Shopping for a web hosting plan can go horribly wrong if you don’t have an idea of what you’re about to purchase. Hosting companies make a lot of promises and claims with their plans. However, you’ll be successful when you separate the features that matter from those that don’t. Once you’re done with that part, you need to identify your needs and go for a plan that fulfills all those factors.
Knowing that most business owners have a hard time interpreting technical lingo, we have come up with a list of things to consider when choosing a hosting plan for your business. Go through the list and make a valid choice:
Price
You need a reliable provider for sure, but you will also want to check on the price of the hosting plan before deciding on the purchase. Remember the old adage that says you get what you’re paying for? That is more often the case with hosting providers. Some hosting providers might give you insanely low rates, but these suffer from extensive downtime, and your website will lag due to the excessive pressure on their servers.
On the contrary, if you have a high rate coming from a hosting provider, try to see if the price is justified. If the provider has a good support team and no downtime, then you might find the costlier one a bit more reasonable.
Technical Support
The technical support your hosting provider offers you should also be part of your pre-purchase considerations. Providers like Bluehost and Hostgator have live chat options. This makes them better than providers who only offer support via email or a ticket. It would be even better if your provider offers support through Twitter and Facebook as that would ensure further communication.
C Panel and User Interface
Not everyone is tech-savvy and good at understanding complex interfaces. This is why if your hosting provider has a complex interface you might end up contacting the consumer support team every second day. The interface matters a lot, because you should be able to install WordPress easily, set up your FTP accounts and have an email alongside the website.
Giving Room to Grow
Additionally, your provider needs to give you the room that you need to grow further down the line. The hosting provider should have the resources to give you that room, allowing you to upgrade your account and plan if the need arises soon. Oftentimes, businesses grow during the span of a year, and need an upgrade on their website to accommodate the vast traffic that is coming their way. This growth potential can go begging if your hosting provider is taking too much time or isn’t accommodating your requests.
Recommendation for Small Businesses
Small businesses often face the most trouble when getting their hosting provider finalized, which is why you need to compare options and determine the right web host for your business before you proceed.