs

Before choosing any web hosting solution, you need to figure out exactly what you require for your site.

  • Do you need an older or newer PHP version?
  • Does your site require cart software?
  • Do you need windows application?
  • Does your site require multiple databases?
  • Do you intend to start a WordPress blog?
  • What is the expected volume of traffic?

These are some of the questions you need to answer before making a decision. Come up with a one-year plan for your site to determine what your needs are likely to be. Your choice of a web hosting provider should be based on your needs, and not just what other people have recommended. Remember that what has worked for someone else might not necessarily work for you.

2. Uptime guarantees

Uptime refers to the duration which a server is running. A web hosting provider who guarantees an uptime of about 99.9% basically means that your site will remain online throughout. This is vital since business has now gone global. Nowadays, many sites receive visitors from different parts of the world. This means that someone from another continent is likely to land on your site as you sleep. Therefore, if the site goes offline daily at 3am, you may end up losing some potential customers.

Here are some tips for ensuring good uptime with your provider:

  • Find out if the company offers an uptime guarantee
  • Ask if there is a provision for dealing with a lengthy period of downtime. For instance, there are some web hosting providers who would be willing to refund part of the hosting fees. To avoid incurring extra costs, such providers are likely to do whatever it takes to keep your site online
  • Find out if the provider has a back-up plan in the event of a power failure

3. Web hosting features

What features does your hosting solution come with? Do such features meet your needs? Will the web host allow you to add more features as your site grows? These are some of the things you need to consider when choosing a web host.

  • Can the control panel be navigated easily?
  • Is audio and video streaming supported?
  • Is the SQL database easy to handle?
  • Does the host offer wizards like MyPHP?
  • Is it easy to create new emails and back up your site?
  • Is Fantastico installed?

4. Support

It is not very easy to assess the quality of support. When inquiring about hosting packages, you are likely to receive a fast and friendly response from the provider. However, after paying for the web hosting solution, support might not respond as fast whenever you have problems. The following are some of the ways of evaluating the quality of support.

  • How many options are there for reaching the web hosting provider? Find a provider who offers a 1-800 number which can be accessed at any time of the day or night. In addition, the provider should also have an email contact as well as a live chat option
  • Find out how much time it usually takes to troubleshoot problems
  • Get in touch with some of the clients and ask for their opinion in regards to the web hosting provider’s support
  • Visit online forums and read what other people have written about the provider

5. Reviews from others

Reading the reviews of others will prove whether the web hosting provider can deliver on their promises. Make sure the reviews you are reading are genuine and written by real hosting users. However, don’t rule out a web host when you see one or two negative comments about them. But when there are tens of customers complaining about the same web host, you need to be careful.

Written By

Charles Mburugu is a professional blogger who writes for TechBlogKe. You can follow him on Twitter @techblogke

9 Comments

9 Comments

  1. Julie Fitzwater

    March 12, 2013 at 12:06 pm

    Thanks Charles, for web hosting selection, it is really precious information for me. I noted the points which you mentioned in the post.

  2. Prakash

    March 12, 2013 at 12:14 pm

    Nice tips for choosing the best webhosting. Thanks for sharing this info.

    • Charles Mburugu

      March 14, 2013 at 12:42 pm

      You are very welcome Prakash 🙂

  3. Evan

    March 13, 2013 at 7:29 am

    The variety of Hosting providers are really impressive. Indeed, for an amateur user it may be really hard to get the right one. Your tips help to find the right direction in this field. Thanks fro sharing.

  4. Roger

    March 14, 2013 at 12:38 pm

    These are some really good tips on choosing the right kind of web hosting solutions. I believe it is very essential to think about the purpose of your website before making a choice on buying hosting service based solely on price. Always choose the company that best meets your needs and you will probably end up paying somewhere in the middle of the price range for whichever class of service you go for. Thanks for sharing this post! The points you have covered here will be really helpful for newbie.

    • Charles Mburugu

      March 14, 2013 at 12:52 pm

      Thanks for stopping by Roger…appreciate it

  5. Paula

    March 28, 2013 at 10:38 am

    Thanks Charles for providing helpful suggestions. I’m a new website owner and I’m being learning various tricks of using web hosting. Glad to learn what to look out for in web hosting solutions and I’m looking forward to visit here so often to keep my learning lessons on.

  6. Femi

    April 4, 2013 at 12:22 pm

    hi Charles, you said it all, as a web hosting provider, we find out that most folks that are looking for a hosting provider don’t even consider those tips, they just wanted a cheap solution just to host their website, without bothering about up time,reliability of service etc.

    And the tips you laid out can be used by anyone for their selection when it come to choosing a web hosting provider. hope most newbies find this post and read it.

    anyway thanks for the information

  7. Daisy

    May 23, 2013 at 1:47 pm

    Charles, I have listened that one should take hosting from that country where he needs to be searched. For example if an american wants to make france as targeted country for customers, he must chose hosting company from France. It makes search engine more specific for his site. It is true?

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