02.29.08
Things to Consider Before Picking a Web Hosting Plan
There are many website owners out there who still don’t know what all aspects to consider while choosing a web hosting plan or picking a suitable web hosting service provider. This article tries to educate such novices about the important things that define the reliability of a Web Hosting service provider.
First and foremost thing is the hosting platform. There are two types of hosting platforms – Windows based and Linux based. For those websites designed using asp.net or asp and accesses MS SQL database, the former must be the choice, while for the sites built around PHP or Perl, the latter suits well. Remember, not all hosting service providers may provide both the hosting platforms. Hence, your screening must start from there.
Secondly, ensure that the web hosting service provider you choose has the reputation of ensuring nearly 100% up time. For any business, it is crucial that their website remains accessible to the netizens round the clock. And this depends directly on the up time of the hosting server. As a benchmark, assume a 99% plus up time to be completely reliable.
Thirdly, the speed with which the hosted page loads; you can test this before contracting a particular web hosting service provider. If possible, test the speeds at different times of the day. That’ll give one a good enough idea about the overall performance of the hosting web server.
Another crucial aspect is the bandwidth offered to the customers, and it matters a lot especially if the website includes heavy files such as video or big image files. The bandwidth will be mentioned in Gigabytes in the hosting plan details. Also, it should be noted that a higher bandwidth alone does not enhance the performance of a website unless there are not many sites hosted in the same server that shares the same bandwidth.
Make sure that every customer clarifies this point before making any commitment.
Next in the line is SSL; you might need this especially if your site deals with financial transactions such as credit card payments, donations, and membership subscriptions. Most top hosting service providers offer SSL facilities in some of their hosting plans.
Then one must consider if the hosting service provider offers database support – that suits the website application – and the amount of disk space one might need for their website. But, it is not going to create any problem if one initially had not bought enough disk space for as need arises, one could request for more space by paying the requisite fee.
Also, see if the website hosting provider offers domain parking, give sufficient email accounts, number of sub domains they allow, and if they provide any easy site builder for quick Web Design. If you wish to have a dedicated server to host your application, ask that as well specifically.