How to pick web hosting

RDO Servers

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When you are looking for a company to host your websites (databases, emails, WordPress, etc), what do you look for?
How do you choose?
What things do you base your decision on?

Thanks!
 
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Hugo E.

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When you are looking for a company to host your websites (databases, emails, WordPress, etc), what do you look for?
How do you choose?
What things do you base your decision on?

Thanks!
I prefer web hosting providers with quick support, fast host and cPanel is a must.
It can be strange to you because I don't believe in reviews, I want to test web hostings myself hence I used to spend $5 to $15 and try to upload my real website to webhosting to see what I am getting
 

MightWeb

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It's been some time since I browsed for web hosting - but from the other perspective, I can say what customers generally look for, based on my experience.

First of all, most customers don't really have a clue about what they actually need. They wish to build a website, and have a grand idea - but we're the experts in web hosting, not them (with exceptions, of course). Service is therefore a huge quality that most put great value in.
When I say service, I don't mean support alone - I mean actual service, which covers both the support, and ensuring they have the right products. This is not to be confused with upselling - I've found many times that customers might not be remotely close to using the service they pay for, in which case I recommend them to downgrade their package to one that is more suited. Whilst that's losing us money - it's creating longevity in our client base.

Stability and performance are both expected from any client. Whilst some hosts may focus more on performance, it's always expected to be good.
As for actual tools, cPanel is the only thing I can think of that clients actively demand. Services such as Softaculous and so on are simply value-add, to help customers get set up more easily. Things such as e-mail accounts are also expected - and the amount does not neccessarily need to be "unlimited".

Apart from the above, it's all about keeping it simple and concise, and presenting the product in a good way that's easily for clients to digest and understand. Often I see companies talking a whole lot about their product on the website, but not about the purpose of said product.
 

Marlyn

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I choose the web hosting package mainly based on its performance, customer service, features and price. I am running several sites with different topics, including 1 in Chinese and 3 in English. The one in Chinese is hosted with zhuji91.com.hk and the other 3 are hosted with bluehost. I chose these 2 web hosts because of their high performance, responsive customer service and rich features. At first, all of my site were hosted with BH, but I found the Chinese one was very slow. So, i searched a lot on the web and found zhuji91. After moved to the new web host, this site runs much faster than before. Remember to choose a web host whose data center and servers are close to your target visitors. :vteen::vteen:
 

RDO Servers

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Location of your hosting provider can make a difference depending upon the lag time. You should at least be hosting with a company in the same country.
 

JOED77

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JOED77
Hello,
If I'm in Africa, and I have opted for web host in the US, are my visitors from the US going to benefit from the proximity advantage or the web host going to take my location into consideration, I hope I didn't made a simple matter complicated.
 

JOED77

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I live in Morocco, a country in north Africa, and buy a web hosting plan from Namecheap, is this gonna affect my website performance, especially with American visitors?
 

Hostlumina

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Couple of items I used to look for and now pass on to potential clients.

  • How long have they been in business
  • Do the features offered meet my requirements
  • Positive reviews (if any)
  • Realistic pricing (remember - you get what you pay for)
  • Location
  • Research their interactions online with other customers
  • Customer Service
 

MrGravyCakes

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When I look for web hosting, I look for support mainly. I always go with the same people now because they have live chat support that you cna escalate to a supervisor by clicking a button :p Its uptime seems good and they do thibgs for you if you are ever confused. I would also look at reviews though, look up negative points about them and see if you can find any.

Another part is the price of course. Mine doesnt cost too much but when you get more people coming to your forums, you are gonna need to upgrade... :/
 

Louis

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There are 5 things that you must consider before you choose the best web hosting company:
1. Price
2. Server uptime, speed and reliability
3. Good costumer support
4. Support the latest technology (compatible with many apllication)
5. Read a review about one shared hosting provider.
 

boognish

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Rather then repeating all of the things mentioned so far, I'll add reading the terms of service. Mainly looking for things like: restrictions, resource usage language, cancellation/refund policies, etc... It's a good idea to read through the TOS. At least do control F (find) for terms that you want to be sure of.
 

dcb1101

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Price doesn't matter so much for me. I dont mind paying for good hosting and good support. I've always had better much with smaller hosts rather then the big brands.
 

vinaya

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Here are my considerations for choosing a right web hosting company.
reputation: The first consideration is reputation. I will look for the positive reviews for the web hosting that I have chosen. You should always choose a company that has been in the market for some time and has been liked by people.
Pricing: How much you afre willing to pay. Does the company offer packages that suits your budget?
Support: how is the support system like? How long does it take to get answer from the company?
 

Maria_C

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When picking a hosting provider, I chose base on the allocated space and user reviews. In addition to those, I also want a fast and responsible support staff that knows how to handle issues diligently. Rude and arrogant staff members are a huge turn off.
 

24x7serverman

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stew4

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Some of the main factors that determine my choice of hosts is what is the location of their servers, are the prices of their plans decent according to me, is there an option to upgrade to another plan or service if I need to, is there an uptime guarantee, do they offer technical support and is there a money-back guarantee. I also check if they offer SSD storage.
 

CertaHosting

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I would always suggest looking at feedback. The best way to find out what a company is like is using a valid feedback source such as trust pilot. Also look for advantages such as back ups and filtering for spam
 

jonemil24

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First, the price must be affordable, their location of course, and ask for their customers list, then ask their customer's experience with the web hosting company.
 

RDO Servers

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RDO Servers
"Ask for their customer list"????
If any web hosting company provided you a list of their customers contact info, I would report them and never use them!
 

jtahil

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There a few simple things to remember when picking a web hosting. First, you have to know what you really need. Second, try to research about a certain hosting's background about its reliability. Third, keep your upgrading options open but if the upgrade costs to much for you, look for another one. And lastly, try exploring the hosting features.

Hope this helps!
 

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