BEST WEB HOSTING OPTIONS FOR START UPS AND BUILDING
ENTREPRENEURS
Every startup, regardless of industry – needs a stellar online presence. Not just on
social media but also on the web. But what’s the better way to do that than to have a
business website?
While most startup owners might be skeptical when it comes to creating a website for
their business – arguably because they think the business is too small or still unprofitable
– they forget that a website adds instant credibility to the business and helps in growing
the brand.
The good news is that creating a website for your startup is easy and cheap. But here’s
the catch. You need to build your website on a strong foundation and that’s by choosing
a reliable and high-performing web hosting company.
Be that as it may, choosing the right web host can be a little confusing and should not be
taken lightly. As such, hosting should be treated as an essential investment in your
business.
Here we’ll look at the different factors to consider when choosing the best web host for
your startup as well as why it’s crucial to have a reliable web host.
But before we dive into the niceties, let’s take a sneak peek of what web hosting is and
the different types of web hosting plans.
What is Web Hosting?
If you are contemplating on building a website for your startup, then you might want to
know what web hosting means. Here’s a quick description.
Every website has two critical components. A domain name that’s linked to an IP
address and a web host. To simplify what web hosting is, think of the domain name as
the address and the web host as the physical building.
So, when your visitors type your website’s domain name (URL) in their browser, the
browser locates the IP address and your website is loaded from your web host.
Having said that, web hosting is the process of buying or renting out space on a
web server from a hosting provider to house or accommodate the contents that
make up your websites such as images, HTML, and CSS files. Web hosting makes
your files accessible on the internet.
BEST WEB HOSTING OPTIONS FOR START UPS
Types of Web Hosting Services
There are different categories of web hosting plans for different types of webmaster.
Therefore, when choosing a web host, you need to first understand how each plan
compares to the other. Picture it as similar to choosing an office space.
❖ SHARED HOSTING:
Undoubtedly the most popular and also the cheapest shared hosting means that your
website is hosted with a bunch of other websites on the same server. Each website is
allocated a specific amount of resources and storage space. It’s just like renting out space
in a busy open plan office where you have to share everything including the printer, the
kitchen, and the restroom. Shared hosting is ideal for startups or businesses with
an average level of traffic.
❖ VPS hosting:
Virtual Private Server (VPS) hosting is an advanced form of shared hosting. With VPS,
your website enjoys its own space on the server. However, it will still be sharing a single
server with other websites. It’s like having neighbors whom you do not depend on but you
live in the same estate. VPS hosting is ideal for startup owners who need more
control and expect higher traffic levels.
❖ Dedicated hosting:
With dedicated hosting, you do not share the server’s resources or storage space with
other website owners. In other words, you have the entire web server to yourself so you
don’t have to worry about uptimes or other websites impacting your website’s
performance. Dedicated hosting is ideal for businesses with high volumes of
traffic such as large e-commerce websites.
How to Choose the Best Web Host for Your Startup
Picking a reliable hosting company can be an exhausting process. Some host providers
will charm you with lots of bells and whistles while others will tout the deliverables. It’s
up to you to weed out the bad from the good.
Here are the different factors to consider when choosing the best web host for your startup.
i. Uptime and reliability
Reliability or server uptime is the amount of time your website will be available online.
Given that you want to build a business website, you’ll want your customers to be able to
access it at any time of day or night.
Most hosts will claim a 99.99% uptime – but be wary. Before you settle on a specific host,
check their uptime history and whether they offer any form of uptime guarantees.
ii. Bandwidth
Bandwidth is the volume of traffic your website can handle in a given period of time,
usually a month. When choosing a web host, it’s wise to consider your host’s bandwidth
requirement based on the size of your web pages and the number of visitors you expect
on your site on a daily basis.
While most hosting providers claim to offer unlimited bandwidth, this is not necessarily
the case. For example, some basic shared hosting plans can only handle a specific number
of visitors per month. So if your site starts to experience a sudden increase in traffic, this
could exceed the host provider’s monthly or daily limits, your site’s performance and page
could be affected, which could, in turn, affect your sales.
In some cases, your hosting company could inactivate your website for breach of terms
or send you a bill. So, if your website has good online visibility, consider a host that offers
high bandwidth requirements.
iii. Technical Support
Sometimes things can go haywire in the blink of an eye. For example, your website can
become unavailable and no matter how hard you try, you can’t get it back online. It is
such times that you’ll need a responsive support team that’s technically equipped with the
expertise to help you, there and then.
For this reason, you must find out how well equipped your host provider’s support team
is before purchasing a hosting plan. You can call, email, or use their live chat feature to
ask a few questions about your concerns.
What’s more, ensure that your preferred hosting provider has a rich knowledge base such
as a blog or FAQs where you can gather solutions and solve the problem yourself.
iv. Domain Management Tools
Owning more than one domain is not uncommon these days. As such, you may want to
host the extra domains from your existing account. Most web hosts that offer shared
hosting plans will allow you to host unlimited or multiple domains.
However, you should ensure that the host is equipped with a control panel. The cPanel
allows you to easily manage your domains, basic server configurations, account passwords,
and email, addresses.
v. Pricing
Once you’ve settled on a plan, it’s time to make a purchase. But be sure you understand
the costs, payment options, and other caveats. Hosting prices vary from one provider to
the other.
However, some companies lack clear pricing terms. So, it shouldn’t come as a shocker if
your host provider bills you with an invoice that’s three times the original amount you paid
on your first year. As a rule of thumb, be wary of renewal prices as they tend to be higher.
BEST WEB HOSTING OPTIONS FOR START UPS
