I get asked a lot about what web hosting is and why it’s needed. If you’ve never had a website before or you only use companies like Wix or Squarespace who include hosting, then why would you know!
If you’re building a WordPress website then you need to look at your hosting options…unless you have a website designer (like myself) who manages it all for you.
An easy comparison to help you understand website hosting, is by comparing it to the land you lease underneath your shop on the high street. Without the land, your shop simply can’t exist unless it has magic powers and floats! So hosting is a service that allows you to post a website onto the Internet by giving you space on a server and this is where you store your websites content such as text, images, code and videos. When users want to view your website, they type in your website IP address (which is your domain name) into their browser and they will be connected to the server to view your website. No matter what the size of your business or website…you need hosting, how much space you require will depend on your website content.
There are so many different reputable and viable web hosting services providers to choose from, it can be tricky to know which one to choose as they vary in price. It’s really important to consider the service they offer rather than just choosing the cheapest.
Popular hosting provders include:
There’s a reason why I use one of the top ranking hosting services for all of the sites I build and manage, because I want the best for my clients and my own website too of course.
Here are some of the fators I considered when making my choice:
Speed and Performance
These are important factors to consider, no one loves a slow loading website and potential clients are likely to leave quickly if your site is slow and it can really impact on your search engine visibility and website’s conversion rates.
Reliable uptime
You want your website available to be available ALL THE TIME! However there can still be sone downtime for perhaps seconds/minutes or even hours (not ideal) which may be due to glitches or maintenance. So make sure your chosen hosting provider has minimal downtime.
Data security
Your hosting provider needs to be proactively protecting your website from dodgy code and hack attacks that can cause issues with your site traffic and credibility, an SSL certificate (this is a MUST) and some of the best hosting providers include free SSL Certificates in all their hosting packages.
Customer support
We all benefit from good customer services from all companies don’t we? A web hosting provider without great customer support is a waste of money, they need to be available to help you with any problems you have through excellent customer support that actually helps.
If you have any questions about the hosting provider I use and are looking to sort a new website then please get in touch and we can chat and you can tell me all about your growing business.