Web hosting is an integral part of any business today. It is also a very important decision to make. Choosing the wrong company that does not support a specific type of business can cause damage to the company’s online presence and in time revenue that they could make.
The web hosting industry has grown immensely and is predicted to grow even more in the next five to seven years. Many big companies have websites, online stores and chatbots to interact with their customers. Many consumers prefer surfing the web and enquire, order or shop online than phoning or emailing. Consumers now search and compare prices on the web without going to the physical stores – and this is unlikely to change in a pandemic world without a solution in place.
Adriaan Brits, the CEO of Sitetrail, says “our company invested in the expertise of top analysts to determine a more just global ranking system for web providers. We wanted the ability to show the public at any given moment in time who the best web hosting companies are based on different criteria. I think we succeeded at that – but still need ongoing consumer updates to ensure that our reviews remain highly reliable and valid in a dynamic market”.
What to consider when choosing a hosting company
There are so many factors to consider when choosing the right web hosting company for a business. Consider the following factors:
Type of company
What type of business it is, an online store will be different from a blog or a normal web page, then seek the company that best supports the specific type of business.
Company needs
What the company needs and goals are. Will it be a site that will have lots of traffic, then choose the best web host suitable to handle bigger amounts of traffic. If it is a small site yet the goal is to grow within the next few months, choose a more flexible hosting provider or a pay-for-what-you-use provider.
Type of hosting plans
Consider what type of hosting plan you would like. There are three different hosting plans, dedicated, shared and cloud hosting. Each with their own pros and cons. We recommend shared hosting for smaller, starting businesses because it is cheaper however it can handle too much traffic. For bigger businesses cloud and dedicated hosting might be a better option as the traffic can be much more, however the costs are also slightly more.
Percentage of uptime
A very important consideration would be uptime. Amazon went down for 30 minutes in 2013 and each minute cost them $66,240. One would not want to pay for a website which is down more than it is up. Do some research on the web hosting providers and read reviews to see if the downtime is at a minimum.
Loading Speed
Loading speed is another important factor to consider. A page loading speed has to be two seconds or less, if not consumers will be left more frustrated and probably move on the competitors site.
Flexibility
Look at the flexibility of the web hosting providers. If the website needs to be upgraded or moved to a new plan or a new company, it should be able to do it fast and effectively with as little downtime as possible.
Cost
Make sure the monthly fees are within budget. Look at the signing up and renewal fees. Many hosting providers have hidden costs through other products they offer. Some hosting providers offer certain features for free for the first month and then when the bill hits in month two business owners are shocked. Some hosting providers also offer pay-what-you-use options, which can save money in the beginning, but as the page grows the cost on the page also increases. Read the T&C’s on everything and enquire on extra or hidden costs before committing.
Free Trial
Try out a free trial before committing to a certain company. Opt for a company that provides this option, one would quickly see if the hosting services would be the correct fit without money implications.
Back-up and Safety
Make sure the website is backed up. Some hosting providers offer automatic back ups which is great, others would charge an extra fee. Do some research and ask the right questions.
Conclusion
Having a web hosting provider is essential. We recommend doing loads of research before committing, reading as many reviews as possible and comparing providers prices and features with each other. It is possible to do side-by-side reviews too, for example Siteground VS Bluehost or any other provider like Godaddy and A2 Hosting. It really comes down to finding reliable reviews that are unbiased.
