If you are looking for a great web hosting solution for your website, it can be very easy to fall into a trap and make a mistake that has disastrous repercussions for you and your business. While there might be an element of “I’m happy to make mistakes and learn from them,” in this case you really don’t need to. Enough people have suffered thanks to poor web hosting services or making mistakes that you only need to read a few blogs before you are fully clued up as to the problems that you can easily walk into.
In the event that you have not yet found out what the biggest things to avoid are, we got them together here so you have a print and keep reference that will never see you go wrong.
Your Problem
Such is the reputation of many web-hosting companies that it is easy to point an accusing finger at them whenever anything goes wrong. Before you go tweeting or telling a host review site how bad something is, look at it from your own point of view. What have you got on the page? If you have filled it with photographs, videos, and various other pieces of media, then there is a chance it will be slow even if you have opted for a dedicated server package.
Keep it simple, and you shouldn’t have any other self-inflicted issues. Now, onto those traps.
Cost Considerations
Naturally, you want the best financial deal for yourself or your company. If you are launching your first site, you might think that the cheapest option is best because you aren’t expecting too much traffic to begin with anyway. Sounds logical, but it could be the biggest mistake you have ever made.
Cheap web hosting and things that appear ‘too good to be true’ should be avoided at all costs. As a minimum, spend a little more and go for a VPS hosting package that will at least give you some options and flexibility when your site starts to grow.
Not Getting Guarantees
You can split this mistake into two categories.
First of all, you have the person who signs up for a web hosting deal, locking them in for a period of time, without getting any assurances around uptime, site speed, or what your compensation will be if these metrics are not satisfied.
Second, there is the person who sees a great deal, signs up, but doesn’t read the small print and ends up with a low performing website and, just to add insult to injury, an avalanche of hidden fees.
You don’t need us to tell you neither of these are good news. Get guarantees, get them in writing, and read everything.
Who Owns the Site?
If you make this mistake, you could see your whole business come crashing down, yet still many people allow this to happen. Buy your web domain first, so that it is registered in your name, and if you do it through a hosting company, ensure that you have the rights to the URL.
Picture this, you sign a web hosting agreement, are unhappy, and want to move elsewhere in three months, but you have to start from scratch and build your brand again, because you didn’t realise that the hosting provider took ownership of your domain name. It doesn’t sound good, does it.
Avoid these mistakes and you will be well on your way to a great experience of the web hosting industry, which in turn will lead you to a great site and increased business performance.
