Cheap web hosting is just that, cheap and probably you will get what you pay for. Slow, outdated, and hard to index. Why spend the money on a great site if it’s not going to function properly?
But why do I need to pay more for hosting?
We have noticed that as Premium WordPress themes increase their functionality and convenience for the user. They are also using more resources on the server side. If you pair that with e-commerce and custom database work and plugins, standard shared hosting will not cut it.
People sometimes buy web hosting for five years because of the awesome discount. Keep in mind, you need to make sure the server you are using can grow with you and the company will be supporting the server resources. We still run into many hosts running deprecated PHP versions and you need to switch servers to get the newer versions.
We also caution of buying hosting because it is unlimited. That is really a misnomer because the unlimited is shared between all server users and if it’s over crowded will still have not enough resources. There is always a limit.
How to buy web hosting?
A highly functional and traveled website will require resources that just are not available in a overcrowded server environment. Ask your experienced web designer the best option for hosting, make sure you can expand resources and don’t need to migrate to do it.
Remember the hosting server is the gas in the engine of your website. The site can’t work without the gas.
When considering who to host with, you need the input of your web developer as they know the resources you need. It is not a one size fits all solution. Choosing from a top host lists is not always the answer.
As referenced in an cnet article
“Great hosting boils down to the 3 S’s: speed, support and security,” said Adam Berry, digital director at Wingard Creative. Nasdaq’s Simon Ball, head of digital media services at Nasdaq Corporate Solutions, said scalability is also critical. “You need the ability to rapidly scale your website as your target audience grows and the resiliency to handle sudden bursts of high traffic,” said Ball.
Tips
- Decide how much hand holding you need- what is customer service like.
- Estimate the amount of traffic you expect (be honest)
- Ask about server types
- Be wary of unlimited offers
- Make sure to avoid lock-in- your website should be portable
- Make you you own your own domain and keep the contact info up to date