How to choose a website hosting provider

When choosing a web hosting company, it’s essential to consider various factors to ensure that your website runs smoothly and securely. Below are our top 10 things you should consider:

1. Ease of Use

Regardless of the technical ability, choosing a hosting company that provides a user-friendly control panel to manage your website’s server settings, email, DNS, domain names as well access to billing and support makes the whole service much more efficient to manage.

2. Customer Support

Make sure you consider the quality and responsiveness of the hosting provider’s customer support team as well as the clarity and depth of their online knowledgebase. If possible try asking them them questions before you buy as a test. Being able to access quick, expertise support is ideal, especially if you anticipate needing responsive technical assistance. Also be sure to check what channels are available such as chat, telephone or email/tickets.

3. Price and Value

Be sure to compare pricing plans and features offered by different hosting providers to find the best value for your budget before you buy. Also make sure you’re not just comparing introductory offers. Many larger providers might offer a discounted introduction period only to raise the price after 3 to 12 months. Moving your website and email regularly is a pain, so shop around and think of this as a long term partnership.

4. Server Location

The geographical location of the website hosting servers in relation to your target audience is important, ideally within the same country. This is especially important from a data protection and compliance perspective with regards to GDPR and the Data Protection Act. Also, hosting your website closer to your target audience can improve loading times and overall performance as well as improving ranking on search engines.

5. Reliability and Uptime

Look for a web hosting provider with a good history of being in business and has a track record of high uptime, ideally 99.9% or higher to ensure your website is accessible to visitors consistently.

6. Security Measures

Look for a web hosting provider that offers robust security features such as firewalls, SSL certificates, real time malware scanning to protect your website from potential threats.

7. Scalability

Ensure that the hosting provider offers scalability options to accommodate your website’s growth. This includes the ability to easily upgrade your hosting plan or add on supplementary services as needed.

8. Backup Solutions

Ensure that the hosting service includes the facility to take regular backups of your website data and files, preferably automated with easy restoration options.

9. Addon Services

Make consideration for what additional services are offered by the hosting provider which you may want to use either from the start or add on as your online presence grows. These may include features such as as domain registration, email services, website applications, e-commerce solutions, Migration Services, DNS Management or Content Delivery Networks or SEO tools.

10. Reviews and Reputation

Do your research and check the hosting company’s online reviews and history. Trustpilot and Google Business Profiles are both trusted, reliable and independent sources to check. By reading the testimonials and ratings from other users you can gauge a hosting provider’s reputation, reliability, and customer satisfaction levels before making your decision.

By considering all of the above factors, you will be able to make an informed decision when choosing a web hosting service. This will hopefully lead on to a long partnership with the provider as they should ideally meet both your website’s immediate and long term needs and requirements as both your business and your website grows.

Author: Gavin Kimpton
A founder of Pipe Ten, Gavin has been professionally embedded in the digital sector spanning 3 decades since the original dot com boom of the late nineties. He has extensive experience in the design of many major international website launches and is a seasoned expert in the intricate world of domain registration and management. Gavin has navigated the ever-evolving landscape of internet governance, witnessing the birth of new top-level domains (TLDs) and the proliferation of domain name industry regulations. He spearheaded purely.website to be a Nominet accredited channel partner with a profound understanding of the symbiotic relationship between domain names and the broader digital ecosystem.