web hostingAccording to most leaders of the digital world, the three mantras to remember while choosing a web hosting service are speed, client support, and security. But there are several other sub-factors that you must consider.

For example, the hosting service provider that you choose must be able to scale up rapidly to keep pace with the increase in your target audience and incoming traffic.

You can find many hosting service providers on the internet. Their charges can also vary a lot between a few dollars to more than $1000. That is why choosing a web hosting service seems to be such a daunting task. There are several easy ways to select one as well. For example, you can read reviews of some of the best web hosting service providers and choose from them.

However, according to experts, you must learn about the essential factors before selecting a hosting service that fits your needs. In this article, we are going to talk about some of those factors that you must learn about.

Technical Support

The first factor that you must consider is how much support would you need from the service provider. Would you manage your website, or do you want the hosting services like Cloudways to take care of it? There are several aspects of website management that they can take care of. For example, the service provider can:

  • Manage the data and its load on the website
  • Watch out for security issues
  • Integrate third-party software
  • Manage backups

The support that you need from your service provider will depend on what type of website you have. Not every hosting service focuses on all the essential areas, so make a list of your requirements and cross-check whether the company specializes in them. You should also check how much processing power the hosting service provides.

If you have a lot of videos, images, or rich content on your website, you would need considerable speed to load your website. Basic and cheap hosting services may not provide all the features required to load a website fast, or they might charge you more for additional domains, backups, and other supporting features.

Incoming Traffic

The charges of hosting services will depend on how much bandwidth and storage you are going to need, which depends on how much incoming traffic you expect on your website. But no one makes a website thinking that they are not going to become popular. One of the primary objectives of having a website is to increase your brand’s visibility through search engine optimization and conversions.

Therefore you must anticipate the growth of your target audience and choose the service provider that has the infrastructure to handle the traffic. On the other hand, be honest with yourself and don’t overestimate the numbers, or you would end up paying more than you should.

Types of Servers

You must understand the types of servers that hosting services use so that you can judge their infrastructure that can suit your needs.

Shared Servers

The cheapest hosting services use shared servers to run hundreds of websites from them. That means the performance of your website will depend on how much cumulative load is there on the server. Shared servers present several limitations to hosting a website, such as:

  • Uploading files via FTP and SFTP servers
  • Denying shell access
  • Restricting the amount of database access for your website
  • Limited security

Virtual Private Server

Virtual Private Servers (VPS) are faster than shared servers since the website has its own virtual hosting space. However, the virtual private spaces are hosted from the same physical server. It might be an upgrade from shared servers, but it may not be a long term solution for your needs.

Dedicated Servers

Choosing a dedicated server is similar to owning one. But instead of buying it, you pay a monthly rent. It is the best possible solution since you can control everything on your server, even though it is not located at your premises.

So if your website has or might have a lot of incoming traffic, dedicated servers are a must. But it might be an expensive option for you if you are just starting out.

Portable Content Management System

Even though you might be choosing the best provider, things can change over time. The quality of their service could decline, or they might start charging too much for web hosting. In such cases, you might have to switch over to another hosting service.

Therefore, when you choose a hosting service, make sure that they have a portable content management system so that you do not have to start over from scratch. The best way to ensure that is to choose a company that supports open-source CMS platforms like WordPress.

It will ensure that you can easily switch hosting services as and when required. You must also make sure that you can have your own domain so that it is easier to change service providers.

We understand that selecting a web hosting service can seem like a very confusing task. But as long as you are aware of your requirements, you can consider the necessary aspects to make your decision. We hope that the factors mentioned in this article will help you to make an informed decision and choose the right hosting service provider for your website.