Web hosting can be difficult to understand for first-time buyers. There are many factors that you want to consider when finding a hosting plan which is suitable for your requirements. The important thing to remember is that everybody has different needs and there isn’t one hosting package which is going to be best for everyone.
Therefore, the first thing to do is consider your needs and see what companies can provide you with exactly what you’re looking for.
Reliability! Uptime
One of the most important factors for any webmaster is hosting reliability. There is nothing worse than a host always being down because it means that visitors cannot access your website. Anything below 99% is considered unacceptable and stable servers with more than 9 9.5% uptime are recommended.
You can track web host reliability and uptime using a number of free tools. One of the most popular free tools on the market is Uptime Robot (uptimerobot.com). This free online tool will check your website every five minutes to see if it is online.
Disk Space/ Data Transfer
Nowadays, the amount of disk space and data transfer provided on cheap plans is often enough to handle fairly large websites with a moderate number of visitors each day. Shared hosting plans often offer unlimited disk space and data transfer and limit their service in other ways. You may be limited by the number of simultaneous tasks, jobs, or concurrent processes depending on the package or provider.
If you go for a VPS, dedicated, or cloud-based hosting package then you can usually upscale your plan according to your needs. This means that you’re only paying for the resources that you actually use.
Prices
One of the most important things for most people is the cost of the web hosting plan. It’s possible to find free hosting, but free plans are usually very limited. Entry-level shared hosting plans generally go for a few dollars a month. You can find decent VPS plans for as little as ten dollars per month and cloud hosting for a little more depending on your hardware, bandwidth and storage requirements.
You should try to assess what you need from a hosting plan before looking at prices. Once you know what you want, find a number of companies that offer suitable plans. Then look to see which one provides a good service and value for money. Remember that the cheapest options aren’t always the best option.
Upgrade Options
If you have a VPS, dedicated server or cloud package, you can often easily update your server to meet demand. For example, you can add more RAM or storage when you need it. If you find that you’ve outgrown your current setup, you should use cPanel Hosting Services that allow you to quickly and easily upgrade your plan. In this way, you only have to pay for the service that you use and can be more cost effective.
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