An excellent website or online business can be rendered useless by a bad hosting service. If you do not have prior programming experience, many of the options and add-ons will not make much sense and can make web hosting seem much more confusing than it really is. Once the information and choices become convoluted, many people just shut down and randomize their choice. By learning a few things about hosting, you can end the confusion and avoid this trap.
Pick a hosting company that tends to not have very much downtime. If a company faces frequent outages and is constantly making excuses, it is a red flag that they are unreliable, or they would have made plans to remedy the situation. This can also be an indication of an unprofessional company.
The web host you choose should be located within the country of the people you are interested in selling your products or services to. For instance, if your site primarily targets people who live in the UK, the data center of your web host should be located there, as well.
There are free website hosting services available, but tread carefully. Be sure to make backups of anything you do not want to lose, as free hosts normally do not offer any kind of backup services. Keep in mind that the service is free, so there will probably not be any frills included. Thorough backups will be a lifesaver if any files on your site disappear.
Hosting services charge you based on the kind of traffic your site is getting. Have an idea just how a web company will charge you. Some hosts bill you a flat fee until your site picks up more traffic, while another may charge you a completely different amount each month depending on your traffic.
Hopefully now you are better prepared to analyze the hosting services and options available to you. Even if you are already locked into a hosting agreement, you can inform your IT person and prepare to move your site to a better hosting service once your current contract expires.