Web Hosting: What it is and how to choose the right package.
There are hundreds of web hosting companies around the world to host your websites and buy domain names, but which ones are the best? Is it worth? .
Whether you have a small blog, or a popular blog, or a website for your business, or you are having problems with the web hosting company you are in now, the biggest mistake you can make is to buy a web hosting plan without to have done the necessary study first. Each company provides different packages, different technical support and has its pros and cons.
Types of web hosting packages available
The first thing you need to know about web hosting packages is the different types that exist. Shared Hosting is different, Managed WordPress is different, VPS servers are different and Dedicated packages are different. Each package serves a specific purpose, so in order to be able to choose the right hosting package, you will first need to know the available types of packages that exist and for which websites each one is .
Shared Hosting packages
Shared hosting packages are ideal for small websites and blogs that do not have enough people and do not require enough resources from a server to run. In a shared hosting package, there are several websites running on the same server. This means that if you are preparing to create a new website, or you have one that does not have enough people, then you can safely proceed to a shared hosting package and in the future upgrade your package, if shared hosting no longer meets your needs.
Since shared hosting packages host several websites at the same time, this means that your website shares all the resources of a server, with other websites – at the same time. Since this is the case, most shared hosting packages do not provide the speed, performance and security that a VPS or Dedicated server provides.
VPS Hosting
VPS servers (Virtual Private Server) are the ideal solution between shared hosting and Dedicated server packages. When you host your website on a VPS server, it means that the website is running on virtual machines (or rather, on virtual servers), which means that it operates as a standalone dedicated server (even if it is not). Simply put, a VPS server is divided into several other virtual servers and shared by multiple websites simultaneously.
The good thing about VPS servers is that you can upgrade specific parts of them as your website grows and traffic increases. For example, if you have a VPS server with 2GB of RAM, 100GB of monthly bandwidth (traffic) and 20GB of capacity and you want to upgrade it, you can increase each piece and see how much more the monthly cost will increase.
VPS servers should definitely include SSDs drives for higher speeds and performance, as well as various services and tools to keep them updated, add new things and so on. Depending on your company and needs, a VPS server often comes with a user interface, such as cPanel or Plesk.
Dedicated Hosting
Finally, a dedicated hosting, which is for websites with hundreds of thousands of visits daily or monthly. Dedicated servers provide greater security, tremendous speed and performance, and tools or features that other web hosting packages do not have.
When your website runs on a dedicated server, it means that at the same time you have access to all the features and tools of the server and you control it completely. You do not share dedicated servers with other clients, but you can have multiple websites of your own within a dedicated server. Since you have access to the entire server, it is often your responsibility or management of server security and optimization.
Since we are talking about big websites here, you should remember that dedicated servers are not cheap at all. Since they include state-of-the-art hardware, managed services and incredible technical support from companies, they are of course much more expensive than the classic shared and VPS hosting packages.
Specify the type of website you are preparing to build or transfer .
It is quite important to determine the type of website you have. Some web companies promote and focus more on eCommerce (online stores / e-shops) while others focus more on blogging .
For bloggers: WordPress Managed Hosting
With WordPress dominating a huge part of the internet, you will quickly realize that there are many optimized packages exclusively for websites running on WordPress. In other words, the well-known WordPress Managed packages.
This means that if you go for a WordPress Managed package, once you purchase the hosting package WordPress will be automatically installed on it and will already be configured and optimized to run perfectly with the CMS platform.
For online stores: eCommerce Hosting
Just like with WordPress Managed packages, eCommerce hosting focuses on users who want to host their online stores in optimized packages.
Since we live in an age where online sales have surpassed those of local stores, it is important that your online store runs on a fast and optimized server that provides great security and online payment services.
For online portfolios and resumes: Site Builders and WordPress
If you are planning to create a website from which to promote your work or you want to create a complete resume site, then things change a lot. While the best option here is to go for an affordable shared hosting package and build your website with WordPress, there are also site builders who can be quite comfortable with what you need.
There are site builders who provide you with both the domain name and the hosting of your website, as well as a builder to design your website the way you want it, dragging various widgets, photos and texts inside. An ideal choice for novice users who did not ask for much.
Email accounts
Οne email account with each hosting package. These emails are professional and work in the same way that Gmail, Outlook and Yahoo! Mail. The difference, however, is that you can create emails with your domain name .
Capacity and RAM
Disk space is undoubtedly one of the most important things to look for in any web hosting package. The more space you have, the more photos, videos, music, documents and other types of files you can upload to your website, the more plugins and themes you can install in WordPress and so on.
Bandwidth and Data Transfers
In terms of the speed of your website, bandwidth refers to the amount of data that will be downloaded or uploaded from a website. Also known as “Data Transfer,” bandwidth affects how quickly visitors to your website access information. The higher the bandwidth, the more people can see your website at the same time, in real time.
Security and Support
Although the security of a website depends mainly on its administrator and how strong passwords he has put and the security measures he has taken, the hosting company that hosts your website should also have taken the necessary security measures. Over 40% of websites that are attacked or hacked were because of web hosting companies. Therefore, make sure that the hosting company that hosts you includes firewalls, monitoring services and additional security add-ons.
Support is just as important. Think, for example, that at four o’clock in the morning, a day when you decided to deal a little more with your website, you suddenly see that it is down. The first thing you should do, is to contact the web hosting company. If the company does not provide 24/7 technical support, or does not operate on weekends, then you are at great risk. Your website may be down for a few hours to a few days.
Understanding the cost of hosting packages
We know that the cost is one of the most important things you usually look for in a new web hosting package. While cost is definitely an important part of your final decision, do not sacrifice cost for speed and technical support.
Also, do not forget to look for all the offers that each web hosting company has, as along with a package you can obtain a domain name and an SSL certificate.
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