When you decide to join the rest of the world and build a website, you are going to need to start looking at hosting companies and options. Rough, right? It can be a bit of a task to browse through all the available service providers out there, and if you have no idea what it is about you might end up with a less than favorable deal.
If you are more laid back, want to build your own site, and get everything done at once, that is also an option. Take a look at this post for a list of the best platforms to build your own site. All these platforms also offer hosting solutions, so you can get it all done in one place!
In this post, we will take a quick look at 6 questions you should ask before hiring a hosting company. So, we’ve made your job a little bit easier right there! All you need to do is read the article, and when you start going through the list of probable service providers, you will know exactly what to look for in the ideal hosting company.
1. What is the bandwidth and storage amount?
What? What is that? Let us try to explain briefly. Most hosting service providers will have several packages on offer with different amounts of storage and bandwidth. Make sure that if it states ‘unlimited’, it is actually unlimited. Some hosting companies will cut your usage off once you have used a certain amount of storage or bandwidth. Bandwidth is the actual amount of memory you are able to upload or download. This goes for site visitors as well. Make sure you get enough if you are expecting an influx of site visitors.
2. How many domains and subdomains am I allowed to manage from one account?
One domain equals one website. So, if you are considering having more than one website (or more than one domain), you should definitely find out whether you will be able to add these to the same account you will have with the hosting service provider. This will ensure seamless management of all your domains and subdomains.
3. Does the package include email accounts? How many email accounts can I add?
The majority of hosting service providers will offer this service to you. Make sure you ask them how many email accounts you will be able to add to each domain you have with them. Another good question to ask is what features their service supports and what interface the company uses.
4. Will you offer support services?
This is a very important one. Just imagine you want to load some new content on your site and notice that the site is down. Uh-oh! Make sure the hosting company will be able to offer you tech support to prohibit these little mishaps from cramping your style and hurting your company’s image.
5. Will you keep a backup of my website?
As mentioned in question #4, sometimes things can go horribly wrong. You need to make sure that you will be able to have access to updates and that updates will be made on a regular basis.
6. Do you charge extra for a domain name?
Hosting services can become expensive, and you already have to pay the developer or designer to build and design your website. If you can get a free domain name, that is a benefit right there that you should look out for!
Did you find the article helpful? Will you be ready to pepper prospective hosting service providers with the right questions before settling for the first and best one? We hope you enjoyed the article and that you will get the best hosting company for you!