Important Things To Know About Web Hosting

Domain and web hosting providers – making the right choice is not so easy. Depending on project requirements, hosters offer different advantages and disadvantages. What is hosting and what is it needed for? Which functions are provided with it? What’s the difference between virtual servers with Hostwinds or DigitalOcean? Questions about questions and the selection of providers is even more overwhelming.

You don’t have the technical know-how? Or just incomplete? With this article I will explain you on the basis of my experience of many years, how you find the suitable offer now as a layman and what you should pay attention to with the choice.

What is a domain and web hosting provider?

A great deal has already been written and expressed about this topic on the web. Nevertheless I would like to bring you the whole again because of the importance something more near. Web hosting is actually nothing else than providing websites. Additionally e-mail functionalities and databases to certain applications like CMS systems can be added. It also allows you to store documents, pictures or music files. Put simply, all the technical stuff around it that is responsible for making the data available on the Internet.

As already mentioned in tip number six, choosing the right Content Management System (CMS) is just as important as choosing a domain and web hosting provider. I also mentioned in tip number six that both have a big influence on the success of the website. I know, I repeat myself. But it should show you how important it is to make the right choice. For everything to work smoothly, it needs a suitable hosting.

Which way you choose depends on the requirements. In the following, a distinction is made between standard web hosting, reseller hosting, virtual and dedicated servers or cloud hosting. I will describe the advantages and disadvantages of the individual hosting options in individual articles. Otherwise, this would go beyond the scope of this article.

Who needs a domain and web hosting provider?

I don’t care if you’re a

• A private individual runs a private website or blog,
• company operates a corporate website or blog,
• organization operates an organization website or blog,
• club operates a club website or a blog,

you need a domain and web hosting provider.

Online usage has increased and changed dramatically in recent years. Almost every company should use a website as a marketing channel in order not to suffer a competitive disadvantage. It does not matter whether it is an innovative start-up or an e-commerce platform. Even classic start-ups from the retail or craft sectors. As a result, every company needs a domain and web hosting provider on which every potential customer can access an Internet-enabled device.

Reliable hosting is very important for the success of a website. But what can happen when choosing a bad host?

1. Downtime: On the one hand of course the downtimes and on the other hand the regularity of the failures. Cheap hosters have far more downtime compared to the higher price segment. Therefore, this could be an indication that not only the technology of the server, but also the quality of the technology is poor.
2. Mass storage: Hosters with low rates often have the disadvantage that many customers are on the same physical computer. This means that it can lead to delays in accessing the website.
3. Server configuration: Miss-configurations can lead to massive performance problems. Poor monitoring leads to constant overloads and consequently to failures.

Criteria for Choosing the Domain and Web Hosting Provider

First and foremost, performance should play the most important role. For example, the technology and speed of the server on which your content management system resides are crucial. Depending on the size of the web project, different aspects have to be considered more or less.

By the regulation of the DSGVO you must of course also pay attention to the server location of your domain and web hosting provider. For legal reasons, the location of the host can also play an important role. Find the right domain and web hosting provider with the right decision criteria Find the right domain and web hosting provider with the right decision criteria

Possible decision criteria could be:

• Domain and e-mail administration
• memory
• upload mode
• contract terms
• support
• price
• scope of performance

Domain and E-Mail Administration

Domain and email are very often mentioned in one context, yet domain registration and web hosting are two different services. The domain you have purchased serves as the address for your website. It can be registered and hosted by other providers than where your website is located. Often other providers have lower domain prices than your hosting partner.

When choosing your domain and web hosting provider, it is advisable to consider how many free top-level domains and subdomains are included in the package. Some hosters only allow more than five top-level domains per domain for a monthly fee. I also strongly recommend that you make sure that the hosting package allows email mailboxes and email forwarding. In my opinion, this should be a minimum requirement.

Storage

Depending on the size of the project, the required storage space and the storage type at the domain and web hosting provider can be decisive. Servers with SSDs instead of hard disks load the website much faster.

Upload Mode

What upload options are available, is the upload via FTP or web upload? Or both?

Terms and conditions

Often a great package is offered to you, with the disadvantage that this is linked with long commitment periods. Therefore, always pay attention to the contract duration and the payment methods. Before concluding the contract, pay attention to the minimum duration and in which cases the provider can cancel the contract.

Support

How important is support to you? For business customers, special response times for support requests are usually guaranteed. The response time for inexpensive hosting packages is rather high. Of course, it also depends on whether you want telephone support. Prices vary a lot. While with one hoster you are only a number and somewhere far down in the e-mail ticket list are standing, with others you are a customer, around whom one also really takes care.

If everything runs smoothly, nobody is interested in support. However, if something doesn’t work, fast and helpful support is important. There are many reports on the net, how the support is with the individual hosters and whether additional costs arise for it. I always have mixed feelings about these reports. While some have problems with Hoster A, others don’t, but with Hoster B. It’s like having bad luck with a Monday device, who got it. Or something like that. Besides, not everyone has the same requirements or the same CMS running.

Price

Of course, the price is also decisive. If you want to know your website safely online, you have to be aware that performance costs something. Some hosters charge setup/setup fees, which you also have to take into account when making your calculations. Therefore, always keep an eye on the monthly costs.

Often packages are offered at a discount during the first few months, so always pay close attention to the actual price. With some hosting packages there are often hidden costs. These are usually additional costs that seem cheap at first, but can go up very quickly. Of course, these always have to be paid separately.

Scope of services

The hosting package should provide at least one file management like ftp/sftp. A one-click installer and DNS management (nameserver) would also be advantageous. There should also be a file manager. This is very important if, for example, you need to edit a .htaccess file from there. A constant monitoring of the servers as well as a daily full backup of all systems and a permanent backup and update of the server software by the hoster must be guaranteed.

Are there any free hosting packages?

Free hosting packages are, if you look at it carefully, absolutely not free. In any case, they really exist. However, the whole thing is usually associated with appropriate advertising. Therefore many advertising popups or banners are displayed. It is not uncommon for your personal data to be sold to third parties. This covers the costs incurred. In addition, unfortunately, only sub-domains are offered, because there are no additional costs for the operators.

However, I personally would advise against such hosters. Even if there is usually a lack of financial means at the beginning of a company foundation, you are saving here in the wrong place. It harms your business more than it brings you at the end of the day.

Conclusion

As with most other things, choosing a domain and web hosting provider depends largely on your needs. That’s why I can never answer the inevitable question of which hoster is more suitable for you. Don’t switch to a provider just because it costs a few (Euros) less a year. Better consider your needs than your budget. The right hosting partner will then show up.

I hope I was able to help you with your choice with my little guide.