Five things to consider when choosing a web host

Most businesses have a website; however, the hosting of this site is often something that is not given much thought. The right choice of host can improve your site’s availability and ultimately lead to you having more customers, so what do you need to look for when choosing a host?

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1 What kind of hosting?

The first point to consider is that web hosting comes in many forms. There are dedicated servers, shared hosts, virtual hosts and more. You need to consider which type is going to be best for your business. This can be a difficult decision; however, a good hosting company will help to identify your needs and choose the best option for your requirements.

2 Choosing features

There are a number of things you need to look out for when choosing a hosting service. Key factors include bandwidth, connection speed and storage requirements. You also need to look at uptime statistics – as websites become more vital to business, you need to ensure yours has maximised availability. Ideally, you need a host that offers fast connections with unlimited bandwidth and storage, ensuring a smooth experience for your visitors.

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3 Look for creativity

When you choose a website design company Gloucester has many to choose from, such as https://www.net9design.com/. Such companies will often offer hosting, so look for a creative approach that will produce something that emphasises your business and is attractive to potential customers.

4 Security matters

Security is vital on the internet and should be high on your list of objectives when choosing a web host. Make sure your site will be protected from hacking and that any personal or payment data collected will be processed and stored correctly. Hosts use a number of different operating systems and this choice can influence the security of the site. Linux hosts are usually more secure than Windows hosts; however, you must balance this against usability and the demands of your site code.

5 Customer service

Your website is essential to your business. Things will go wrong from time to time, of course, so you need to ensure that your site gets back up and running quickly. Check out what levels of support the host offers, particularly out of hours, and ask about the target fix times.