What are some of the useful tips for choosing the right web host for beginners? Choosing a web host is one of the most crucial decisions you'll make while putting up a website. When choosing the best service provider, a beginner may become confused by the numerous service kinds and the large selection of packages available. This piece will provide you some insight into the most crucial factors you should take into account.
Tips for Choosing the Right Web Host for Beginners
1. Accessibility
The technical name for dependability in the market is availability, thus you should search for a web host that can provide high availability. In other words, they will promise that your website won't go down due to server issues or be taken down for an extended amount of time for maintenance.
Even though 99.5% availability is the industry norm, this still means that your website is down for more than 3 hours every month. Your ideal high-availability supplier should be able to guarantee an uptime of at least 99.95%. This degree of uptime is provided by eUKhost for shared hosting whereas 100% uptime is provided for our business packages, VPS and dedicated servers, and cloud hosting.
If you want to build a reputation for dependability for your website and company, selecting a high-availability host is crucial. It increases the level of trust you have with your clients and ensures that your website will continue to make money and provide the services you provide to them.
2. Operating system
In general, Linux or Windows are the two operating systems that the majority of web providers offer for their websites. Most new users find it confusing because while Windows is the most popular operating system for residential computers, Linux is the preferred option for running websites. Many people are forced to choose one system over another because of the website-building software they must employ. Therefore, you must select Linux if you intend to develop a WordPress website, for instance.
Make sure you are familiar with the software you will be using to create your website before looking into web hosts, and then confirm that they provide the right operating system.
3. Email service
Examine the email service that is included with the hosting package before you buy it. It's important to confirm that you can create email accounts with the same domain as your website (for example, me@mywebsite.com) and that you can access those accounts using a variety of ways, including POP3 and IMAP. Additionally, you need a service that is accessible from any location with an internet connection and that enables you to configure email forwarding, autoresponders, and newsletters.
Additionally, you want to check the level of email security offered by the service providers. Do they monitor for malware and viruses, filter spam, and look for blacklists for email addresses? If not, you might wish to pick a different service.
4. Bandwidth limits
The quantity of data you transfer from your server to your visitors' browsers is referred to as bandwidth. You consume bandwidth each time someone loads one of your sites on a PC or smartphone. You could consume a lot of bandwidth if your website has a lot of dense material, such as huge media files (videos, photos, music, etc.).
The term "bandwidth allotment" refers to how much bandwidth some web servers or hosting plans allow you to utilize each month. This is not a problem for websites with a small number of users, but it might become a problem if your traffic increases or if there is an unanticipated increase in demand (for example, if one of your posts receives a lot of social media likes). When this occurs, there are two possible outcomes: either your server bans your website from showing for the remainder of the month or you are charged for the additional bandwidth you used, much like what happens when you use more data than your mobile phone plan allows.
Going over your bandwidth allotment is an indication that your website is performing well, therefore neither paying for additional bandwidth nor being forced offline are appealing choices. What you should actually be looking for is a web host who offers unmetered or unlimited bandwidth on lesser (shared) hosting packages and bandwidth allotment on larger (dedicated server) plans that are so high it's very improbable you will ever surpass them.
5. Ability to use SSL
SSL is a little piece of software that allows websites to encrypt data transferred from a user's browser to your server, to put it simply. Sites with it are easy to spot since their addresses start with https rather than http. With Google now alerting users that websites without https are not safe, it is probable that you will need an SSL certificate if you operate a website that collects payments or personal information from clients.
It is possible that some web host servers are not set up to allow the usage of SSL certificates, therefore you should check this before registering. To suit the security requirements of a variety of different enterprises, eUKhost offers a variety of SSL certificates.
6. Disk space allocation
Your unique situation will determine just how much disk space you require. You won't need a lot of disk space at all if your tiny firm is only planning to operate a website. For all the data and programs you need to keep, you will undoubtedly require a lot more space if you run a big business that collects a lot of data and uses strong apps.
Before choosing a hosting package that will provide you the disk space you need, thoroughly consider your requirements and potential demands. This is because the majority of hosting packages include either disk space restrictions or file number constraints. While doing so, you must watch out for wasting money on unnecessary space purchases. There is no use in purchasing 20GB of disk space if your website will only be a few hundred MB in size.
7. Security is crucial
Web security is gaining importance, and the web host you choose can have a significant impact on how well-protected your website is. To fight against malware, you need a web host that can provide powerful firewalls, intrusion prevention, and monitoring. Your server should also offer a backup solution so that you can quickly and easily restore your site if it is ever taken offline.
If a web server doesn't offer strong security in this day and age, you should avoid them.
8. Technical liberty
There are a number of technical tasks that you may want to complete in order for your website to operate the way you want it to. Even while you might not have used terms like FTP, PHP, .htaccess, MySQL, or cron jobs yet, it's probable that you will as your website management skills advance.
You may upload and download files straight from your PC to your website using FTP.
Many websites are constructed in the PHP language, but occasionally you need to utilize certain versions that are compatible with the platform your website is built on.
A configuration file called .htaccess may be modified to accomplish a variety of goals, including enhancing site security.
A type of database called MySQL is required to operate programs like WordPress.
You may build up actions called "cron jobs" to conduct specific operations automatically at predetermined intervals.
Any web servers, or certain packages that web hosts provide, limit what customers may do with their websites by denying them access to some or all of these services. You should search for a server that permits this if you want to be able to use all of them. This is crucial for people seeking shared hosting because the majority of restrictions are present in these plans.
9. Get your control panel
Your website and server are managed through a control panel. You may update your site, add new features, and install new software thanks to this tool. You may also use it to upgrade your account and, if necessary, add other hosting services.
Some servers provide you access to a control panel that has few choices and limits what you can do, so you have to contact customer care to add additional email accounts or change your password, for example.
Ideally, you want control panels that are easy to use, have many choices, and can be picked up quickly, like cPanel or Plesk.
10. Day and night technical support
Managing a website may be extremely technical, and occasionally issues arise that either requires your web host's assistance or that you are unable to resolve on your own. Because of this, you require a web host that offers technical help around-the-clock, every day of the year. You don't want to be unable to contact anyone until Monday morning if your website goes down on Friday night.
Keep in mind that technical help is the main focus here. Some providers claim to offer 24/7 help, but all they actually do is connect you to a contact center that deals with general inquiries. However, with eUKhost, you will always receive full technical assistance regardless of when you contact us or how you get in touch—by phone, email, or online chat.
Final thought
You should now have a much greater idea of what to look for when selecting a web host after reading this post. You should be aware that there are a lot of technical factors to take into account in addition to evaluating the service and support provided by the host.
Examining the feedback the web host is receiving on social media and on review sites like TrustPilot should be one of your first steps. You will be able to tell them what the host's current clients think of their service.
Look at the selection of packages given by some good hosting serv services if you're seeking a web host that can provide all the aforementioned features and consistently receives five-star evaluations from its clients.
High availability is definitely key when picking a web host, especially for beginners who need reliable service. I’ve found that some of the best web hosting providers in the Philippines offer great uptime and support, making them a solid choice for anyone just starting out. Thanks for highlighting availability—it’s often overlooked but so important!
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