Web Hosting

Web Hosting:

If you're like me, you have probably been back and forth to find the ideal web hosting solution for your website, especially when the requisite skills needed to do so are grossly lacking. But there's a bell ringing in that mind of yours that tells you it's very possible and achievable.

After much frustration and tireless hours of research I was able to get some great insight and narrowed down my choices to at least 5 web hosting sites.

But wait just a sec, you may probably be asking what is "web hosting". This is a service or activity where one can store their website data and files on a server so it becomes visible via the internet. This service is provided by companies called web host providers and this service normally cost an annual or monthly fee. Your website cannot be visible via the internet unless you use a web hosting service.

The providers must possess the characteristics to guarantee clients success in their online endeavors. Here are some features to look for:

Reliability - since your website serves as the link between you and your customers it is of paramount importance that it is always available so you can render services or supply products as needed.

Bandwidth - this refers to the amount of data that goes back and forth between your web host and browser, this data capacity forms part and parcel of your web hosting package. Option to scale is also a great component.

Speed - this is how quickly your website loads up when a user clicks your website link or manually inputs your URL in a browser. Slow load ups definitely reduces website visits.

Space - depending on what you plan to do on your website, disk space is very important to allow you to store all your website's data files (e,g. text files, images, emails, etc.).

Support - issues do occur and everyone wants to know that they can get assistance in a timely manner to resolve those issues. Great Customer Support is always a plus on any platform.

Pricing & Payment Plans - we all love a great deal and when you're just getting started on creating your own website with limited funds and resources then pricing is always a major factor. Finding a web hosting provider which has all the necessary requirements and a great pricing and payment plan is key.

Hosting Packages - What do they mean:

Shared - Shared web hosting is the basic bundle that providers offer. Your site sits on a similar server alongside numerous different sites, so you're sharing the server, and some other assets, like memory or central processor. These are great for basic website needs, for example, email sending, document sharing, and base level online ecommerce sites. Shared packages is the least expensive and therefore most appropriate for small startup businesses.

VPS - With a VPS, your opportunities are greater compared to a Shared package. VPS means Virtual Private Server. You might be sharing an actual server, yet the service allows you your very own virtual server. So the resources are your very own, from memory capacity to processing power and then some. This is a more secure and substantially more solid choice that keeps your site separate from the others while maintaining a fair price.

Dedicated - A Dedicated Server is a physical server where all the resources of the machine are dedicated to a single client. Unlike a shared server, where resources are distributed among all users, a Dedicated Server allows you to benefit from all of the machine’s available assets: RAM, storage, computing power, etc. In summary, Dedicated Server Hosting offers you more power and adaptability than any other hosting option. This package is usually more expensive compared to a Shared package.

Top Hosting Quality needs:

Uptime - which is the percentage of time that a hosting service is up and running

Upload - this is how quick a page opens up on your website. This is important as visitors tend to bounce off a site quickly if uploads are slow.

Customer Support - Having issues with your website is nothing to take lightly so you want to make sure customer service is available, knowledgeable, and easy to work with.

Location - where those servers are found in the world will also affect the quality of your hosting.

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