What to Look For in a Web Host Service Provider

Are you unsure of what to look for in a web host service provider? The factors you should look for must cater to the needs of your business, interests, and website. When you work with the right provider, it gives you the opportunity to fully focus your time on marketing your business. To help you know what to look for in a good web host company, we will list down the things you should check.

What Is a Web Host Service Provider?

Before we provide the list of factors to look for in a web hosting service, let us refresh your knowledge about web hosting. 

Web hosting is the web’s hard drive. It is where you store files for your website, such as apps, media, images, and videos. 

To contain all the files that make up your site and serve them to your site visitors, a physical server (server hosting) should be powerful. Website owners can own and maintain their own server, but its power is not practical. This is where web hosting providers come in. 

Web hosts have many servers that can provide reliable and consistent service for many websites. When you pay for a web hosting subscription, you are renting some space on their servers. 

To find a good hosting company, you need to look at their level of expertise to make your website running securely, efficiently, and smoothly.

Do You Need a Web Host?

Yes, you do. A web host service provider can host your published website on the Internet where people can see it. It is a channel where the web pages you designed can be made accessible to people online.

Aside from making your site visible to people across the globe, web hosting services can also enable firewalls and other security programs that prevent website hacking. They can give proper maintenance to your site to keep it running consistently as well.

What to Look For in a Web Host Service Provider

Now that we have refreshed your understanding about web hosts and how it is important to your website to keep it running, let us discuss each factor you should look for in a hosting service.

1. Offers Satisfactory Security Options

Data breaches and hackers are major threats in the online world, and website owners should establish a strong security system to protect their websites from those. There are, however, things a website owner can do to build a security system for their site, but to make it stronger, hiring a web hosting service with robust security tools can fulfil this job.

A good web hosting service offers powerful firewalls and affordable security options for your website. Ask about or research the company’s reputation for their security plans, so you can evaluate if you are in good hands.

2. Supports Management for Domain Names

Your domain is one important element in starting a website because it is your identity and what people use to find you on the Internet. To help you find and register your domain, you need a web hosting provider.

Find a hosting company that lets you manage your site’s domain registration and renewals in one interface, where you can manage your web hosting accounts for your website.

3. Supports Website Migration

Although it is ideal to find the right web hosting company when you start your website, many businesses still transfer from one service to another. This is primarily because the service with the previous company was not satisfactory.

If you are one of these businesses, make sure to find a hosting company that supports transferring of your site over. Know the process of how they migrate files, and if their method is simple, then you will be at ease.

Many good web hosting companies provide free website migrations and look after the whole website transfer for you.

4. Provides Many Resources to Start a Website

Even if you design your own website, you may still have questions on how you do more advanced configurations on your site. A hosting company can help you with the workaround when you build your website. 

In choosing a web host provider, make sure you understand how they assign resources, so you know how your website will behave. They should provide manuals, how-to articles, or video tutorials to make it easier for you to learn. 

5. Uses an Intuitive Interface for Your Hosting Account

One important factor a web hosting provider should have is to use a simple interface that you can easily access. Your web hosting account should let you do the following:

• Upgrade and renew hosting solutions
• Manage backups
• Add new databases or applications to your site
• Manage SSL and domain email addresses
• Set up redirects
• Manage domain name

A web hosting company should make it easy for you to configure your domains and add or delete options in your account.

6. Offers Affordable Prices

Web hosting does not need to be costly because you will be paying the service monthly. A simple shared hosting can start at 2.39 GBP or less a month.

When checking for hosting plans, look for the price and inclusions you are comfortable with and satisfied. Although a cheaper plan might be manageable for your website, it would be best to spend a little more for higher bandwidth and additional features to boost your website’s performance.

7. Has 24/7 Customer Service

Website issues that need the hosting service help can occur anytime. When this happens, it is best if your hosting company can assist you right away.

For that reason, make sure the hosting company you will be working with has a 24/7 support service. It would be a bonus if they have several ways you can reach out to them, such as live chat, phone, and email.

8. Has Various Hosting Plans

A web hosting subscription’s primary purpose is to cater to your site’s needs. This also means they can support your needs when your business grows by offering more advanced plans.

You might want to start with a cheaper plan, but you will need to upgrade as your business needs expand. A good hosting company offers many types of subscriptions to cater to both beginners and advanced website owners. 

Make sure your hosting provider can switch your current subscription to a higher plan easily without causing problems.  

9. Can Assure You of At Least 99% Uptime

The time your site is down is a loss for your business, and the longer it takes, the larger your loss is. Your website visitors who could be potential customers would be disappointed to see your website down, making them lose trust in your brand.

This is where a hosting service comes in handy. Its primary job is to keep your site up and running at least 99% of the time. 

Regular website maintenance that can take your site offline is expected, but a good web hosting company should finish the work quickly because they understand how downtime affects your revenue. Check how well and quick the provider fixes web issues, and check to see if there is a money-back guarantee.

10. Has a Powerful Reputation in the Industry

One best factor to determine a good web hosting service is knowing if the company is well-established and has a strong reputation. To know if the hosting service you want to work with is reputable, research about them and check if they have excellent reviews from previous and current customers.

It would also be wonderful if they have earned hosting awards or certificates that prove they are competitive in the industry.

Conclusion

By learning what to look for in a web host service provider, you can create the right standards to find the right company. Make sure they are reputable, assure 99% uptime, have different plans and 24/7 customer service, offer affordable prices and great security options, use a simple interface, support website migration and domain name management, and provide resources to start a website.

You can add more to the list above, depending on your needs, but the factors mentioned are the common qualifications for a good web hosting company. So, start researching for hosting companies that have these qualifications and evaluate them better to pick the perfect service for your business!