There are numerous number of web hosting companies to choose from that a lot of people find it quite confusing to choose one. Even when you’ve signed up with one, how certain are you that you’ve made the right choice?
One of the interesting things about web hosting is that the better it is, the less you think of it. In most cases where your website is running fine, you tend to not give much thought to your web hosting company. This is somewhat similar to the electricity or plumbing in your house. You only notice it when something goes wrong with it. Having known this, there is need to have a little web hosting discussion about some of the typical problems that individuals and businesses encounter with their hosts.
Slow Service
It is expected that you depend on your web host to keep your website online. You also want to work with a company with fast and reliable servers so that your visitors and customers can load pages as fast as possible. Nowadays, people have little or no patience for slow-loading pages. Delays of even a few seconds may lead to losing visitors. That’s why you need web hosting that’s fast and reliable, with high uptime. Before you blame your web host for slow-loading pages, however, remember many factors affect page loading speed. For example, if you have optimized images or many videos on your site, this can cause slowdowns. If you use WordPress, too many plugins could be the culprit. However, if you seem to have done everything possible to optimize your site and it’s still slow, your host may be the problem. If you’re shopping for a web host, it is advisable to try to identify some of their customers and test their websites for speed.
Unreliable Support
Whatever kind of website you own, it’s likely that there is going to be a need for support at some point. Could be to ask a question about a certain feature or report a problem, it’s important that you can reach someone promptly and get your issue resolved. If you have a business, it’s even more crucial. Sadly, not all web hosting company provides reliable support. One feature to look for is that you can reach someone 24/7, not only during normal working hours. You don’t want to get stuck if a serious issue occurs on a weekend or late at night. Of course, support is more than someone just speaking to someone on the phone, but instead, you want to make sure to reach a knowledgeable and helpful person, not get stuck on hold or talking to someone who can’t solve your problem. Therefore, reading customer reviews of web hosts is a good way to know how strong a company is in this aspect.
Insufficient Security
Security is another important feature that is needed in a web host. If your site has already been hacked, it only suggests that your web host isn’t providing the level of security needed. Of course, you should also realize that security is also about the type of plan you choose. No matter who your web host is, a shared hosting plan is always your least secure option. If you have a growing start up business, there is need for you to consider upgrading to VPS or dedicated hosting. However, even with shared hosting, there are different levels of security. Look for a web host with a secure data center (or multiple ones). Another important security feature is ; your web host should offer security services such as two-factor authentication, which makes it harder for unauthorized parties to log in and access your site. Web hosts should also try as much as possible to offer backup services to ensure you don’t lose your data.
Lack of Flexibility
Your website should not be something static, that is, you want it to grow and evolve along with your needs. As your business grows, your needs also expands with it. A good web host ensures that your business scale up easily. However, beyond this, you want a web host that offers a great service of flexibility. A flexible web host offers various plans so you’re only paying for the data you actually consume. That way, you can upgrade (or downgrade) your service based on your needs. Make sure that your web host is flexible enough to let your website grow.
Less Available Features
It is not exiciting to have to compromise on some features or level of service you offer customers because your web host limits your capabilities. Does your web hosting company let you install some valuable software such as; PHP scripts, b2evolution, Joomla, WordPress, e-commerce platforms, or any other features you might need? Does it offer Windows as well as Linux hosting? While Linux hosting is the most common, some businesses use software that requires Windows hosting. The features you need depend on your own website or particular need. When comparing web hosts, it’s wise to look ahead and consider the services you’re likely to want in time to come.
Poor Value
When it comes to web hosting, you can’t overlook cost price. At the same time, don’t be tempted to sign up with a web host simply because it’s charge is cheap. Low price doesn’t always transmit into good value. On the other hand, you don’t want to pay too high than you have to for reliable hosting. Many web hosts offer cheap introductory prices but keep in mind you’ll have to pay the full price when you renew, this is most likely in form of a strategy. Some reasonable plans force you to sign up for long periods such as two or three years. Carefully examine the cost along with all of the features and services the company offers to figure out whether you’re getting a solid value.
These are some of the major elements to consider when assessing your web hosting or when shopping for a web host. If you’re looking for reliable, valuable, secure and affordable web hosting company, please do not hesitate to reach out to us.
