If you’re like most people, you know very little about web hosting. If you have a website, you know a bit more than most people, but the truth is that choosing a web host can seem a bit strange. Luckily, this article has a number of smart tips about web hosting to make your hosting decisions easier.
You can choose to have multiple web hosting service providers if you would like in order to maintain IP address diversity. This is important to some people’s business to pad security and other reasons. There are several ways to do this, so if it is also your concern, look into using multiple web hosting services.
Avoid free web hosting services. These services support themselves by placing advertisements on the top of all the websites they host. These advertisements may annoy your visitors or make your site appear unprofessional. In addition, some free hosts may restrict the amount of commercial content allowed on the websites that they host.
Read the terms of service when dealing with a web host who offers “unlimited” services. Many times web hosts will offer unlimited bandwidth or sometimes hard disk space. Read the terms carefully, as they may reserve the right to ask you to upgrade your plan, if you are a higher profile customer, that has increased usage.
Decide which host to use based on how well it meets your hosting needs rather than on other services it provides. You might not get the best deal on domain names or other extra services from your web host provider. Don’t purchase these extra services when you sign up for web hosting unless you’re confident that you’re getting the best deal.
Never register your domain with your web hosting service. Many people mistakenly do this, and then realize later they can’t transfer their site over to another web hosting service. This can happen when a company goes offline and bust or for other various reasons. Make sure you register your domain with a different company than your web hosting provider.
If you are considering different hosts, check whether or not each one offers guarantees for customer satisfaction. If you experience any problems within a certain period, you should be able to cancel and get your money refunded. You can usually expect a 30-day window. Some hosting services may exaggerate their quality in their advertisements.
Find out if the web host you are considering offers a trial period. A trial period is a great way to identify potential issues, particularly whether there will be any downtime. It also gives you an opportunity to test the level of expertise and responsiveness of their customer service. You should take advantage of the trial period prior to making any kind of commitment.
Choosing a web host can be a bit of a hassle if you don’t know what you are doing. Let the tips in this article guide you and spur your own research so you can make a good decision about your web host. Learn as much as you can about web hosting so you can always be sure your site is being hosted by the best.
