A Few Basic Web Hosting Tips For Up-And-Coming Webmasters

Chris Kostopoulos Jan 27, 2013 · 5 min read

Restored from the Empower Network archive (2011–2017), lightly edited to meet our current advertising standards. Views are the original author’s.

Making decisions about a web host is always a challenge, but knowing a little bit about what’s involved can make the task easier. Educate yourself about hosting and about all of the options available to you. These tips should be useful to you

Go with a web host who’s been around for while. A host that has been around for a few years will provide better support for its clients. If the servers encounter a problem, these companies are more likely to have the requisite resources for handling it. A good web page hosting service should follow standard procedures when a problem appears. Newer companies may be perfectly willing to help you, but their lack of experience can cause them to waste time or irritate you while they try to find a solution to your problem.

Web Server

TIP! When choosing a web hosting provider, you should know what their past business performance record is like, before agreeing to go with them. Some claims will be impossible, while others will be refuted by customer reviews.

A host that uses virtual private server will offer you greater control and the ability to test new software. VPS plans give you more control over your web server. You can control what software goes on the server and what accounts have access to it. This type of plan allows you to do most of the same things you would do if you owned the web server. However, this kind of server requires you to learn how to administer it.

Make sure that your chosen website hosting provider offers all of the options you need to effectively run your website. Features that should be included include spam filtering, Microsoft FrontPage support, SSL certificates and any special features you require for your particular site.

Always register your business’ domain name on your own, outside of your hosting site. This way, if a shutdown or argument ensues, your valuable domain name will remain protected. If you don’t do this, you could risk losing your domain name to your host.

TIP! Start researching alternative hosting companies at the first sign of trouble with your own; don’t wait until a change is absolutely necessary. This makes it much easier to change from a poorly performing host to one that can better fulfill the needs of your website.

If you have little web design experience, select a website hosting firm able to provide strong customer service. If you can easily find the answers to your questions without having to pay fees for guidance, the hosting plan will be worth it’s weight in gold. The technical advice of the support team will be more valuable to you than fancy applications or special features offered by other hosts.

Research a bit online about the host you’re interested in before you actually sign up after reading any of the host’s promotional material. Customer reviews on independent websites or blogs will give you a much more accurate picture of your host’s abilities. While a host can control what is said on their own website, they can’t stop people from posting legitimate complaints elsewhere.

Web Host

TIP! Ask if there are fees connected with cancelling. You may decide to cancel your service after several weeks.

Be sure to check out the downtime your web host will have. Be aware of their maintenance times and how many days they perform this function, so you can decide if you can live with it. If the web host needs to disrupt service during your site’s peak hours, especially if it exceeds one day per month, it’s time to find a new provider.

If you’re able to communicate with other customers via message boards and forums, you really should. Asking customers questions about the your most pressing concerns can help you pare down your list of potential hosts. You may also find that you have more confidence in your chosen web hosting company this way. Current customers are the best source of information available to you.

Free Hosts

TIP! Are you considering putting your new website onto a free hosting service? Always remember to back up your work regularly when using free web hosts, as it is rare one does this for you. If your site goes down, loses a page, etc.

Do not automatically rule out web hosts that offer their services for free. It is true that most free hosts will place lots of their own advertisements on your site which can make it look very amateurish. But if you search around, there are free hosts that will not put any ads on your site. Keep in mind that free hosting can save you a lot of money each year.

Some hosting services offer refunds if your site is down. While the refund amount is not great, the amount of sales you potentially lost could have a big impact. You should look for web hosts that offer reliable services over refunds for downtime.

Avoid selecting a web host just because they are the cheapest. Though you always want to find the best deal, you should avoid automatically signing up for the very cheapest of web hosts as they might not offer your business the services that it really needs. The fact is that you’re likely to be disappointed by poor customer service, constant downtime or low-quality hardware.

TIP! Carefully review your potential host’s website. A poorly designed website is a definite red flag for a web hosting company.

Control Panel

Before deciding on a hosting provider, get a look at their control panel. Good hosts provide tutorials or other resources to help you upload your information. If you find that learning the control panel is too hard, try to find something a little easier.

Hosting awards are a great tool to use when selecting a hosting company. This is a great method for evaluating the available service and support. While these graphics can be stolen and faked, you can do your research, and visit the sites that gave the award to double check that the company is legit. Web hosts that display a high number of awards from fan voting are the hosts you should include in your viable choices.

TIP! When you are looking to transfer from one web host to another, find out first whether you can retain your domain name. There are some hosts that do not offer that service, and this will cause you to lose the name of the site that your visitors have grown to know.

By now you should be aware that it can be remarkably easy to find a good web host. Just be sure that you know the things you are doing, and you will surely find a good host easily. Follow the advice here, and you will find a good hosting provider in no time.