When you think of creating your website, the two crucial things to keep in mind are – domain name and web hosting. The domain name provides the unique address for your website so that the web browser of any user can query it. On the other side, you need to host your website on a server to make it available for viewing online. It is commonly known by the term web hosting. Your web hosting provider will provide you space on a server where you can store the files and data of your website. Moreover, your website will acquire the required resources, such as bandwidth, random access memory, etc., to function effectively.
It is essential to pick the perfect web hosting provider for your website so that you can have the required hosting services, facilities, resources, and technical assistance for your website’s high performance. Here, you will get insights into how you can figure out the right web hosting provider for your website. But, in the first place, let’s comprehend what a hosting provider can do for your website and how it plays a huge role in the progress of your website.
What Does a Web Hosting Provider Do for You?
The chief task of your web hosting provider is to make your website live on the Internet so that all web users can have access to it. To get your website online, your web hosting provider will render the three principal elements :
Domain
The domain serves as your website address that the web users can type in their web browser to find and access it. The hosting provider will also allow you to choose from the available domain names. In case the domain name has already been taken by any other website, the hosting provider will let you know. You must choose a domain name that is relevant and reflects the identity of your brand, company, or whatever you want to represent on your website. Choose a simple yet catchy domain name that is easy to remember for the people.
Server
The server is the type of machine that is responsible for hosting your website, and making it live on the Internet. It also takes charge of handling the web traffic your site receives. Your hosting provider will let you host your website on one of their servers, allowing web users to have access to your website on the Internet.
Storage Space
Your website consists of text, images, videos, and other media files along with the code. The hosting provider will lend you the dedicated storage space that lets you store the code and media files of your website. The storage space acts like a room on the server of your hosting provider that gets assigned to your website. However, many website users buy the entire server according to their business needs.
Along with these three basic elements, every web hosting provider renders different hosting features and facilities to their customers. The subsequent section will let you know about the additional hosting features and facilities you can have for your website. They will also let you decide which web hosting plan will be the best for your website.
Selecting a Web Hosting Plan that is Suitable for your website
Here are some of the significant factors different hosting providers provide depending on which you must pick the right web hosting plan available. Examine each factor before determining which web hosting plan suits your website the best.
Here are some of the significant factors different hosting providers provide depending on which you must pick the right web hosting plan available. Examine each factor before determining which web hosting plan suits your website the best.
Factor 1: The Type of Web Hosting Server Your Website Requires
The web hosting provider provides a server where your website resides. However, you need to find out which server will let your website perform efficiently. There are two kinds of hosting servers available where you can host your website – Shared Server hosting and Virtual Private Server hosting.
Check out the differences between them:
Shared Server Hosting
- The shared server provides the hosting environment where your website will share the server space with numerous other websites. Your website also has to share the server resources such as RAM, disk space, processor, etc., with all the other websites residing on the same shared server.
- It serves as the most affordable hosting option for your website. It is cheaper than other hosting services. It can be the best choice for you if your website is at the initial stage of working and does not have too many visitors. That is because your website will not require much disk space or bandwidth at this stage.
- Since the resources are shared among the websites, if one website is using more resources, your website will have to wait if it requires that same number of resources. It also leads to website downtime quite often when the website starts to grow and needs more resources comparatively.
- In case any website malfunctions or executes the wrong program, it may harm the functioning of your and other websites.
Virtual Private Server Hosting
- The Virtual Private Server provides the isolated hosting environment to each website on the same physical server utilized by several websites. Your website acquires dedicated resources such as processing power, RAM, and disk space. No other website will have the right to use the resources assigned to your website.
- The VPS hosting costs more than the shared server hosting. However, it can handle web traffic effectively and provides higher scalability.
- Since a virtual private server renders the private, independent hosting environment, it gives better security than shared server hosting. No other user can intervene in your website’s processes. The website receiving high traffic must opt for virtual private server hosting.
Yet another type of hosting you may pick is dedicated server hosting. As explained earlier, you can buy the entire dedicated server for your website. All the server resources will solely operate for your website. Generally, users running e-commerce websites, reseller hosting businesses, or huge-scale web businesses, directly go for dedicated server hosting.
Factor 2: SSL Security or No Security
Some web hosting providers will provide your website SSL certificate and others will not. However, you must not give yourself a choice between having an SSL certificate and not having an SSL certificate. Instead, you should pick the hosting provider that ensures to provide the SSL certificate to your website. The security of your website should be your priority, and that is what the SSL certificate helps your website attain.
The SSL certificate is very crucial for the following reasons:
- The SSL certificate ensures the encryption of the data transmitted between your website and the different users as the data can involve sensitive data, such as email, credit card numbers, home addresses, bank details, etc., of the users. The third party or hackers cannot see or have access to the information that is exchanged between your website and its users.
- It embeds a green padlock on the browser of your website visitors when they visit your website. It lets them know that your website is secure. They will be easily able to trust that your website reflects a legitimate business. Additionally, your domain name will initiate with ‘https:\\’ rather than the regular ‘http:\\’.
- Google will recognize your website and help your website to achieve a better ranking if you add an SSL certificate to your website. Therefore, the SSL certificate becomes beneficial when it comes to search engine optimization of your website.
You can find two different kinds of SSL certificates: SSL and Wildcard SSL. The difference between SSL and Wildcard SSL is that, with a Wildcard SS, you can secure multiple websites. On the other side, the simple SSL will let you secure an individual website. Thus, in case you are planning to build multiple websites, opting for Wildcard SSL will help you secure all current and future websites under your ownership.
Factor 3: Which Resources Your Website Requires
The last thing you will require to pick any hosting provider is the estimation of the amount and type of web resources needed for your website. Examine the following questions, and their answers will let you know which web hosting plan for your website to go with.
- How many professional email addresses will you require based on the number of workers operating under you who need a professional email?
- What kind of operating system suits the best for your website’s functioning and supports the maximum number of applications you want to run?
- How much disk space does your website require based on the quantity and volume of the media elements your website will incorporate?
- How much bandwidth do you require depending on the traffic your site may receive?
Also Read: Free vs Paid Web Hosting: What’s the Difference?
What Do You See in a Professional Web Hosting Provider?
Once you get to know what kind of hosting plan you need for your website by examining certain factors as discussed in the previous section, you will be able to judge whether the plan any hosting provider offering suits you or not. However, to have a perfect hosting provider, you need to investigate further whether the hosting provider is professional or not. A professional hosting provider will provide the following facilities-
Unlimited Hosting Plans
Many hosting providers claim to provide free space, storage, or bandwidth. However, their plans possess certain boundaries that are hidden during their advertisements. Thus, You must always read the terms and conditions carefully while purchasing the service. You must investigate whether the particular hosting provider offers unlimited hosting plans or not. You must always read the terms and conditions carefully while purchasing the service.
24/7 Technical and Customer Assistance
Your hosting provider must render technical and customer support round-the-clock. While hosting your website, you may encounter server issues at times. Therefore, your hosting provider must render support from certified and trained professionals who can provide you with instant expert solutions.
Reliability
Your web hosting provider must ensure to provide maximum network uptime for your website. Your website must not face downtime unnecessarily. The hosting provider must also offer high-quality resources along with a premium network.
Backup Services
Your web hosting must also provide a regular backup service to save your time and protect your website data from any kind of security threat that may occur.
So, that is it! Picking up a perfect hosting provider for your website requires two straightforward steps. The first is to examine the kind of web hosting plan that will suit your website the best. The second is to discover a professional hosting provider rendering the required web hosting plan.
