If you have completed your website, it is time to contact a web hosting provider and choose the most suitable web hosting plan for you. This solution is especially important because web hosting is the service that uploads your site to the Internet and maintains it.In this sense, the service in question can have a huge impact on the impression that your new customers will get for your company.
Because of the growing competition, web hosting providers offer new and different hosting offerings on a daily basis, even people with experience in the field are often confused. Business website owners make some similar mistakes when choosing web hosting and for this reason we will describe the 20 most popular to be able to avoid them and make the right decision for you with as little effort as possible.
Table of Contents
1. Choosing free web hosting
Some of the web hosting providers offer free hosting services. If this area is new to you, they would be extremely attractive. However, the first impression is far from the truth – choosing this service, your site will be flooded with ads to kill the hosting company its money, and you will not enjoy good performance and high speed. Not to mention that the domain of your website will not look professional, as it will contain the name of your web hosting provider. In the end, you will get exactly what you pay for. In any case, we advise you to choose a paid service to create the right business image for your website.
2. Ignorance of the differences between hosting plans
According to the technology on the servers (especially powerful computers) used by web hosting companies, 4 main types of web hosting are formed – shared hosting, virtual server, leased server and cloud hosting. Each of them is characterized by different parameters in terms of independence (whether you will share the server with other people), security, presentation of the sites and possible modifications to the hardware and software. Before choosing your web hosting plan, get acquainted with all the options and choose the one closest to your budget and requirements.
3. Shallow reading of the list of conditions of use
Well, we all know that when “Terms and conditions” appear on the screen, we try to enter “I agree” as soon as possible. However, when concluding a contract with your web hosting provider, read all the terms and conditions carefully and ask questions about any ambiguities so that you do not experience unexpected limitations and problems at a later stage.
4. Security issues
If you own a website that performs credit or debit card transactions or that contains confidential information, you need particularly strong security measures such as SSL certificates. Keep in mind that some of the web hosting plans do not offer high enough levels of protection, so be sure to pay attention to this parameter when choosing the right web hosting plan for you.
5. Not good enough communication with the technical team
Technical support is vital to the performance of your website. You need to make sure that if a malfunction occurs, it will be fixed as soon as possible, because at any time when your site is unavailable, you are likely to lose customers and sales. It is good to make sure the reliability of the technical team of your web hosting provider before concluding the contract – do a survey on the Internet and look for opinions, ratings, complaints, compliments. Also, check how many and in what ways you will be able to contact him – the more opportunities there are, the better. Good technical support always impresses customers and potential buyers.
6. Choosing a financially unprofitable web hosting plan
Always make an accurate assessment of your budget and capabilities before making any business decision. Keep in mind that web hosting plans are paid monthly, domains – annually, and it is often possible to incur unexpected costs such as purchasing a license for an application. Choose a web hosting package that will be within your reach in the long run. It is clear that the most expensive plans have the most additional services and benefits, but especially if you are a small or medium business owner, it is quite possible that a cheap hosting plan will satisfy all your needs and requirements. There is no point in unprofitable investments.
7. Failure to comply with the basic rules of online business
When you buy any product or service online (in this case – web hosting) there are basic points that are good to stick to. Some of them are the ability to contact by phone with the owner of the web hosting company or the presence of a permanent address of the company in question. Make sure you purchase the service directly from an established company or from a reseller hosting provider. Another aspect that is good to check is whether there is a possibility to get your money back if you are not satisfied with the service. Familiarize yourself with the rules of online shopping and implement them when choosing a web host.
8. Impossibility to develop the website
If you are the owner of any business, then it is inevitable that your website will grow. In the end, this is the idea – to increase the number of visitors and at the same time that of customers and your sales. When this process occurs, you will certainly need more resources than originally. For this reason, it is imperative to rely on a web hosting plan that will allow you to increase the resources provided to you. In general, only shared hosting does not offer this service, but it is good to check the limitations of each of the other types of hosting to make sure that it will ensure accessibility and optimal performance of your website, as too much website traffic with insufficient memory or CPU time would make the site slow or even inaccessible.
9. Incorrect choice of bandwidth size
Bandwidth is a unit that measures the amount of data that can be processed. It is usually measured in gigabits (GB). It is important to have a plan for your website before choosing how much of it you will need. If the function of your site will assume a large number of visitors per day – for example, in the case of an online store – then you need to bet on at least 10 GB of bandwidth. Orient yourself well in the ratio of visitors: necessary resources before choosing your web hosting plan to make the most adequate decision possible.
10. Unconscious choice of unmanaged hosting
Usually the different types of web hosting are offered in two ways – as a managed or unmanaged service. In general, managed web hosting leaves all technical issues in the hands of your hosting provider. Conversely, if you choose unmanaged hosting, the configuration, maintenance and updates of the server will be your responsibility. If you do not have the necessary time and in-depth knowledge of operating systems and the IT part, then you must choose managed hosting, which will give you the opportunity to focus entirely on the business and not on any technical problems around the server.
11. Unawareness of the impact of web hosting on Google rankings
Problems resulting from the wrong choice of web hosting can significantly damage the good position of your website in the Google rankings. Performance, page load speed, number of ads, and many other aspects depending on your web hosting plan are factors in this ranking. For example, choosing a free web hosting plan, you would “disqualify” yourself from the competition, as free web hosting is the biggest possible opponent of good rankings.
12. Disinterest in the limitations of the hosting plan
It is extremely important to identify all the features and prohibitions that a hosting plan contains. For some website owners, it is important whether they will be able to speed up their website, for others – whether it is possible to access the SSH network protocol, etc. All this can be agreed with your chosen web hosting provider. Be sure to research any similar features of your plan so as not to be unpleasantly surprised afterwards.
13. Inattention to the type of operating system
When you choose a type of web hosting plan, it usually goes with the Windows or Linux operating system. But what exactly is good to know about them? The main difference lies in the applications they support. Depending on what applications your website will contain, you need to choose the right operating system. If it is created through the WordPress platform, Linux is the right choice for you. In addition, you should keep in mind that Linux is a free operating system, which means that it is free as long as the Windows license is paid.
14. Misunderstanding the difference between traditional hosting and SSD hosting
The latest technology in the field of data carriers is SSD (Solid State Drive). Unlike the old and mechanical traditional media (HDD), the mentioned devices are completely electronic and do not rotate during data operations. For this reason, they provide much faster access, page loading and presentation of your site. Although more expensive, we recommend that if you are given the opportunity to choose SSD technology, as it not only works optimally, but is also more durable than traditional hosting.
15. Lack of information about the location of the data center
When purchasing hosting services, it is important to check that the location of the data center serving the hosting company is close to you. If you are a Bulgarian citizen, it would not make sense for the data center of your web hosting provider to be located in Taiwan, for example. The closer the data center is to your location, the greater the chance for optimally good service and lower prices.
16. Insufficient research on the Internet
Before you make any decision, make an in-depth analysis of your chosen hosting company and its competition in the online space. Compare the offered additional services, prices and parameters with those of other web hosting providers. Look for your company in the rankings, as well as comments and opinions about it from customers. Do not try to overdo this process, because, as already mentioned, your web hosting provider and the service it provides you are a huge factor in the success of your website.
17. Problems around the control panel
Especially if you are new to the field, you will need a convenient and easy to use control panel to be able to manage your server to some extent. Whether it is cPanel, Plesk or any of any other type, you must make sure that your provider offers to install one at all.
18. Lack of information about protection against hackers and spammers
Do not choose a hosting plan until you are sure that it contains secure protection against cyber attacks. If it is not included in the web hosting package, then the installation of the Firewall, as well as the application for protection against malware and other possible viruses, must be authorized by the web hosting provider. If you can’t handle installing such applications, look for another web hosting plan that contains them.
19. Impossibility for modifications
In case you have hardware and software requirements, be sure to check if you have root access. This is the only way to make system changes and install the applications you want and just as before it depends on your choice of web hosting plan.
20. Choosing a hosting company that is not reputable
Due to the popularization of the web hosting business, new and new hosting companies are constantly emerging. They often offer many free services and attractive promotional packages because they are trying to gain customers. Such companies often use reseller hosting plans and actually resell the services to other providers. We advise you not to be deceived by the seemingly amazingly advantageous offers, because many of these companies do not survive a year. Try to choose a supplier who has at least a few years of successful practice.
Well, if you stayed with us until the end and read all these possible mistakes, the possibility of making any of them should be significantly less. We can only advise you again to deepen your knowledge on the subject and to understand the differences between the different web hosting plans, as well as to do a basic study on the Internet and compare the hosting providers and their offers. However, do not be afraid of the many opportunities that will arise before you, and try to choose the one that will satisfy you both professionally and financially.
