So what’s the easiest way to find a hosting provider for your website?

People normally look for easy ways to do things. Internet made finding things easy. Google made it easier. So right now, the easiest way to find a web hosting solution is to google it. You can search for either ‘the cheapest hosting provider’ or ‘best hosting provider’ or something like that. But the catch is that what you find might not always be the best deal for you.

When it comes to hosting your website which potentially carries the future of your business in it, you should be a bit more careful.

Finding a hosting provider is easy. Finding the right one is a challenge.

If you can nail the right hosting provider, your website will be able to take your business to new heights. Downtimes, slow performance etc. won’t be blocking your way.

Rule 101 to nail the right hosting provider – Do not settle for anything less than that which will truly get the most out of your website.

Here’s one way to find the right provider – Ask questions. Their answers will tell you whether they are good as they claim to be.
 

1. What’s your security policy?

 
Their answer should include the security measures they employ to protect the data. Each type of hosting package, may it be shared, cloud or dedicated, will have security features unique to that package. They should be explaining it specifically. You should also ask them how often they do anti-malware/anti-virus scans.

If you are running an eCommerce website or any website that handles sensitive customer data, an SSL certificate is recommended. Those hosting providers who offer SSL certificates should make their way up your list.
 

2. How reliable are your servers and what can you say about your uptime?

 
When you approach hosting providers for their services, your catchphrase should be “Downtime is a No No”. After that you can ask them about their server reliability. Their answers should indicate that they have stable network connections with a 99% or more uptime. Below 99% uptime is not recommended. A web hosting operating 24×7 with an uptime score of 99.5% is a great deal.
 

3. What’s your backup policy?

 
You may have heard of hosting companies offering regular backups. When you are about to hire one, you should ask them to define that ‘regular’ they are promising. Many companies back up the data once a day. Some more than once. But there are hosts that don’t actually perform daily backs. This question will let you know which category the host in question belongs to.
 

4. What if there’s a power outage? Will you be accountable for it?

 
Obviously there will be Yes and No answers. Regardless of what the answer is, you should keep pushing by asking them to explain. If the answer is and when they start explaining, inspect when the company holds themselves responsible and when they don’t.

It’s also wise to ask them if they can be flexible enough to amend this clause if necessary. This could be useful when there is a power outage due to factors beyond the host’s control. Ask them if they would charge you in such a scenario.
 

5. Is the service scalable?

 
Depending on the type of your business, your web hosting requirements will vary. Some could do well with a shared hosting plan while others may require dedicated servers. Ask the host about the web hosting services available, and then ask them about their scalability.

There could be policies for scaling up or down. If the hosting provider doesn’t give a lot of hosting options, you may have to leave your current host and find a new one that can properly accommodate your website without affecting its performance. Depending on whether your business shrinks or grows, you will need to scale the hosting plan appropriately.

This is why it’s best to approach a host who provides a range of hosting options that you can upgrade or downgrade to depending on your business requirements.
 

6. What are your customer support policies?

 
This is a question that you can ask both the host and their present or former customers. Technical support and timely customer service are very important factors that define the quality of a host’s service.

They should be quick to respond should their clients need help resolving a technical issue. Reliable hosting companies offer 24×7 customer support including holidays. Make sure to ask them about their response and resolution time.

Other customers of the host can give you a review of the host’s quality. Also, don’t forget to ask them how you can reach out to them when necessary.

And now for the last question
 

7. What if I am not satisfied with your service?

 
Ask the host if they have a trial package for you to test their service. If they don’t, enquire about their customer satisfaction policies and whether they provide any kind of guarantee for their services.

If you are dissatisfied after you start using their services, and you want to migrate to a different hosting provider, you need to make sure the hosting provider wouldn’t complicate the migration. You should know if they offer a refund policy and how they can help you move your stuff out to a different server.
 

End-note

 
As I mentioned before, it really is challenging to find the right hosting provider. The results are worth the time you spent researching. These questions can help you identify the host that’d be perfect for your business. However, it doesn’t mean that these are the only things you can ask a host related to the services they offer.

If you have more questions, feel free to ask them. They are obligated to answer your queries. Don’t take a call trusting their words alone. Check the feedbacks of their customers as well (Plan B). Good luck.

Written by: Shibu Kumar

Stepping into the world of web hosting but with a mind full of questions? Worry not, for this blog is a concoction of just the right amounts of knowledge you would need to understand the fundamentals of web hosting and how things run behind the scene.

Let’s begin with the definition of web hosting.

In a nutshell, web hosting is the practice or business of providing storage space for websites thereby making them available to be viewed by internet users.

You store all the files and data required to run and operate the website in a web hosting server. Generally, from a business perspective, web hosting may also refer to the company which provides the hosting service – storing your website, providing internet connectivity, database etc.

So basically it’s a data center then?

No it isn’t. The hosting part is handled by a server of the hosting company. You are leasing a space in that server for your website. In some cases, you can have the whole server for your website alone. We’ll get into that later. So this server essentially holds important data of your website.

So doesn’t that mean the server should be protected?

Why, yes of course… which brings us to the answer to the first question – Data center. The server is housed at a secure facility to protect it from unauthorized accesses and other threats. This facility is what we call the data center.
 

Types of Web Hosting

 
Now that you have an idea what web hosting is, it’s time to introduce you to the various types of web hosting.

In general, there are 4 types.

  • Shared hosting
  • Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting
  • Dedicated hosting
  • Cloud hosting

Basically, all four serves the same purpose of storing websites but differs in the features. Each of the four will differ in the amount of control of the user over the website, the storage space for the website, the bandwidth, server performance and even reliability of the service.

Let’s get into the details.
 

Shared Hosting

 
Shared hosting is where your website is one of many websites hosted by a single server. It’s more like a building where tenants lease apartments. There’ll be many tenants in the building with their own space to live. Similarly, your website will have its own space in the server. The catch is that your website will have to share the server resources with the other websites.

It’s an entry level hosting solution, the least expensive of the four, and the ideal choice for small websites with a limited amount of traffic. The cons include the ‘bad neighbor effect’. This is when other websites in the server utilizes a lot of the server’s resources leaving your website with only a little to work with. This affects the website’s performance. You also don’t have access to the server. A shared environment generally won’t be able to handle higher traffic.
 

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Hosting

 
Virtual Private Server or VPS essentially means a virtual server which will be hosting a website. You are probably wondering how a virtual server can do this, because it’s well… a ‘virtual’ server.

Because, this virtual server is part of a physical server. So your website is technically hosted on that physical server but in a virtual partition. That virtual partition is what we generally refer to as virtual server, because it does resemble a dedicated server.

The hosting environment is secure, and you can also use your own copy of an operating system of your choice. The VPS also gives you a super user level access to this instance so that you can add and use programs that are compatible with that OS. This is an ideal option for those users who cannot invest in a dedicated server or have a mid-scale website with only a moderate amount of traffic.

The ability of VPS systems to handle traffic spikes can be limited. But you can upgrade the hosting package to acquire more features for your growing website. It costs a bit more than shared hosting, and considerably less than dedicated hosting.
 

Dedicated Server Hosting

 
Like its name suggested, dedicated server hosting service is when a full hosting solution completely dedicated to your website. Your site will be hosted on what we refer to as the dedicated server, and there will only be your website in the server. This means all of the server’s resources are at your website’s beck and call. You get more control over the server compared to the other types of hosting. Most dedicated hosting packages come with premium technical support and server performance.

However, this should make something else quite obvious. It affects your wallet. Dedicated hosting is the most expensive option out of the four types as it offers the best server performance, technical support and control. The price is of course justifiable. But this level of service is ideal only for big websites with a large amount of traffic.
 

Cloud Hosting

 
When it comes to high traffic and frequent traffic spikes, no other hosting is as good as cloud hosting. You’d have realized from its name that it is a cloud computing technology; and at its best. It’s also referred to as cluster server hosting or server-on-demand hosting.

It’s where multiple computers connected as a network (called a cloud) collaborates in operations, data transfer and storage thereby acting as a single super computer. So essentially, your website is hosted on multiple machines in the cloud. Now you know why spiking traffic isn’t an issue in cloud hosting.

Apart from its ability to handle high traffic, cloud hosting also isn’t confined to a single data center. The web hosting features like FTP, email services etc. are taken care of by different servers in the cloud. The point is, even if one server fails, your website will not be affected at all, as another server will take over. Another advantage is that the hosting solution is pay-per-use, meaning you will be charged only for what you use.

A dynamic, scalable, and robust solution cloud hosting is getting more popular each year with more users starting to realize the cloud’s potential. Add and remove resources on the go without compromising control and flexibility. The only con is that the reliability of a cloud solution depends on the solution provider. Some solutions may not give root access to change server settings despite having a high price tag.

That takes care of the hosting types. Now to address the most common confusion about web hosting.

Domain name and web hosting are sometimes confused to be the same

They aren’t.

Basically, a domain is the name of your website while a web host is the home of your website. The domain is more like the address to this home and not the home itself. Web host is the space where your website resides (in a server of course). Now that you understood the difference between domain name and web hosting, let’s explore a bit more about domain.

These are 3 fundamental things you should know about domain names:

  • The name should be unique and relevant, and should relate to what your website does or have in it. (For example, if it’s a blog site, bloggersdeck.com is a good domain name)
  • Purchase and register this domain
  • Point the domain to your web hosting solution by changing the DNS

To know more about the significance of domains in the digital realm, point and tap here – domain registration
 

Conclusion

 
This is just a 101 guide to give you just the right amount of knowledge you need to find the right hosting for your website, or to give the hosting business a shot. Feel free to go through this one to know how to nail an ideal web hosting service. It’s sure to come in handy.

Written by: Shibu Kumar

With the internet being the biggest and one of the most profitable markets in the world, internet marketing is crucial for online businesses, regardless of what they do. Investing in enhancing your website’s online presence is basically ‘internet marketing 101’.

Sounds easy, right? Well, it’s not. But doable of course. Your internet marketing journey starts from the creation of your website and ends when you don’t want to continue with your business online anymore.

Before you gecar up to find the right host for your website, make sure you are armed with these.

  • Basic technical know-hows
  • An idea of how the website should look
  • An idea of the content you will be publishing on the website
  • A list of targeted markets
  • An idea of who potential customers could be
  • An idea of the services you are planning to offer

Now ask yourself if you just want the website for your business or if you want to educate people.

Honestly, there are many more questions that you will want answers for. Let’s just assume this whole thing as a layered sandwich. Web hosting is just one of the ingredients in the sandwich. We will cover that first.
 

Your Hosting Package

 
The nature of your business, the targeted markets and the desired audience – these are critical factors that you should consider before choosing a hosting package for your website.

The ideal hosting package can get you everything you need to keep the website up and running without any hitch. This will include the right tools, adequate bandwidth, storage, technical support etc.

Here are a few questions I asked myself when I was introduced to web hosting.

Why is it so hard to find one?

Because there are a lot of companies offering various packages, it’s not going to be easy to find one that fits all your requirements.

Let’s just go for a free hosting service

You could be jeopardizing your whole business with a free service.

Why?

Every hosting package will have some kind of limitation. In rare cases, it can have everything you need but will cost you a lot (See? Limitation). However, there are still a few gems that you can easily miss.

Okay then, what’s the best approach?

Take it step by step.
 

Step by step

 
These steps are part of practical and tactical approach to finding the right web host. Each step should get you closer to the answer.

Step 1: Size of the hosting package you are going to need

To get an answer, you will have to write down what your website does. Is it a blog hub? Or an eCommerce portal? Web magazine maybe? Is it a place of business?

Once you are sure about what you are going to do with the website, you can start looking for a hosting package that fits.

Step 2: Growth of the website

The potential growth of your business is a huge factor. Do you intend to grow your business? If so, then you will be getting a lot of visitors every day. This calls for more powerful hosting packages. The package should make sure that your website doesn’t go down when the traffic increases.

Step 3: Server – Linux or Windows

You can find hosting offers with Linux/Unix and Windows servers. This could get confusing when you start thinking about which of the two is the best. That debate has been going on for a long time. Technically, both of them are fine. But if you have plans for the server, then it can affect your choice. If you don’t have any plans for the server, simply choose one.

Step 4: The types of hosting

Paid hosting comes in four types – Shared hosting, VPS hosting, Dedicated hosting, Co-location hosting.

  • Shared hosting – The most popular type of hosting, shared hosting is also the cheapest. You share a single server with multiple other websites. This means you will be sharing the server resources as well. Ideal for small audiences. But if your neighbors start using more resources, you will be left with a little (bad neighbor effect).
  • VPS hosting – Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is where you purchase a virtual machine (which of course will be running in a physical server) with its own copy of OS. You can install any software in the machine as long as it’s compatible with the OS.
  • Dedicated hosting – You can buy an entire server for yourself, with complete access to all its resources. You can host multiple sites in the dedicated hosting server. Ideal for websites with large traffic. It is comparatively more expensive, and generally comes with regular maintenance and around-the-clock technical support.
    If you want to do it all yourself, you can opt for self-managed hosting. If you don’t want to spend time maintaining your website on top of running your business, you can go for managed hosting. Everything will be taken care of by the provider.
  • Co-location hosting – Here you can have your server hardware maintained by the provider. They will be keeping it physically secure. The provider will also give a dedicated internet connection on top of technical support and regulated power.

Step 5: Research

With all your questions answered, you will now have to find the right provider. This is where you are going to spend time researching. You don’t want to do business with a provider who has a history of bad service. You need the package to be dependable at all times. So your best bet is to seek out previous customers of the provider and get feedbacks.

Check third party reviews, and surf through customer support forums. However keep in mind that some bad reviews were posted just out of spite. Make sure every positive or negative review you go through are backed by facts. You can even reach out to the provider to get answers.

By the end of step 5, you will have a clear idea of who you can depend on, and what hosting package will be ideal for your website.

Written by: Shibu Kumar

There is nothing called a perfect web hosting solution. There will always be trade-offs like with most things in the digital realm. Web hosting comes in various types meeting various needs. But VPS hosting will always be unique owing to its flexibility in both its functions and price.

Assuming you are new to the web hosting domain, here is a simple learner’s guide to VPS hosting that could get you on the right track.
 

Intro to VPS

 
VPS or Virtual Private Server is a hosting solution that lies somewhere between shared and dedicated hosting. Shared hosting is where your website shares resources with other websites in a single server. Dedicated hosting is when you get a server to host your website and only your website, which means your website will be the only one that uses all the resources of the server, unlike shared hosting.

VPS is a server in itself, but basically a virtual server that’s been divided into virtual compartments. It has its own copy of an operating system, and a set amount of allocated resources.

You could say VPS is shared hosting with dedicated resources but in a different, more flexible environment.
 

About the trade-off

 
Every hosting will be having trade-offs in one form or the other. So what’s that about VPS you ask?
Before we go to that, let’s analyze the drawbacks of shared and dedicated hosting just so you could get a clearer picture of how VPS is different.
 

Shared hosting

 
It’s more like a rental. You essentially lease a portion of the server, and share the resources with other websites that the server hosts. Although it’s a great deal for small-scale websites, bigger ones will have problems. If those other websites consume a lot of resources, your website will have to manage with the remaining resources. This means frequent downtimes or slow-loading speeds for your website. It’s cheap though.
 

Dedicated hosting

 
As for dedicated hosting, you essentially get a whole server and all its resources for yourself. The trade-off is that it will cost more. It’s the optimal package for a large website with a lot of traffic, or multimedia content.

 

You may also like this – Managed WordPress Hosting Vs Shared Hosting

 

How VPS is different

 
VPS is an isolated environment with its own dedicated resources. You will still be in a physical server, but unlike shared hosting, other websites consuming resources won’t be affecting you as you will already have the allocated resources to use.

Though, technically, you will be sharing the CPU, bandwidth and RAM of the physical server, it still wouldn’t compromise your website’s operations. You will have root access to the virtual server (similar to dedicated hosting), and with a copy of the operating system to yourself, you will also be able to add custom apps if need be.

Because of these reasons, VPS will cost you a bit more than shared hosting, but it still costs less than dedicated hosting. You pay only for a fraction of the server and get something as good as a full server.
 

Before choosing a VPS hosting provider

 

Basic know-hows

 
To use VPS, you should have a basic knowledge of shell commands, and using hosting control panels. You should also have server administration and troubleshooting skills. Depending on this, you can choose either self-managed or fully managed VPS service.

If you are not familiar with the things mentioned above, fully managed should be your choice. Fully managed VPS hosting will take care of such things for you, but at additional costs compared to a self-managed VPS service where you manage everything on your own.
 

Operating system

 
Your choice should be based on the operating system you prefer – Windows or Linux. There are Windows-based and Linux-based hosting solutions available.
 

Technical support and backup

 
No matter what hosting solution you go for, you should never forget to enquire about technical support. Go for a VPS hosting provider with 24/7 technical support over email, phone or live chat just in case you encounter a technical setback. You would want them to answer from the other end when you need help fixing a technical issue.

Backing up important files shouldn’t necessarily be your responsibility. You can back up files in your local computer, and have the host regularly back up your files in their database just in case your VPS gets shell script infections. If the host doesn’t provide backup facility, you may end up losing a good amount of your work.
 

Uptime

 
The uptime your web hosting provider offers is very important. Many guarantee 99.9% uptime. But you should still closely look into the details. For starters, you should check customer reviews, forums, and other third party reviewers of the hosting provider. Their past uptime records will also give you an idea if they are reliable enough.
 

Conclusion

 
If you have already been running a website for quite a while, you would have already experienced a couple of issues that keep giving you second thoughts on your hosting solution. If you want your website to perform consistently with its growth, a VPS hosting package would be the right call. By now, you should be on the right track.

Written by: Shibu Kumar

Just a few years of existence, and WordPress already conquered the CMS market, even when 70% of the sites around the globe do not use CMS.

Shocker? Here is another fact:

More than 74 million sites rely on WordPress. Apart from about 37 million sites hosted by WordPress.com, WordPress is also responsible for about 19 million (approximately) websites in the domain of self-hosted sites.

WordPress is clearly a big deal, and that’s one of the reasons why people find it confusing to choose the right hosting solution for the WordPress website or blog.

In such scenarios, they’ll have to choose from either shared hosting or managed WordPress hosting. To those of you who are assessing every factor that counts before making a choice, WordPress hosting is your best bet.
Why? Let me explain.

If you have a WordPress website that needs hosting, you don’t have to even consider shared hosting.

WordPress hosting is optimized for WordPress websites, in addition to giving you a lot more benefits.

The 3 critical factors you should focus on while choosing a hosting solution should be

  • Website loading speed
  • Security
  • Updates & backups

With enough research and a bit of Googling, you will be easily able to find a good shared hosting solution. But such a solution cannot guarantee reliable loading speeds and regular updates.

On the other hand, here is what a WordPress hosting solution can do.
 

Great Loading Speed Thanks to Caching Mechanisms

 
WordPress hosting features caching mechanisms that ensure fast loading WordPress websites. That’s good news as it will also be appreciated by search engines like Google – meaning higher search engine rank for your website. The loading speed also increases the likelihood of a visitor surfing your website for longer.

People generally don’t want to spend too much time exploring a slow loading website.
 

Better Security Compared to Shared Hosting

 
Website owners will obviously be worried about security, especially if they own an eCommerce website. Many web hosting providers deliver great security features. However, when the options are down to either WordPress hosting or shared hosting, you’d better not go for the latter.

You are sharing a server and its resources in a shared hosting environment. You don’t get any additional security than the one received by a poor website in that server. There will be security mechanisms, but with the server resources being shared, you can’t rely on the security mechanisms to always come through for you. Malware attacks are quite common in a shared hosting platform.

Even with some sort of security mechanism present, the risk is still too high in a shared environment. WordPress hosting on the other hand will have better security compared to standard shared hosting.

Depending on the provider, the security and anti-breach protocols will vary. Rest assured, you will be provided with enough security to keep your website safe from both internal and external threats, especially malware. The best providers will do regular security audits and updates to identify potential vulnerabilities and fix them.
 

Updates and Backups

 
Wordpress websites rely on various plugins and core files, and new updates are occasionally released. When you are working in a shared hosting environment, the updates will usually be your responsibility. You have to keep track of new updates, and then manually install them.

But certain WordPress hosting providers offer auto updates. They automatically install the latest updates to the WordPress website as soon as the updates are released.

Backups are equally important, as you never when catastrophe strikes – in a website’s case, threats are many. Losing necessary files, say after a crash, can take a long time to fix or sometimes even can’t be fixed. But creating backups can be a pain. You can find web hosting solutions that do automatic backups periodically as well, in addition to executing auto-updates.
 

Technical Support

 
A good hosting platform will always offer reliable technical support. You want them to answer from the other end any time you call in case of an emergency. 24×7 support is quite common these days, even more so in most WordPress hosting solutions. There will be experts waiting to help you sort out the issues whenever you need them.

That’s pretty much why WordPress hosting is a better idea than shared hosting. However, there are still alternatives. A good WordPress hosting might cost you a bit more than it would for a shared hosting platform. However, the benefits can do a lot of good for your blog or business.

Or…

You could make use of a VPS. You can manage it yourself, and get pretty much all the benefits you would get from WordPress hosting. However, you will have to account for the security and server management. Install updates yourself, do security audits yourself, check for security vulnerabilities yourself and a few other ‘yourselves’. Takes a lot of time and effort, meaning less focus on the website itself.

Written by: Shibu Kumar