Hosting plan – what’s best for me?

If you are planning to build your own website, one of the most important aspects is choosing a hosting plan. It is very important to find a hosting provider able to suit your needs, with enough support, speed, security, and, of course, at a decent price given your requirements.

Let us give you some tips that might help you with this choice.

 

1. What kind of hosting plan do you need?

The hosting industry is a big one. There are incredibly many options for you to choose from. So how do you choose one that suits your needs? There are three important aspect you must consider: speed, support and security. The prices for hosting services vary a lot, you can pay as little as a few dollars or as much as thousands of dollars per month. For most websites, a basic hosting plan that costs a few dollars is more than enough to start with. For this price, you will get a place on a shared server. You can upgrade your plan later, as your website grows. However, if you expect an immediate success and a high traffic, consider cheap dedicated servers from the beginning. There are middle-ranged options too: you can choose to go with a VPS (virtual private server).
An important aspect that weighs in when you choose a hosting provider is their support department. Most of them give you access to e-mail, ticket and phone support. Some of them may provide a 24-hour support line.

Another thing you must consider is the security of your website. Read some reviews and do some research before making a choice. You wouldn’t like malware or hackers to sneak past the security and roam through your info. Be careful who you trust your website with, make sure that the provider is reliable and that it will keep you from worrying.
Speed is also important, users get easily board with slow websites, not to mention that this looks highly unprofessional.
You should also keep in mind that a good website optimization improves the website’s speed and the security of your website is also influenced by the software you are using.

2. What kind of website do you plan to build?

Most hosting providers specialize in certain categories: eCommerce, blogging, personal websites, online portfolio, business website and so on. Make sure the one you choose has specific features that will help you build your website.
If you are a beginner, look for a hosting provider that has a simple control panel. Otherwise, you will either have to spend a lot of time figuring things out, or you will be entirely dependent on the support department.

3.What is the amount of resources you require?

Do not look for a provider or a hosting plan that offers the most perks for the fewest dollars. You need a provider compatible with your needs. Set your priorities regarding disk space, e-mail functionality, bandwidth, security and so on, and make an informed choice.
Make sure that there is nothing on your terms of service that allows the provider to limit your performance or shut down your website if you use too much space or bandwidth.
Don’t forget to compare the signup and the renewal price. A lot of hosting providers let you signup for a lower price as a marketing strategy, and this is not a problem at all, but pay attention not to get ripped off. If the signup price is, for example, 5$, the renewal price shouldn’t be higher than 10$. The same thing applies to free trials – don’t let a free month fool you into choosing a hosting provider you would’t normally choose.

4. What will you need in the future?

Dream big! Think of all the resources you will need when your website gets huge. Some hosting providers only offer shared hosting. This means that you will need to move your website as soon as it starts to get bigger.