No business ever functions at a higher level than its weakest point, and that is quite often their web hosting provider. If you’re not a programmer by nature, all of the fancy words and directories can get confusing at times. When things seem messy, we sometimes make a random purchase decision instead of doing a proper evaluation. As fun as this may sound, this article will put an end to that overwhelming confusion.
See what kinds of sites you can get through your web host. You need to be concerned with the ability to create dynamic pages. Some free sites don’t allow you to do this. If you can only create static pages, you won’t be able to add scripts you coded yourself, and you will therefore be severely limited in what you can do. This will limit the scope of your site, so you may want to upgrade to a paying host.
Most web hosting packages will contain a large number of features; however, the specific features offered will differ from one company to another. Stick with the companies that offer the services you need. For instance, you may find that the lowest-priced provider no longer holds a cost advantage and you must choose a higher-priced package for the feature that you need.
Shared or dedicated hosting, which is the better solution for you? If your site is large or complex, or you receive a lot of traffic, shared hosting might limit your ability to expand and meet the needs of your customers adequately. In a case such as this, consider a dedicated host to best meet your needs.
Pick a web host that can give you room to expand. An individual static HTML page should not take much space, but adding videos or pictures can cause your site to grow quickly. Look for a plan that gives you 100MB of space to develop your website in the next year or so.
Are you considering hosting your website with a free hosting provider? Free hosts won’t usually back up your website, so it’ll be up to you to ensure that everything you upload is also backed up on your computer. If you don’t back up your own data, you’ll lose it forever if something happens to it while on the free server.
Compare web hosts using the factors listed above to ensure you’re getting the most for your money. Avoid overpaying for unnecessary features: however it is equally important to not skimp if there is one you do need.
