If you are planning to host your own website, there will be many
decisions that you will have to take. One of the most crucial decisions
will be to select a web hosting solution for your website. This is a
very important decision as it can influence the way your website
performs. All the hard work that you put on the design of the site can
go to waste if you do not choose the right web hosting solution to host
your website.
With so many web hosts available in the market, it
is not an easy job to select the web hosting that will best work for
you. A few pointers that will help you make the right decision are
listed below. Look into them and use them to find a web hosting solution
that will be the best for your website.
Identify your requirements
It
is important to know what the requirements of your website are. Only if
you have an idea of what you need, you can look for them in the web
hosting solutions. The requirements of the website will depend on the
type of website and the features that the website will have. Find below a
list of features that you need to look for while selecting a web
hosting solution.
- Site builder option
If
you have availed the services of a web designing company for creating
your website, you can get the list of requirements from them. If you
plan to create the website after you have decided on the web hosting, it
will be a good idea to opt for hosting solutions that have a site
builder system in them. Site builder tools will simplify the process of
creating a website and will help you in hosting the site through a few
simple steps.
- Control panel
Check
if the web host provides you access to a control panel that will help
you in managing the web space you have bought. If the web hosting
solution has a control panel, you can create blogs and websites a lot
easier than having to upload files using FTP.
- Upload options
Identify
the various upload options that are available with the web host. If the
hosting solution provides you a variety of upload options it will be a
good option, as it will give you flexibility while maintaining and
uploading your site.
- Security features
Identify
the various security features the web-hosting package has to offer. If
you are planning for a e-commerce website, a lot of importance has to be
given to security features.
- Customer service
It
is always ideal to select a web-hosting company that has good customer
support. The support extended by the web host is not limited only to
email or phone support. FAQs and that help members in managing their web
space has to be present.
- Scripts and databases
Websites
require various types of web components, scripts and databases to work.
Select a web hosting company that will give you all scripts, web
components and database support that is required by your website.
- Windows or Linux server
Websites
are designed to be hosted in either windows server or a Linux server.
Always opt for the server type that is required by the website to make
sure that all functions and features of the website perform as designed.
Types of web hosting options available
Shared Hosting Services
Shared
Hosting Services or Virtual Web Hosting Services is a type of hosting
service, where many people share the space on a server. The number of
websites that are hosted in a physical server depends on the
configuration of the server. Some physical servers cater to more than
thousand websites. This however raises the question on performance. Such
shared hosting services are highly equipped to handle reasonable loads,
but when overloaded, the performance of the server is an issue. Reputed
Web Hosting companies will constantly review the load and performance
of the server and act accordingly by adding more servers if necessary.
Shared hosting services are cheaper, but the server response time will
be on the slower side.
Dedicated Hosting Services
Dedicated
Hosting Companies are the opposite of shared hosting companies. They
assign a dedicated web server for just one customer. This ensures better
performance when compared to shared hosting service. A customer will
rent out the web server for a specific period and will have a variety of
options of the web server. In a dedicated web server, the customer has
the option of hosting more than one website. The customer will have
greater control over the web server. Bandwidth and space provided will
be much higher in dedicated hosting plans. This gives you the option of
hosting a high traffic website. Websites that contain extremely
confidential data will generally opt for a dedicated hosting service.
Co-location Hosting Service
Unlike
dedicated hosting service, in co-hosting service the customer owns the
web server. This gives the customer even more control over the web
server. The web server will be housed in any of the secure data centers
of Web Hosting Companies. This hosting service ensures that the customer
will have full control over his web server. The web hosting company
will provide 24x7 monitoring of the server to ensure 99.9% uptime. The
secure data centre will provide the customer with prompt maintenance.
This will ensure maximum uptime of websites hosted in the server.
Co-location hosting services are the most expensive of the hosting
solutions that are available, but are considered the best option for
highly secure websites.
Reseller Hosting Services
Reseller
Hosting services are considered to be the cheapest of the Hosting
Services and is becoming a hot favorite for small and personal websites.
The web hosting company will offer its web storage space to a reseller
at a lower price, who in turn then resells the storage space to his
customers. Website designers, website consultants and system integration
companies are usually the resellers. Price of such hosting services is
quite low and with that comes the issue of service. Since a lot more
people are involved in the hosting, it takes time to resolve any issues
and hence reseller-hosting services are best suited for personal
websites or blogs. Reseller Hosting Services is not an option for
business websites that need prompt backend service. Cheapest of all
hosting services, it is a good option for someone trying to find a
personal space online.
By considering your requirements and the
best hosting service that you can afford, you will be able to find a web
hosting solution that will be well suited for your website.
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