Typically, the Internet is constantly buzzing with traffic coming and going across high-powered tubes of bandwidth; all trailing in a blaze of 1’s and 0’s without stopping to realize what they’re doing. Should someone choose poor web hosting for their domain; a consumer might be pulled to a complete stop on a “404 Error”.
The tips below will make sure you never produce that error, or at least try.
Look into what add-ons and additional features that the different hosts offer. Make sure you are comparing apples to apples by selecting plans which are similar. One company may offer lower prices, but you might have to pay extra to get the features another host gives as part of their package.
Be sure to back up your website and information to your computer as often as you can. Your host may not back up your site so if they experience extensive technical difficulties or are even shut down for good, your site will practically be gone forever and you will have to start anew.
If you have a small to mid-sized company and want to cut hosting costs, you should go with a shared server. If you do not get lots of traffic or do not wish to have control over your server resources, then go with a shared host. Just keep in mind that you will be sharing CPU, disk space, and bandwidth.
Make sure any offers of “unlimited” data transfer are actually unlimited. Many web hosts advertise unlimited data transfer in their offers, but tuck exceptions in the terms and conditions for the package. Common exceptions include video or non-HTML file downloads being limited, limits on CPU utilization, and general prohibitions on using “too many resources.”
When transferring your site between hosts, have a copy of your website at both your old and new hosts for a few days. It’s important to do this because it takes 6-48 hours for the DNS to propagate. During this time, some visitors will be sent to your old website, while others whose ISPs have updated their DNS info will be sent to your new site.
When choosing your web hosting service, do not rely on someone’s recommendation, or only on the info you’ve read online. Most services have affiliate programs and the people recommending the service may not have any direct experience with it. You should take more than recommendations into consideration when choosing your web host.
If your web hosting service does not notify you of planned outages, you should change. A professional service needs to do some maintenance on their servers and be able to plan when your site will be done. If you never receive this kind of notification, look for another service who communicates with their clients.
As an online business owner, you should find a hosting service that corresponds to your website. Rates can vary with different host providers, and even though one may cost more than the other, it does not necessarily mean they are more reliable. While expensive sites get more bandwidth, you might end up with the same amount of downtime on a cheaper host.
Many web hosting companies are actually just affiliate accounts linked to the major players in the field. These companies purchase a large portion of server space and pay a lower price. They in turn make their profits by charging rent for it to many smaller websites. Find out who the main host is, if possible, and then see if you can get a better deal by buying directly.
It is hoped that this article has been helpful to you. While the Internet never stops business, your web hosting choice can make all the difference in delivering content to your audience in a quick and efficient manner.
