Irrespective of the size of the business, every entrepreneur is looking to extend their presence online with a website. A website is your digital front-end for your business. Hence, it is necessary to ensure that you have a well-designed, well-functioning, fast and user-friendly website. Having a good website is dependent on multiple factors, and one of them is a good web hosting platform.
There are many companies offering web hosting in India, which makes it extremely difficult and confusing to find the perfect hosting solution for your website. As a result, you need to have a clear set of guidelines to follow before you buy web hosting. So, whether you are choosing Shared Hosting, Cloud Hosting, or a Dedicated Server, there are a few aspects you must consider before signing the dotted line.
Things to Consider When Choosing the Perfect Web Hosting Provider
1. Check the Uptime Guarantee
Uptime denotes the time for which your server is up and available. As a business owner, the uptime guarantee of the web host is crucial as it will determine your site’s availability. Also, if downtime does occur for any reason, then you should know how quick the problem will be resolved – it needs to be mentioned in writing.
While there are ways in which you, as the site owner, can improve uptime, the hosting company must offer high uptime assurance. A web host offering an uptime guarantee of 99.9% and above should be preferred.
2. Ensure Redundant Storage Solutions
With more and more businesses going online and users preferring online modes of purchase and payment, the threat of cyber-attacks is growing. A single cyber-attack can lead to massive data loss and force the business to start from scratch. To avoid such a worst-case scenario, a good web hosting company must have a backup system in place. Sales records, client directories, all other important client data, has to be protected. You can also look for web hosting companies that offer add-on automated backup tools like CodeGuard with their web hosting plans.
3. Opt for 24×7 Customer Support
Customer is the king! A good web hosting company will ensure 24X7 customer support to handle customer grievances. If you have even a minor technical issue or a billing question, then the ease with which you can access the hosting company’s customer support becomes a crucial point of consideration. A web hosting company that offers round-the-clock support, expert representatives, multiple modes of communication (chat, call, email), and timely resolutions will be a perfect choice for your business website.
4. Make Sure You Get a Wide Choice of Hosting Plans
A good web hosting company will offer a wide range of options with their web hosting plans. From Shared Hosting to Dedicated Servers, the provider offers multiple plans with every hosting type. Additionally, the provider should also offer detailed information with every plan, vis-a-vis the features, technical specifications, FAQs, etc. All this provides you with the necessary information to gauge the correctness of a hosting plan and helps you to make an informed choice. For example, if you are starting a new blog and the hosting provider highlights the benefits of Shared Hosting for a new blog, you can make an informed choice.
Thus, the perfect hosting provider is informative and transparent about their hosting plans and offerings.
5. Check the Company’s Goodwill and Reputation
Creating goodwill, for any company, comes from its reputation and quality of services provided. Customer testimonials can go a long way in gaining customer confidence for a web hosting company too. Word-of-mouth is the best form of advertising for a company. So when the host is offering the best quality for their clients and taking good care of their needs, rest assured, the existing customers will talk about it.
So, always make it a point to read the customer reviews when you are looking for the perfect web hosting company for your website. The perfect web hosting company is the one that has repeatedly ensured good customer service and has eventually built goodwill and trust amongst the customers.
Summing Up
As a site owner, ensure that you look for these factors in a web hosting company before buying a plan. Remember, your website resides on the server, and its performance relies heavily on the services offered by the web hosting provider. So, ensure that your research well and find the perfect hosting provider for your site. Good Luck!