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Prioritize Performance and Scalability
According to Hristo Rusev, Co-Founder & CEO of ScalaHosting the backbone of any successful website is a reliable hosting provider. He emphasizes that performance and scalability should be top priorities for beginners:Owning a website in 2024 is as easy as they come. The technological evolution has made it possible for even the most inexperienced user to create their own space online. Be it a hobby site, a portfolio, an online shop, or a gaming portal – you have all the tools needed at your disposal. With easy entry in the field comes the bigger competition, though. You have to always strive to make your site faster, more secure, and highly appealing. So, what can you do? The Role of Your Hosting Provider Your hosting provider will supply the server, which will be the foundation of your new online project. As such, you want to find the best possible partner that will ensure that not only you have a great environment today, but you can grow exponentially without any hiccups. There are literally thousands of hosting providers out there fighting for clients, so it’s best we learn how to separate the real gems from the companies that are just there to get your money. How to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan There are numerous factors that can influence our buying decision, and it often boils down to particular client needs. Still, there are some aspects that play a major role, regardless of the project:Excellent customer care can save you not only time but money as well. Instead of buying expensive add-ons, you can find easier workarounds and invest the cash in your business development. Closing Thoughts Picking the right hosting plan with a reliable host might seem like a confusing task, but it’s nothing that a little research can’t solve. Right now, cloud VPS services seem like the best bet in terms of feature-cost ratio, but there are others who might better serve your particular needs. From there on, you only need a domain name and a site-building app to make your dreams a reality.
- Performance: Getting enough server resources to ensure fast page load times is a no-brainer for any modern website. What’s more – visitors expect lightning-fast loading, which is a make-or-break factor for your online business, especially if your site serves a commercial purpose. While shared hosting services can accommodate new or small projects, their resources might quickly prove insufficient. That’s because you share the server RAM, CPU, and disk space with hundreds of other clients. Resource hogging is not a rare occurrence, and you can easily fall into a whirlwind of slow services and even downtimes. In comparison, virtual servers (VPS) come with a dedicated set of system resources, completely isolated and allocated for your personal needs.
- Scalability: Having enough processing power and memory to start a website is one thing, but keeping up with your growth is a whole other ordeal. Cloud VPS hosting plans excel in that direction as well. You tap into a vast network of servers, so adding more CPU and RAM is as quick as pushing a button. This scalability allows you to handle large influxes of visitors without any service interruptions.
- Customer Support: Even if website building is something you feel comfortable with, having some extra assistance from industry experts never hurts. You will be surprised how many hosts neglect that aspect and provide sub-par customer support to their clients, forcing them to look for other solutions instead of focusing on their online projects.
Look Beyond the Basics: Value-Added Services
While beginners often focus on storage and bandwidth, Viona Wairimu, Digital Marketing Manager of HOSTAFRICA suggests considering the value-added services that can elevate your website:As a beginner stepping into the world of web hosting, it’s easy to get caught up in the technical jargon of storage, bandwidth, and domain names. While these are essential, they’re just the foundation. To truly build a successful online presence, you need to consider the value-added services that can elevate your website. At HOSTAFRICA, we’ve seen firsthand how these services can transform a basic website into a powerful digital tool. Here’s why we encourage our customers to prioritize them:
- Effortless Website Creation:
- Intuitive Website Builders: Our user-friendly website builders empower you to create stunning websites without writing a single line of code.
- Pre-Designed Templates: Choose from a wide range of professional templates to quickly establish your online brand.
- Drag-and-Drop Functionality: Easily customize your website’s layout and content to your exact specifications.
- Security:
- Robust Security Measures: Our advanced security systems, including firewalls and malware scanners, protect your website from cyber threats.
- Daily Backups: Rest easy knowing your website’s data is safe with our regular backup and restore services.
- SSL Certificates: Encrypt sensitive information and build trust with your visitors.
- Expert Support, Always at Your Service:
- 24/7 Technical Support: Our dedicated support team is available around the clock to assist you with any questions or issues.
- Prompt Response Times: We understand the importance of minimizing downtime, so we strive to resolve problems quickly and efficiently.
- Essential Tools for Success:
- One-Click App Installation: Easily install popular applications like WordPress, Joomla, and Drupal to streamline your workflow.
- SEO-Friendly Platform: Optimize your website for search engines with our built-in SEO tools to attract more organic traffic.
- Performance Optimization: Enhance your website’s speed and loading times for a better user experience.
Shared vs. VPS vs. Dedicated Hosting
When choosing between shared, VPS, or dedicated hosting, Ivan Messina, Founder & CEO of SupportHost advises focusing on your website’s specific needs rather than just the budget:In my opinion, the budget should be the last factor to consider. Yes, VPS and dedicated hosting are more expensive, but if your website needs them, you’ll have to find the funds. Otherwise, your website will frequently be offline, and spending less on unreliable hosting is often worse than spending nothing at all and having no website. So, why should you choose one hosting option over the other?
The primary reason is power.
- Shared Hosting means you are sharing resources on the same server or cloud infrastructure with other users, which limits the resources available to you.
- VPS and Dedicated Servers can offer similar performance, depending on the hardware of the dedicated server and the resources allocated to the VPS. It’s important to know whether those VPS resources are dedicated or shared.
Key Considerations:
- Traffic:
The first thing to assess is the amount of traffic your website receives. The more visitors you have, the more resources you’ll need.- Resource Usage:
Another critical factor is the resource usage of your website. While difficult to estimate in advance, we can agree that an e-commerce site without caching consumes significantly more resources than a static website with aggressive caching.- Software Stack:
Shared hosting typically uses a standard software stack (usually PHP and MySQL) to support the majority of open-source CMS platforms. If your website requires specialized software (e.g., Node.js or MongoDB), you’ll need a VPS or dedicated server to install and run the necessary applications.In Summary:
- Do you need a custom software stack? If so, you’ll need a dedicated server or VPS, as shared hosting won’t support it.
- Determine your resource needs: This depends on your website’s design, functionality, and traffic volume.
- Choose the right hosting type: Every shared hosting plan has different resource limits, and every VPS or dedicated server offers varying amounts of resources and hardware configurations. Select the option that aligns with your website’s current and future requirements.
Test Customer Support Before Committing
For Matt Lundstrom, CEO of GlowHost the quality of customer support can make or break your hosting experience. He recommends testing a provider’s support before making a long-term commitment:Test out their customer support first! The easiest way to do this is to sign up for a monthly hosting package and ensure there are no stipulations about automatic renewal or minimum commitments. Ask Questions! You can ask the sales department any billing-related questions before committing to a service. Look for multiple contact options, such as live chat, a support ticketing system, and/or a toll-free number, to address these inquiries before signing up. This process also allows you to gauge the host’s knowledge and get a sense of expected wait times for assistance. While a month-to-month plan may be more expensive in the short term, it’s a worthwhile investment. It provides flexibility, allowing you to upgrade to a longer-term plan later and take advantage of the discounts that typically come with long-term prepayment—once you’ve established confidence in your provider’s reliability and response times.
Focus on Ease of Use and Critical Features
Banko Stoyanov Marketing Manager of CooliceHost highlights the importance of user-friendly features and robust support:While beginners may focus on price or storage limits, the quality of support and ease of management are critical factors that can make your hosting experience much smoother. Choosing a hosting plan that prioritizes these features can save you time, reduce frustration, and help you grow your website more effectively. The most important aspects users should consider include:Additional features to consider:
- Ease of Setup and Management: A user-friendly interface and straightforward setup process can significantly simplify website management.
- Reliable, Responsive, and Expert 24/7 Customer Support: Having access to knowledgeable support around the clock ensures that issues are resolved quickly, minimizing downtime.
- Scalability and Flexibility: As your website grows, the ability to easily scale resources will be essential to maintaining performance.
- SSL Certificate: Some hosting providers offer a free domain for the first year and include a free SSL certificate, which is essential for securing your website and improving SEO.
- Performance Optimization: Features such as SSD storage, caching, and CDN integration can significantly enhance your website’s loading speed, which is crucial for user experience and search engine rankings.
- Backup and Restore Options: Automatic daily or weekly backups are invaluable if you accidentally delete files or encounter data loss.
Avoiding Common Mistakes: Understanding Hosting Types
Adion Gorani, CEO of Cloudys highlights one of the most common pitfalls for beginners—choosing a hosting plan without fully understanding the differences between shared, VPS, dedicated, and cloud hosting.The mistake most beginners make when choosing a hosting plan is a lack of understanding of the different types of hosting: Shared, VPS, Dedicated, and Cloud, and how each one fits their specific website needs. Many beginners opt for shared hosting simply because it’s widely advertised and affordable, without considering how it will support their site in the long term. Each hosting type offers a different level of control, scalability, and performance. Shared hosting, for instance, may be inexpensive for small sites but can become problematic if your site suddenly grows or requires dedicated resources. VPS or Cloud hosting provides better performance and is more scalable, but it is correspondingly more expensive and has a higher learning curve. Beginners often choose a hosting plan that fits their current needs but fail to consider future expansion, such as increased traffic, more features, or resource-intensive applications. For example, a shared hosting plan that works well for a small site might become too limited as traffic grows or as more advanced functions (like e-commerce) are required. Migrating to a more suitable plan can be time-consuming and costly. Beginners should take the time to understand the strengths and limitations of each hosting type and match them with their website’s current and future needs.
