Whether you are setting up a family website or you need to administer an enterprise-level e-commerce solution, the web hosting company you choose is of the highest importance. To make sure you find a web host that will help you show your site to the world, take a look at these helpful tips.
When considering a particular web host, ask them about the security measures and protections they have set up. Entire sites can be attacked by hackers, and they are vulnerable to a myriad of other security threats. Ensure that the host you choose has clear procedures for handling threats like DDoS attacks. Establish the possible risks and outcomes that might be faced if a host is attacked.
Avoid choosing the cheapest web-hosting service out there, and certainly think long and hard before you go with a free one. If you are running a business online, your reputation can be severely damaged if you choose an unreliable hosting service. In addition, the free ones will often have advertisements that make it obvious you are not willing to pay for a basic service that is important to your livelihood.
It is important to understand the refund policy of your potential web host prior to making a commitment. A lot of web hosting packages will require you to sign up for a year at a time, or will offer significant discounts for making a long term commitment. You should make certain that you will be able to obtain a refund if the service is less than satisfactory. Certain packages may not allow refunds, or might have cancellation fees.
Good customer support is essential to any web host. If something goes wrong or your website is not working, it’s important that you have someone to contact who can help you with the problems immediately and get them taken care of. Inquire about the host’s company support options before shelling out any money.
Investigate the legal terms of your host. At a minimum, a web hosting company should provide a Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, and a Privacy Policy. These documents are vital because they let you know what limits you may face, from payment plans to bandwidth and CPU usage. Be wary of any company which makes these documents unavailable or difficult to find.
Do not solely rely on web host comparison websites when selecting a web host. This is because many of these websites also earn affiliate marketing profits for referring you to the web hosting companies that they are comparing. This is a conflict of interest. You should therefore verify any information you obtain through other third party reviews and user reviews.
In some cases, advertising an uptime of 99.9% does not truly reflect the kind of performance to expect from a web hosting service. Uptime reports cover a whole month and represent the amount of time for which the site was available. It does not take into consideration traffic peaks: your site might be offline during the busiest hours of the day will not be reflected by a good uptime.
No matter how great your content or how original your site design, if your web host isn’t up to the task, no one will ever see it. The suggestions above will help you evaluate web hosting companies and make smart decisions about who you entrust with your web hosting needs.