No matter how many websites you’ve built, there will come a time when you need to choose a hosting provider for your project. You might be new to the hosting set up. You might be an old pro who simply needs to choose a new hosting provider. Whatever your reasons for needing hosting, make sure that you take the time you need to make an informed choice. This website is probably your pet project. Any hosting company worth your money will go above and beyond to help meet your needs. Here are some tips to help you choose a company that is perfect for your project.
Do you have specific FTP needs? If you have never heard of FTP before, you will most likely be just fine with a free and web based hosting program. If you think that you will need to do a bunch of complicated file transferring, your hosting program needs to be able to deal with that. Some hosting programs come with web based FTP apps. Others require you to download your own FTP service.
If uploading and downloading files through your own software seems too complicated for you, make sure your host provider has a web based application you can use. If you want total control over how your uploads are processed, you should choose a company that will allow you to upload through a third party extension.
What kind of budget do you have in mind? If you cannot afford to spend much, you might be better off with a host that gives you cheap (or free) server space in exchange for putting ads on your site. If you don’t mind paying more money, you could choose a more expensive host company that will give you more options to play with. Deals are everywhere, including with independent sellers who are selling server space in their own accounts for low prices. If you work out your budget ahead of time, you’ll have an easier time finding a host that meets your needs.
Ask around and get reviews from the web builders that you trust. It is easy to fake a good review on a website so if you want to get information that you can trust, ask your site developer friends which hosting company they like best. Most site builders will be happy to help you figure out which hosting options are the best for you. Some site builders are even generous enough to offer to host your project for you while you investigate other hosting avenues. Lots of site owners earn extra money by selling space on their server accounts. To get a good deal find a site owner you trust and buy some server space from them.
You have a wide variety of criteria that you can use to make choosing your hosting company easier. You might need higher levels of customer service. You might view down time as your mortal enemy. You might require a lot of server space. Your budget might be small. All of these requirements will help you narrow down your choices and pick the hosting provider that is best for your project.
Take as much time as you need to take to really investigate all of the companies that you might use to host your website. It is better to go slowly and be sure than to rush and risk getting taken advantage of.