You can have a beautiful site with amazing content but without the right web hosting company, you will not be successful. A hosting company keeps your site up and running on the internet and if they fail, your website and business will suffer. Make sure that you get hosting right.
BEST SHARED HOSTING
| FEATURES |  BLUEHOST |
 |
|
|---|---|---|---|
| PRICE | $2.95 | $3.95 | $2.75 |
| Websites | 1 | 2 | 1 |
| Website Space | 50 GB | 5 Mbps (25GB/month) | Unlimited |
| Bandwidth | Unlimited | Unlimited | Unlimited |
| Databases | 1 | 25 | Unlimited |
| Emails | 5 | 100 | Unlimited |
| Email Storage | 100 MB/Account | 500 MB/Account | Unlimited |
| Domains | 1 | 1 | 1 |
| Dedicated IP's | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| FREE SSL | 1 | 1 | 0 |
| Support | 24/7 | 24/7 | 24/7 |
Many people choose a website hosting company based on low-cost plan or popularity. These two are points to consider but your decision should not be based on these two factors.
The following are the main things you should consider when choosing the right web hosting company:
Assess your needs – there are different types of hosting services such as dedicated, shared, cloud and more. Each comes with its own features that are ideal for specific needs. For example, shared hosting is ideal for small businesses and personal websites. Large businesses prefer a dedicated website hosting service due to their large operations. You also need to consider Windows or Linux platforms.
Cost – never go for a hosting service just because they offer low charges. Hosting costs depend on the quality and features involved in a hosting plan. Pick the features that you want to lower the costs and never compromise on service quality.
Customer Support – pick a hosting company with a customer support team that is available 24/7 and on all communication modes.
Reviews and Ratings – choose a web hosting company with a good reputation. For this, you need to carry out some research. How do you do this? By checking sites such as Alexa and Google PageRank, these two are the best for showing the worth and popularity of a website. You can also check for customer reviews and ratings of hosting sites to help you make an informed decision.
Server UP Time – many hosting companies claim to have a 99% uptime but very few fulfill this promise. You should take a look at their server uptime records since any downtime can lead to serious damage to your business site. If your website goes down often, all your efforts such as content development, marketing and SEO will go to waste.
Storage and Space - You will need a larger bandwidth if your site has high traffic and is big sized. An unlimited hosting plan is good for big sites but they too come with limits. It is, therefore, important to go through the offer before committing. Even if you have a small website now, you should consider that your traffic and amount of content will grow and this will need extra hosting space or else your site will crash. Check whether your host has upgrading options for when you need extra bandwidth.
Security Features - There are so many hackers and viruses out there meaning that you should always make sure that your site is protected. If some security features are not installed, your site can be seriously compromised. You should choose a website hosting company with reliable security features even if it costs you extra. Your host should have a daily backup of your website, this comes in handy in the event of a crisis.
Domain-Based Email - Hosting providers will give domain based emails but the number varies. A professional email for your vendors and employees is important. It helps you to create a unique brand identity and promote your services. You can get unlimited domain-based emails or your hosting company might put a restriction, choose the one that works for you. Other useful options include auto response, email filters and more.
Carry out research to pick the right hosting company, the success of your website depends on it.