Your Web Host Checklist!

 

Wanting to get your website hosted, but don’t know what to look for? Here’s your checklist of the important features that your hosting provider must provide:

 

1. Disk space

 

The first and foremost thing that you need to check is the amount of disk space the web host is offering your website on its server. It is important as it lets you determine the amount of content/web logs that you will be able to host on it.

 

It is advised that you take into consideration your future needs as well while determining the disk space you need. This will save you from falling short of resources when needed the most. Usually a website doesn’t take more than 1GB of disk space, unless you are planning to be the next YouTube.

 

2. Bandwidth

 

Remember, disk space and bandwidth go hand in hand. The bandwidth offered by the web host determines the amount of data that you and you visitors can upload/download over a set period of time.

 

Some web hosts offer “unlimited bandwidth and storage space”, but there is usually a catch (like hidden costs). So when signing up with a web host, try and analyze your needs beforehand and ask the technical support for exact specifications if they aren’t transparent about this feature in their plan.

 

3. Uptime.

 

Everyone knows how important it is for your website to be running efficiently, but what’s even more important is that your website is up and running (if not efficiently) most of the time.

 

Ensure that the web host offers at least a 99% uptime before signing up with it. The more the uptime, the better your website is crawled and indexed. The better it is indexed, the better its visibility and hence, more the traffic.

 

4. Domains and subdomains.

 

As your business grows, there are chances that you might create more websites to promote your products/services across the internet. Managing a hosting account for each website can be a pain and you might lose track of the resources your websites are utilising and you are being billed for.

 

Often there is a limit to the number of domains/subdomains that you can host under one account. Try and look for a web host that offers a minimum 10 domains that it can host to make things easier for yourself.

 

5. Email accounts.

 

Many web hosts offer a set number of email accounts in their plan. Make sure you find out the exact number and also, if they will let you create more accounts when the number of users increase. Also look for additional features like auto responders, spam filtering, etc. that are usually offered by all the good web hosts.

 

6. Database.

 

Every website today, big or small, has a database. Before you sign up with a web host, check which one you are most comfortable working on - MySQL, Oracle, SQL Server, etc. If the provider hasn’t included database details in his hosting plan, it’s always a wise decision to contact technical support. Some web hosts might not offer the database you are more comfortable with.

 

7. Technical support.

 

Another important feature that you need to look for in a web host is the technical support. A website runs a number of programs/extensions to be able to offer the various functionalities it does and hence, a technical breakdown can occur anytime.

 

Look for a webhost that is prompt at resolving the technical breakdown, keeping your website’s uptime close to 99%. The best way to find out how good this feature is to read up some real time customer reviews on them.

 

8. Security measures.

 

The whole idea behind getting websites hosted, is to ensure all your web data is accessible by your target audience at all times. If your website is often broken into, ensuring this will become close to impossible.

 

So, before you sign up with a web host, try and find out the security measures it has installed on its server and the certifications its server has - try and look for the likes of McAfee when it comes to security certification. This feature too can be checked on by reading up customer reviews.

 

Are there any other features that you look for in a provider before you get hosted? Feel free to add to the list!