Web hosting is critical for performance of any website. It can help provide a good experience to the visitors along with saving the webmaster from day-to-day issues that might crop up in managing the site. What should you look for in a good host?
- Disk space
- Bandwidth limits
- Free MySQL databases
- Multiple domains
- Website uptime
- 24×7 support
A good Web hosting service should be cheap (less than $60 a year) and pack at least 1GB in that cost. Many hosting providers offer unlimited disk space. The package should allow hosting of multiple domains (at least 5 websites) on this space. It should also offer unlimited bandwidth (data transfer).
Apart from this, a good hosting service should offer free MySQL databases. If your Web host is getting you to pay for the service, it’s surely not the best proposition. (Sadly, my current hosting provider charged me a bomb for very limited space and had to pay extra money for MySQL database as well.)
A good Web host should also ensure near 100% website uptime. Most hosting services will assure you 99.9% website uptime. If your website remains down for that 0.01% time, it shouldn’t affect it too much.
Before buying hosting from a service provider, make sure they provide all the features required for your website or blog. Try to get a trial period if they don’t offer it already. This will help you ensure that the host is up to the mark for your website.
If you are planning to host a WordPress blog, check the version of PHP and MySQL being run by the host. Also see if they offer quick install for WordPress and other popular content management systems and blogging platforms.
It’s not uncommon for a website to face certain issues in managing the site. There are plenty of problems that may occur in hosting the site. Is there someone to help you out? That’s where the customer support will come to your rescue. If the support system of the host is good, it will save you lots of hassles. Make sure that there’s 24×7 support available for you.
Finally, see what others are saying about the hosting service that you plan to buy. A quick Google search can be of great help in getting to know the experience of other websites with the Web host. Also see if you can get in touch with any existing customer of the service provider for his/her comments on the hosting provider. If most of the reviews are positive, you can hope to get a good service from the Web host.
Do share your experiences with hosting providers. Lots of people, including me, will be interested in your opinion. Over to you!