As a website developer and an online entrepreneur, every investment you make online has to meet your money’s worth. This is the reason why everyone is looking for cheap web hosting services. However, unknown to most beginners, the cheapest web hosting service is not necessarily the best deal in the market. A high price tag can’t guarantee the best kind of web hosting service either. You really need to do some meditating before you choose your cheap web hosting provider. This is because not all websites require the same features from a web hosting service. You need to be self-aware to get the best web hosting service that’s just right for your business.
Determining your storage space
Generally, simple websites only need a minimum of 5MB of storage space, and about 50MB of storage space is more than enough if you’re not housing videos in your website anyway. When you’re shopping for cheap web hosting services, you should always keep this in mind. Most of the time web developers overspend on web hosting features they don’t really maximize. If you can get a web hosting service for half the price, and with more realistic storage capacities, don’t have second thoughts about doing so. You wouldn’t want to burn your hard earned money on things your business won’t benefit from. Remember, every cent you invest in should be productive.
Unlimited bandwidth
No matter how well the advertisers package your cheap hosting service, realistically speaking, there is no such thing as an unlimited service. Web host providers will have to take control of their bandwidth usage, or else, their business will fold over. If you’re signing up with a cheap hosting provider which promises unlimited bandwidth, make sure that you read the fine print in the contract.
It’s actually safer to sign up with a company which clarifies your bandwidth limitations. Most of the time, “limited bandwidth” hosting services only ask you to pay for a fixed fee every time your subscription term ends. When your website becomes too popular for the website you’ve signed up for, it will simply fail to download on your visitor’s browser.
To check is the bandwidth you’ve purchased is enough for your website, you should try signing in to your hope page every once in a while. If it’s “down” most of the time, you probably need to upgrade to a more expensive package with higher capacities. Of course, the decision to upgrade also depends on how much you’re earning from the website.
Technical support and independent control
The other things you need to look into when you’re shopping for good hosting services is the availability of technical support on their part, and the quality of the hosting service’s control panel.
As a webmaster, you should be given almost full control of your website. You should avoid hosting services which require you to go through their technical team for every small change that you make in your website. You should be allowed to make small changes in the text and layout of your website even without the technical staff’s permission or aid.
If you’re new in web development, you should also look for a hosting service which offers 24/7 technical support. Be wary about web hosting services which claim to have round-the-clock support teams, when actually, they’re only available during weekdays