What to look for in a great web hosting

There are so many hosting providers around the web, however, how do you choose one from all the crowd?


Well, let me tell you what to look for if you want to find a great hosting for your niche site.


What is it good for?
Every hosting provider is created for a reason, you need to find out what that reason was and determine if that hosting if the right fit for your website.

Some are created with WordPress in mind, others for any type of website. I recommend using WordPress specialized hosting (that's the one I use and it's great, but it depends on the company).


Overall rating.
This is basically social proof and it's the most important one, after all, it's what current users are saying about the service.

However, it's really important to point out the fact that maybe some reviews could say that a company had problems delivering on what they promised. Noticed I said "had", that may not bet the current case! make sure to find up to date reviews that will help you make the best-informed decision.


Unlimited monthly data transfer
Whenever I find a hosting provider that promises unlimited monthly data transfer I simply don't believe it. The reason for that is the fact that no reputable hosting provider will give you that for about $5 USD/month...

What they usually do is not deliver when you grow enough and ask you to change hosting plans of ultimately hosting provider.

This has happened to me before and I've known of many cases where that has happened.


Is it shared hosting? (You might want to reconsider)
I'm not saying shared hosting is bad, however, if you are truly determined to make your site reputable, you'll need more power than the one shared hostings can provide you.

Here's how shared hosting providers work:
They have servers where they host many websites at a time and as one site grows, it will consume more bandwidth than usual, taking most of the bandwidth that is supposed to be for many, slowing them down.


What about VPS hosting?
A virtual private server (VPS) runs its own copy of an operating system, and customers have superuser-level access to that operating system instance, so they can install almost any software that runs on that OS.

I've never needed VPS so I don't know much about it, which is why I won't get into details. If you know more about when you should use them please let me know in the comments below


Dedicated hosting
Dedicated hosting works by only storing one website on each server, giving it all its attention and resources. IMO, this is the best type of hosting, however, these tend to be expensive.


Managed Wordpress Hosting
Managed hosting is as the name implies, letting a company manage your website. Updates, backups, security, among other things.

If you ask me, this is great because it allows you to focus on what truly matters, which is focusing on your blog and making it grow.


There are many choices for you and it's very easy to get overwhelmed on the sea of hosting provider, but remember this:


You Get What You Pay For!


Cheap hosting providers will be just that, cheap. There is a saying that applies well in this situation.


You can get cheap and good but not reliable.
Cheap and reliable but not good.
Good and reliable but not cheap.


You see where I'm going with this?


Fortunately, there are some hosting providers that are good, reliable and cheap. But, they have limitations, of course, like the number of visits and bandwidth, however, these are the ones you want to find and utilize.


I hope this article helped you understand hosting providers a little bit better and that you are able to choose one in an educated manner.


Cheers,

Jonathan Nuñez

Great write up Jonathan

The only thing I would like to add is, be careful with "Wordpress Hosting". There are some providers that do provide added benefits to users who use Wordpress.

Sadly, most of these services are simply a marketing gimmick to increase their sales. Just like the old days of "SEO Hosting", which had no benefit over regular shared hosting.

nesito29 said:

Some are created with WordPress in mind, others for any type of website. I recommend using WordPress specialized hosting (that's the one I use and it's great, but it depends on the company).

Click to expand...

Almost web hosting companies supported to run wordpress cms perfectly, if not, It's a problem with your webs hosting you chose.

nesito29 said:

Overall rating.
This is basically social proof and it's the most important one, after all, it's what current users are saying about the service.

However, it's really important to point out the fact that maybe some reviews could say that a company had problems delivering on what they promised. Noticed I said "had", that may not bet the current case! make sure to find up to date reviews that will help you make the best-informed decision.

Click to expand...

I am not sure I can believe in reviews from user unless I can try on their real hosting service.

What is your experience on choosing a web hosting from reading reviews? how will you consider the are real reviews?

nesito29 said:

Unlimited monthly data transfer
Whenever I find a hosting provider that promises unlimited monthly data transfer I simply don't believe it. The reason for that is the fact that no reputable hosting provider will give you that for about $5 USD/month...

Click to expand...

I think this is not true, nowadays we can use hosting without worrying about bandwidth, I admit that I faced this problem 5 years ago.

nesito29 said:

Is it shared hosting? (You might want to reconsider)
I'm not saying shared hosting is bad, however, if you are truly determined to make your site reputable, you'll need more power than the one shared hostings can provide you.

Here's how shared hosting providers work:
They have servers where they host many websites at a time and as one site grows, it will consume more bandwidth than usual, taking most of the bandwidth that is supposed to be for many, slowing them down.

Click to expand...

It's correct!

nesito29 said:

What about VPS hosting?
A virtual private server (VPS) runs its own copy of an operating system, and customers have superuser-level access to that operating system instance, so they can install almost any software that runs on that OS.

I've never needed VPS so I don't know much about it, which is why I won't get into details. If you know more about when you should use them please let me know in the comments below

Click to expand...

Always VPS is my best choice because it helps your website better performance ( Speed (CPUs), RAM, self managed, Anti DDOS...etc)

nesito29 said:

You Get What You Pay For!

Cheap hosting providers will be just that, cheap. There is a saying that applies well in this situation.

You can get cheap and good but not reliable.
Cheap and reliable but not good.
Good and reliable but not cheap.

Click to expand...

I am doubting how they can happens

End of the day you have a great article, although some points are pretty common but we could get some from it.

I'm going to second RDO Servers about WordPress hosting concerns as quite a few web hosting providers offer these types of packages, but essentially offer nothing out of the ordinary as compared to straight up shared web hosting. If this is what you're looking for, it's always best to ask very specific questions about how these providers differentiate their services.

Great article.

What to look for?
- There is a quick responding and helpfull support
- There is not big number of negative reviews when you google them
- Good price

Following are the key features you should consider while choosing a web host :

1. Server Reliability / Uptime Scores
2. Data center selection (Different location selection)
3. 24/7 Quality support
4. Server/ Plan upgrade options
5. Control panel
6. Backup facility
7. Free features like site builders
8. Data transfer facility
9. Os selection in case of VPS and dedicated servers.
10. Os reload options.

Jonathan I digress!

Of all the things you mentioned you didn't once mention the "support".

To me, support is the number 1 main thing in a great web host.

The kind of support that goes the extra mile, even going out of their way to help you so you are happy.

That kind of service is the kind that cares about their current customers just as much as their new ones.

Okay so when deciding on a host, first we look at what their offer is and the price of course.

Then we look for reviews/feedback about them, check out their Facebook page, see how active and supportive they are.

Send them a few questions see what kind of response you get back, how quick and how professional it is.

Its all very well getting a great deal on a hosting plan, but if you have really bad or even subparallel support then it's not worth having IMHO.

I'm not talking about things you can do yourself, but for things that are out of your control that only your host can look into and fix.

If you have a fully self managed hosting account, when you have problems and your host doesn't want to help and even insults you in the process it's not worth anything.

That said, sometimes you can find really great hosting deals that do offer a lot but the support is rubbish but the price isn't too bad. So some people "put up with that".

Taking the rough with the smooth if you will.

But I tell you now! It doesn't have to be like that!

I use stablehost.com because their support is second to none.

Never had a problem that was too small or too hard for them to fix.

Don't think I've ever had any downtime since have been with them for about 4 years now.

Absolute gem of a host. Totally fair and reasonable prices with support like that.

Now that's a great webhost!

Hi nesito29,

Very simple answer to a very simple question. Ok, it's not really a question, but you are asking for comments I guess. :>)

Great support.

I cannot compete with the technical knowledge being displayed here, but I am fortunate to have found a service provider that is just super in my opinion.

Insty.me is set up particularly to support Internet Marketers, and they have not put a step wrong for me.

More generally, I don't consider anything cheap. That is just asking for a second rate service.

That can be said for anything you purchase really.

Look for premium products, that work as printed on the tin.

Would you purchase a cheap pocket knife, only to have it bend the first time you use it? Pay for quality and have it for a lifetime.

cheers, Mal.