Whether you have an online ecommerce business website or a personal website to bring the family and friends up-to-date on what’s happening in the personal daily doings, one thing that you will have to have is a web host. The needs in having a successful online business are no different than the brick-and-mortar businessperson who needs to consider size and location of his or her business building and whether the location is visible and easily accessible to a wide range of customer traffic; as a website owner should be also always be easily available and easily accessible to web ‘traffic’ and what web host company you choose is crucial to having a successful e-commerce business.
What is a Web Host?
A web host is a company that provides space on a server to be owned or leased by their clients. A server is a computer or network of computers that serves as a nerve center that manages access to a centralized resource or service in a network. High performance computers may be specifically designed for running specific programs. These are called ‘dedicated servers.’. There are many types of servers that connect people to the worldwide web of data but to keep this as simple as possible, this article will center on web servers that respond the request of a client, the client being a computer application, looking for web content. A web-browser, uses such client applications as Firefox, Internet Explorer, Google, and Safari who request HTML coded files from web servers.
You will need a web host that will not only provide hosting space for your website, but also one that provides a hierarchical ‘ranking’ that will bring traffic to your website. It can boggle the mind with the many web hosting firms out there. To ease the difficulty of comparing and endless list of web hosting services, we have narrowed the choice to what are the 5 most cost-effective web hosts: Bluehost, SiteGround, HostGator, DreamHost, and WPEngine.
Choosing a Web Hosting Service
Looking for a web host is no different than searching out any business supply vendor. There are a few essentials factors to consider when selecting a web host, such as availability, speed of service, and bonus features that the supplier offers for the monthly price.
Bluehost, for example, offers unlimited disk space, a free website building feature, as well as 24/7Â phone and chat support.
Siteground boasts data centers on 3 continents, If your target audience is the international market then Siteground makes good sense. Siteground is also well known for providing the latest in speed technologies.
HostGator, the most popular of web hosting services is very user friendly, offering affordable pricing plans and a shared hosting service, as well as a free site builder, a $100 credit for Google Adwords, as well as unmetered disk space and bandwidth.
DreamHost offers an attractive 97 day money back guarantee, unlimited disk space, web based dashboard, and 24/7 support to viewers of your website via email and live chat 5 a.m. to
10 pm PST seven days a week.
WPEngine is the leading WordPress host. WPEngine provides complete backup and security of data. Technical administration is handled by WPEngine, while you manage your business. They offer amazingly fast data transmission, as well as Google Analytics to provide insights on website performance.
Compare web hosting services and prices
Availability of service which in computer language is called uptime. This is the amount of the time that your website, personal or business, is available for viewing on the worldwide web.
That ‘open for business’ sign should be always hanging on the ‘virtual door’ of your ‘virtual business’ 99.9 percent of the time.
Speedy Service is a must when selecting a web host. Just as restaurant goers want their food to be served to them as quickly as possible, the followers of your website are not always patient and will go elsewhere if your website is part of a slow server.
When you compare web hosting services, examine all the fine print carefully. One of the most essential services for running an online business are that of support services to your new and existing customer base. The 24/7 day a week support usually comes with three options: phone support, ticket based e-mail, and live chat.
An SSL certificate is an important security protocol that uses :https encryption to provide visitors a level of security that any information they share on your site ‘stays with the site.’Â
Adequate disk space is important in choosing a web host as well as the control panel you use to administer different aspects of your website. Web based control panels should be easily accessed directly through the site owner’s web browser. The easiest control panel offered by most web hosts is cPanel, with an easy to handle graphical interface.
Conclusion
There are quite a few options for choosing a web host, but at the end of the day, it all comes down to choosing a service that fits you and your websites needs. Examine different options and compare their services to find one that is best for you
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