Gone are the days when having a well-designed and responsive website for your business was optional. Today, you cannot afford to run your company without an online presence. In fact, many enterprises out there cannot afford even a few minutes of downtime.
That means that choosing a reliable web host has become a critical mission for many business owners. If you choose the right web hosting service from day one, you will most likely save yourself the headache of having to migrate your website to a different hosting company later on.
But, what happens if you are designing your first site and you don’t know how to choose the best web hosting company? We are here to help you. Here are some of the essential factors to consider when choosing a web hosting service.
Uptime Guarantee
The last thing that you need your clients to experience is a blank screen when they try to access your website. Therefore, make sure that you shop for a hosting company with a strong reputation for uptime and redundancy.
If you are running a business website, you need to remember the fact that you lose a lot of money every time it is unavailable.
Even if you are running a personal site just for fun, you risk providing a disappointing experience to your visitors if they cannot access your website when they type in your URL.
An excellent web hosting service should guarantee at least 99% uptime because it is their job to keep your website up and accessible all the time.
Addon Domain/Website Option
If you are new to web hosting, then you need to understand this feature. The add-on domain option allows you to run multiple sites under a single web hosting account.
Whether you opt for a reliable Canadian free web hosting or purchase a hosting plan, make sure that you understand the key features of the plan.
A good hosting service should provide you with an option to run multiple websites under your hosting plan instead of purchasing a different plan every time you need to set up a new site. Therefore, ensure that you check the domain capacity of your preferred hosting plan before you go for it.
Scalability
The importance of scalability when it comes to web hosting is two-fold. First, you need your site to be able to handle sudden spikes in visitor numbers, and secondly, you need a reliable web host that you can grow with over time.
This means that you should not start experiencing problems as your traffic grows. When choosing a web hosting service, make sure you confirm how easy it will be to upgrade should you be forced to do so.
Can your web hosting company quickly move you from an entry-level shared hosting plan to a dedicated server when your traffic hits certain levels?
Scalability is a crucial factor to consider since it determines the ability of your site to handle seasonal fluctuations in web traffic without any issues.
Support
Lastly, make sure you ask yourself what kind of support you will need to keep things running. The worst thing that can happen is for your website to go down and you don’t get the technical support you need to restore normalcy.
Although nobody can prevent glitches 100%, you will be at peace, knowing that there is someone you can call or email to get immediate solutions to your problems.
Look for web hosting companies that offer 24/7 customer support with friendly customer service representatives who speak your language.
