There are many factors to consider when choosing a hosting provider. With so many options available, it can be difficult to know what to look for. To help you make the best decision for your needs, we’ve compiled 8 important questions to ask when considering a hosting provider.
#1 What’s the uptime of your servers?
It is crucial to have a web host that operates 24/7. A web host with a strong server and dependable network connections is what you need to ensure your website is up and running smoothly. Anything below the recommended uptime score of 99.5% is simply not good enough. There are various ways to obtain uptime information from your web host.
One way is to use server monitoring tools that can help you track your web hosting provider’s performance. Be sure to ask your hosting provider specific questions about their server reliability and uptime scores.
#2 How good is your security?
A website’s security is important for several reasons. First, it helps protect the site from attacks by malicious individuals or groups. Second, it helps to ensure the privacy of the site’s users. Third, it helps to ensure the integrity of the site’s data. Fourth, it helps to ensure the availability of the site. Finally, it helps to ensure the compliance of the site with legal and regulatory requirements.
Although, there a many things that your website developer can do to secure your website, web hosting also plays an important role to secure a website.
Shared hosting is a great way to get started online without having to invest in a dedicated server. But it’s important to make sure that the hosting provider you choose has adequate security measures in place.
This includes things like malware/virus scanning, SSL certifications, and more. Choosing a host with proper security procedures in place will help protect your business from any potential threats.
#3 Can I upgrade or degrade my hosting plan?
As your business grows, so too should your hosting company. Make sure the company you choose offers scalable hosting options — you’ll never want to be stuck with an outdated platform or configuration.
Prevention is key to avoiding downtime and costly upgrades. With scalable environments, you can quickly upgrade or downgrade services within a single platform rather than moving to another entirely.
#4 Do you provide multiple add-on domains?
Whether you’re just getting started or you’re looking for ways to expand your digital portfolio, having multiple websites and domains under one roof with a single hosting provider makes good business sense. Most providers offer unlimited domains — but it’s always wise to check the domain capacity before purchase.
#5 How frequent is your backup system?
Security threats are a constant threat to your business. Companies can’t risk losing their other resources, so they need to make sure they keep backups of all their vital data. But most don’t; less than half of all companies create backups on a regular basis, let alone daily or weekly.
Backing up your website is important for a number of reasons. First, it protects you from losing any data if something goes wrong with your site. Second, it allows you to restore your site if it is hacked or damaged. Third, it gives you a way to migrate your site to a new host or server if needed.
Your website builder may also provide you with a backup of your website after they launch it, but it’s always good to have a regular backup plan as well.
The best way to protect yourself and your business is by using a hosting company that performs automated backups every hour — or even every minute — of every day.
#6 How quick is your turnaround?
A quick turnaround from web hosting support is important because it helps keep your website up and running smoothly. When you have a problem with your website, you want to be able to get help right away so that you can fix the issue and get your site back up and running. Having a quick turnaround from web hosting support means that you can get the help you need right away and get your site back up and running quickly.
Every time when you have any issue with your server, you can’t hire a website developer to fix them. Therefore, you must have reliable hosting support that’s always available for you to troubleshoot and fix the bugs on your website.
Despite the importance of other features and functions, a host’s level of service is what matters most. Finding your ideal web host means looking at the kinds of support offered and how each can be accessed, with 24/7 availability standing at the top of any pro list. A custom support ticketing system enables brands to respond promptly to inbound questions or concerns.
#7 Do you provide a free trial offer?
Before paying full price, many e-commerce hosts offer trial periods of their services.
There are a lot of reasons why you should always go for a trial for your web hosting before you pay the full amount. First of all, it allows you to test out the features and performance of the web host to see if it meets your needs. Secondly, it gives you a chance to experience the customer service and support of the web host before committing to a long-term contract. Finally, it allows you to get a feel for the overall user experience of the web host, which is important when choosing a web host for your business.
Most of the hosting providers have a different form of guarantee or trial period offer. Note that some providers may even go as far as allowing users to try the service risk-free for 30 days — and others provide one, 15, or even up to 90 days for free. Be sure to review all offers carefully, choosing the best one that suits your needs both now and in the future.
#8 How many people will be sharing my server?
Choosing the right shared hosting solution is crucial for website owners who want to minimize costs and ramp up their online presence.
Although there are many advantages of using a shared solution (such as affordable pricing and greater uptime), it’s also important to know exactly what you’re getting into when choosing this option.
A shared hosting solution may seem like a great idea at the start. It’s inexpensive, easy to set up and operate, and looks pretty good in blog posts.
But if you start getting more than 500 users a day, you’ll notice that your site is running slowly. And even worse, when your web traffic keeps getting bigger, it will be too slow even to load.
