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What Is The Best Web Host? A Simple Guide To Choosing The Right Host For Your Site
Ahhh, the elusive question that every new site owner (or existing site owner who's looking to move) asks.
What is the best web host?
Well there are many factors that go into deciding on a host, but first things first... we need to address the question you're asking.
Why? Because you're looking at it in a very broad way.
What you really should be asking is... what type of host is right for me?
So with that i mind, let's delve a bit deeper.
What to look for in a web host
By understanding what it is you want, you can narrow down your choices very quickly. Here are some example points to consider.
• Will I be selling things on my site?
• Am I going to be using a blog?
• Will there be a lot of traffic or very little to begin with?
• How much am I looking to spend?
After answering these you should be able to understand what it is you actually want, thus making the whole process really damn simple.
OK, so now we know what we want, there are some very important types of hosts that you need to consider based on your answers above.
Let's go through them:
The 3 most important types of hosting
Dedicated
If you're going to expecting a ton of traffic, whether it's from social media, paid or even from SEO. You need to consider a dedicated host. This type of host will be able to handle hundreds of thousands of visitors every day without a hiccup (mostly).
Cloud
Looking for speed over everything else? Cloud hosting might be something you should consider as it's main selling point is that it loads your site and files within the site for users based on their location geographically. Meaning if they are in New York, they will access a NYC server with your site on, so it will load for them a few seconds faster than if they were to access a page on your site from London.
Shared
If speed and security isn't a huge deal for you and your happy with a normal site speed, plus you don't want to spend a fortune every month, then shared hosting would be ideal for you.
You can get a shared host for less than $10 per month and your site will load just fine.
OK, so you know what you want... you've been briefed on the types of hosts out there. Now we want to cover the most popular hosts right now.
Top web hosting companies right now
Bluehost
These guys have been around for more than 10 years and know the hosting game inside out. They offer everything from shared to dedicated and even specialised WordPress hosting. They are also very cost effective, so you can host thousands of site under the one account.
Media Temple
A big hitter in the hosting scene, Media Temple are amped about providing speed and security to their customers over anything else. So you'll see a bigger price tag on their packages. But if you want the best for your site visitors, these guys are the way to go.
Right then, we're almost done. You know what to look for, what type of host you need and what hosts are the best right now.
What's left? Well, learning from other people's mistakes would be a good thing to consider, so that you don't get burnt yourself right? Cool, let's do this:
3 kinds of mistakes most people make
Everyone makes mistakes, but when hosting is concerned, the wrong mistake can cost you a hefty bill or some serious down time.
Going for the cheapest
It's understandable that you might not have a ton of money to spend, but that doesn't mean you should just automatically choose the cheapest host. If you focus on the quality, instead of the price you will see a big difference in the services you're offered and you won't experience as many problems down the line.
Getting sucked into the thrills, bells and whistles
If you need to sell stuff online, then you would go for an eCommerce host who understands shopping carts. If you're a blogger, you would go for a WordPress optimised host. Don't fall into the trap of signing up for a host that gives you a bunch of freebies you're never going to use.
Assuming things are done automatically
Just because you're host said your account has auto installs, backups and upgrades... doesn't mean that it's done for you the moment your account is setup. You need to actually set those services up yourself inside your account.
Conclusion
So there you have it! A simple guide to choosing the best web host. Hopefully, you got everything you need out of this short guide and now know exactly what it is you want.
