Bought a domain and already have a designed website with content? Now you just need to host it somewhere and launch it online. The problem is that as trivial as this sounds and as much as most of us tend to think that it’s obvious to go for any hosting package that is cheap and/or popular, reality shows that choosing a hosting company is not a trivial matter.
Here are the basics to consider when choosing a hosting company
Speed and Impact on Search Engines
If you want your website to run smoothly and quickly (and you do want this!), first and foremost, you should choose a server that is geographically close. In the past, server location had a significant impact on Google rankings and other search engines, but today it is no longer a leading parameter.
To check the IP of the hosting, you can use various websites, for example:
IP2location
DNSstuff.com
Customer Support
This is another factor to consider, as a hosting company with a non satisfactory responding customer support is the last one you want on your side. Your website is your asset and as such should get the best support, a one that will address whatever problem you’ll encounter quickly and efficiently. Nobody wants their site to be down for more than a second.
Reputation
Last but not least – check the different reviews and testimonials the hosting company you consider has online (for example, you can search on Google for the hosting company name plus the term “reviews” or the simple question “is {$company-name} a reliable hosting company?”), to make sure that the company you chose indeed knows how to do its job and more importantly – has enough customers who testify in its favor.
Besides, it is advisable that the hosting can support more than one domain to reduce costs and other bureaucracy.
Want to recommend a hosting company?
Contact me, and I would be happy to update the post with your recommendations.
