A Beginner Guide to Choosing Website Hosting

Having a responsive website is important for your brand as a business owner. While this is no news for most business owners, the problem is how to get those websites running. Creating and designing a website requires capital investment, and you don’t want to get any of the processes wrong.

One of the most important parts of creating a website is the host. Your website needs a host to run on before you can create or even get it running. If this is your first time hearing about web hosting, it is a no-brainer, and this guide will get you started in no time. In this guide, you will be able to understand the meaning of a web host and how to choose the right one for your business.

What is Website Hosting?

As the name implies, it is an internet service that hosts websites for individuals and businesses. A website hosting provider offers server spaces for websites to store and maintain their data and files. This service makes your website accessible to customers online.

In simpler terms, a hosting service can be compared to a business renting a space to set up a store for customers to access its goods or services. That space can be likened to the hosting service while the store is your website. Aside from renting out these server spaces for your website, they are also responsible for keeping the server running securely.

Types of Website Hosting

Shared Hosting

This is the same as a shared apartment where you share a house with other roommates. Shared hosting houses different websites on the server; this means these websites get to share resources like RAM and a processor. If you are a new business owner or it is your first time creating a website, this is an ideal option for you.

However, you need to keep one thing in mind: you cannot control the resources you share with others on this hosting. In all, you can always begin with this website hosting and upgrade later as your business grows.

Dedicated Hosting

As opposed to shared hosting, you have full access to server resources when using dedicated hosting. So, you have admin and root access to the server. You don’t have to share any resources with other websites. You can decide on the hardware and software. As the website owner, you can install your preferred operating system and security tools. However, you have to be an expert to use this website for hosting.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

VPS hosting combines features of shared hosting and dedicated hosting. Shared hosting is like sharing the same apartments with other roommates. However, in VPS hosting, it is like several apartments in a single building. You don’t share an apartment, but you share the same building. You are allocated a partition in a server.

The partition is a dedicated portion of the server for you. It is suitable for small business owners. It is less expensive than dedicated website hosting but more expensive than shared hosting.

WordPress Website Hosting

It is a type of content management system (CMS) where WordPress manages and optimizes the server environment. WordPress handles the technical aspects of website hosting while you focus on creating your website.

This website hosting gives you access to design tools and site builder tools. It is an ideal website hosting if you don’t want to deal with the technical stress of running a server.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud website hosting works by pooling resources from different virtual servers to host a website. A cloud-based web hosting works with a network, and the continued access to resources on servers ensures you don’t experience any downtime. It comes with an auto-scale where resources are increased automatically when needed.

This means you can access server resources depending on your current requirements. This is mostly suitable for businesses with multiple websites.

Factors to Consider When Choosing a Website Hosting Provider

Assess Your Website Needs

Before you decide on any website hosting to choose for your business, you need to start with your website’s requirements. The best way to determine the requirement is through the website’s purpose.

What do you intend to achieve with the website? Is it just a website for customers to know more about your business? Do you want to post text or video content? Is it an e-commerce website? Answers to these questions will put you on the right track to determine your website requirements.

Consider Several Hosting Providers

Don’t limit yourself to a hosting provider. There are different options you can choose from. Do your research and list out some providers. Compare those providers to determine which is best for you according to the payment plan, technical support, and other things.

Control Panel

The control panel gives you access to the hosting account without the need to log in to the website server. As a beginner, always opt for the web host with a control panel that makes the job easy for you. You have to be able to manage your hosting account without help.

Security

You don’t want to spend your time and resources to create a website only to have it hijacked or disturbed later. Therefore, always choose a web hosting provider with effective and advanced security. It must offer malware detection and protection, automated updates, backups, and many more.

Bandwidth

Your website’s requirements will determine the appropriate bandwidth to keep it running. What is the amount of bandwidth a hosting provider is willing to allocate for you? If you have a higher volume of site visitors, you need to be intentional about knowing the bandwidth allocation, as it will determine your website’s speed and connectivity. Plus, it is an indicator of the capability of the hosting service provider.

Uptime

Please do your research about a web hosting provider and ensure it is reliable and runs round the clock. You want to avoid constant downtime as much as possible. Read reviews about them, and check uptime history to be assured of a consistent uptime.

Conclusion

Hosting is an important part of your website, and you have different options to choose from. This guide provides information on different types of web hosting and how to choose a web hosting provider. The next thing is to start creating your website.