Reliable and easy to use – web hosting
Web hosting is an important choice to make when it comes to hosting your website, blog, or WordPress.
What to look out for when choosing web hosting?
- Disk Space
- Bandwidth
- Security
- Uptime
- Website Speed
- Pre-Installed Apps
- Domain Names
- Website Builder
- Support
- Backups
1. Disk Space
Disk space or storage is one of the features web hosts offer. It is required to store your website files which comprise HTML, javascript, and CSS files. For WordPress or other Content Management Software (CMS), you have to consider the installation and plenty of plugins. You will also require a high amount of disk space for media files, images, or videos.
2. Bandwidth
Bandwidth is another feature to consider when it comes to web hosting. You will not want to risk losing your customers/users by having a slow and unresponsive web experience.
3. Security
Security is an important feature to counter cyberattacks. SSL certificates encrypt data sent via your website to the right recipient. Malware scans provided by web host helps to remove malware and identify threats. And firewall management helps to mitigate the most common attacks.
4. Uptime
Web host uptime is always neglected by website owners. You must select a web host that guarantees up to 99.9% to ensure your website is up and always available to your customers/users. Backup servers ensure your website is backed up in another web server and up in no time if the web server goes down. Backup servers in multiple locations ensure your website will be up even if the data center is down due to natural disasters or other reasons.
5. Website Speed
Website speed not only depends on bandwidth but also depends on the web host servers. Look for web host servers with solid-state drives (SSD) which access data at a faster speed than traditional hard drives.
Limiting the number of websites hosted on a shared server is also another way that ensures your website will not compete with other websites for resources.
Content delivery networks (CDN) are a group of geographically distributed servers that cache static content such as webpages HTML, JavaScript files, CSS files, images, and videos. It helps to speed up the delivery of web content by selecting the nearest servers according to the user’s location.
6. Pre-Installed Apps
The management of a website is easy by using applications such as cPanel. Some web hosting providers provide cPanel (Control Panel) which is customized with easy-to-use features.
7. Domain Names
A hosting plan often includes free domain name registration. Or you can purchase a domain name elsewhere and transfer to the web hosting if the web hosting providers support this option.
8. Website Builder
Website Builder is a good feature for non-technical web owners to build a simple website.
The most important features of website builder:
- Drag and drop web components
- Pre-made and mobile responsive website templates
- Stock image library, fonts, CSS
- Free services such as email marketing
9. Support
Excellent technical support is important when facing issues with web hosting.
The best web hosting provider provides 24/7 support. And supports through multiple channels:
- Knowledge bases
- Forums
- Live chat
- Chatbots
- Email support
- Calls
10. Backups
Website backups are essential.
Backups are not only important for security issues, it is crucial for you able to revert any changes. A good hosting provider should restore your website with minimal downtime and make frequent automatic backups of your website to prevent data loss.
Conclusion
So you now know the important features of good web hosting, but do you know which web hosting provider has all these features?
I have used BlueHost for multiple websites. And run for 5 years without facing any issues. I recommend using BlueHost if you are new to web hosting.
Start creating your website or WordPress by using BlueHost.
