If you are on the look out for some cheap web hosting, it is wise to be educated about all of the “lingo” that you’ll come across along the way. The more you know about the various specifications and details that are advertised with web hosting plans, the better position you will be in to make the perfect decision. Choosing a company to host your website or websites is certainly an important decision. The wrong decision can lead to the need to change hosts at short notice, and this can be both chaotic and disruptive to your website. Getting it right from the start is the most ideal situation to be in. You can then enjoy a long and fruitful relationship with your web host provider.
Important Things To Consider When Selecting A Web Host
Below, we have noted some of the most vital considerations to keep in mind while you research the best cheap web hosting for your needs.
Customer Support
You might be surprised to see support as the first item on our list, but when you consider just how important this aspect is, it is something that can’t be ignored. The customer support channels will be the first place you turn if something goes wrong with your website. A server that is down is out of your control, and all you can do is rely upon the web hosting company to rectify the problem as quickly as possible. How urgently they go about this, and how they correspond with customers throughout the process, will determine how trustworthy and reliable they are. Reading real user reviews of various web hosting companies will give you a good idea of what their customer support service is like, and you can also gain a good idea of their communication skills by speaking with them before you consider purchasing a new hosting plan.
Storage and Bandwidth
These are the two most obvious and important specifications that you’ll first be taking note of. How much storage do you need, and how much bandwidth do you expect to use each month? In most cases, the allocated storage and bandwidth will exceed that needed by regular websites, with only the largest or most specialist of sites needing more space and data transfer; in these cases, a dedicated server is often recommended, rather than cheaper shared hosting.
Storage refers to the space available on the hard drive for you to store your files. If you will not storing large files like videos and music, 1GB may be enough. Storage is cheap however, and even cheap web hosting plans usually offer generous amounts. Bandwidth refers to how much data is transferred to and from your website each month. Again, file sizes will determine this, as will the efficiency of your back end programming and caching. The amount of traffic your site receives will greatly determine how much bandwidth you need. It’s always better to be safe than sorry in this department; although the best hosting companies will always allow you to quickly upgrade your bandwidth should you be nearing your limit.
Number of Domains
If you plan on hosting more than one website, or have more than one domain for your site, you’ll need to make sure that your potential hosting plan supports multiple domains. Most cheap web hosting plans will have support for at least five domains, although some will also list “unlimited” domains.
Operating System
Will you need a UNIX or Windows based server? The programming languages used on your website will affect this decision. If you are writing code in ASP.Net for example, you may select a Windows server, whilst the more commonly used open source languages of PHP and other web languages run on any server, but Unix or Linux is the most common choice.
Control Panel Type
Linux based web servers will generally use the cPanel control panel interface that many people are familiar with. There are however other control panel types, but do check if they offer the same facilities as cPanel, such as easily monitoring your statistics, one click installation of many types of software and scripts, easy email set up and countless other options.
Cost of Hosting Services
Cheap web hosting really can be cheap, at just a few dollars per month. But keep in mind that this may limit the quality and amount of support you receive, the uptime of your website, and the speed and general quality of the server your site is sitting on.
Backing Up
If you are an experienced webmaster, then you will no doubt know how to be in control of your own backing up procedures. Those who are new to the game however might rely upon the hosting company to undertake regular backups. In any case, the best hosts always run their own regular backups as a fail safe measure in the case of any catastrophic server failure. You should always be in control of the most recent backup of your own data though, with the hosts back up files used only as a last resort.
Final Thoughts
So whilst price is certainly a factor that needs to be taken into consideration, especially if you are on a tight budget, it is the other aspects of selecting a web host, as mentioned in this article, that are the most important things to keep in mind whilst you make that all important decision of where to host your website. We’ve reviewed some of the best web hosts that are affordable and worthy of signing up for. One cheap host is Web Hosting Hub. Check out WebHostingHub review to learn more.
Important Things To Consider When Selecting A Web Host
Below, we have noted some of the most vital considerations to keep in mind while you research the best cheap web hosting for your needs.
Customer Support
You might be surprised to see support as the first item on our list, but when you consider just how important this aspect is, it is something that can’t be ignored. The customer support channels will be the first place you turn if something goes wrong with your website. A server that is down is out of your control, and all you can do is rely upon the web hosting company to rectify the problem as quickly as possible. How urgently they go about this, and how they correspond with customers throughout the process, will determine how trustworthy and reliable they are. Reading real user reviews of various web hosting companies will give you a good idea of what their customer support service is like, and you can also gain a good idea of their communication skills by speaking with them before you consider purchasing a new hosting plan.
Storage and Bandwidth
These are the two most obvious and important specifications that you’ll first be taking note of. How much storage do you need, and how much bandwidth do you expect to use each month? In most cases, the allocated storage and bandwidth will exceed that needed by regular websites, with only the largest or most specialist of sites needing more space and data transfer; in these cases, a dedicated server is often recommended, rather than cheaper shared hosting.
Storage refers to the space available on the hard drive for you to store your files. If you will not storing large files like videos and music, 1GB may be enough. Storage is cheap however, and even cheap web hosting plans usually offer generous amounts. Bandwidth refers to how much data is transferred to and from your website each month. Again, file sizes will determine this, as will the efficiency of your back end programming and caching. The amount of traffic your site receives will greatly determine how much bandwidth you need. It’s always better to be safe than sorry in this department; although the best hosting companies will always allow you to quickly upgrade your bandwidth should you be nearing your limit.
Number of Domains
If you plan on hosting more than one website, or have more than one domain for your site, you’ll need to make sure that your potential hosting plan supports multiple domains. Most cheap web hosting plans will have support for at least five domains, although some will also list “unlimited” domains.
Operating System
Will you need a UNIX or Windows based server? The programming languages used on your website will affect this decision. If you are writing code in ASP.Net for example, you may select a Windows server, whilst the more commonly used open source languages of PHP and other web languages run on any server, but Unix or Linux is the most common choice.
Control Panel Type
Linux based web servers will generally use the cPanel control panel interface that many people are familiar with. There are however other control panel types, but do check if they offer the same facilities as cPanel, such as easily monitoring your statistics, one click installation of many types of software and scripts, easy email set up and countless other options.
Cost of Hosting Services
Cheap web hosting really can be cheap, at just a few dollars per month. But keep in mind that this may limit the quality and amount of support you receive, the uptime of your website, and the speed and general quality of the server your site is sitting on.
Backing Up
If you are an experienced webmaster, then you will no doubt know how to be in control of your own backing up procedures. Those who are new to the game however might rely upon the hosting company to undertake regular backups. In any case, the best hosts always run their own regular backups as a fail safe measure in the case of any catastrophic server failure. You should always be in control of the most recent backup of your own data though, with the hosts back up files used only as a last resort.
Final Thoughts
So whilst price is certainly a factor that needs to be taken into consideration, especially if you are on a tight budget, it is the other aspects of selecting a web host, as mentioned in this article, that are the most important things to keep in mind whilst you make that all important decision of where to host your website. We’ve reviewed some of the best web hosts that are affordable and worthy of signing up for. One cheap host is Web Hosting Hub. Check out WebHostingHub review to learn more.
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