5 Things to Consider When Switching Hosting Services
When you first begin web hosting, you may end up choosing a provider or plan that doesn’t suit your needs. Hosting your website online requires time and energy dedicated to a smooth operation. If your hosting services aren’t working for you, it may be time to switch to something else. Here are five things to keep in mind if you’re thinking about switching your hosting plan or provider.
1 – Budget
Everybody wants the most bang for their buck. It’s natural to want to either save money on a cheaper plan or go all out for a dedicated server with lots of power. However, you need to seriously consider your budget in either scenario.
Pros and Cons of Cheaper Plans
When you purchase a shared hosting plan, you’re sharing server space and power with many other websites. While this can be great for a small business with a small budget, it’s not always the best option. A cheaper plan may save you money initially, but it can cause serious problems for your business down the line.
Every website needs a certain amount of resources to run properly. If all you have is a single-page website that just asks for people to sign up for a mailing list, a shared plan is probably perfect. But if you’re running an eCommerce site or any website with lots of traffic and user interaction, shared hosting services won’t be able to provide the power you need. And without enough power, your site will regularly be slow or even go down for periods of time, costing you potential customers or clients. In these cases, it’s worth the extra money every month to ensure your website is running smoothly.
Pros and Cons of Expensive Plans
Purchasing an entire server for yourself is a great way to ensure you have all the dedicated resources and power your website needs. However, not all websites need the full extent of a dedicated server. Managing a server costs a lot of money, and you need to ensure that the hardware and software are always up to date. If you spend the extra money on a dedicated server when you don’t need one, you could end up in a sticky financial situation.
If you feel you need more power than a shared hosting plan but can’t quite afford a dedicated server, consider a Virtual Private Server (VPS) or cloud server option to help stay within your budget while providing additional resources.
Photo by freestocks on Unsplash
2 – Migration
When you change hosting providers or upgrade to certain plans, you’ll have to migrate your website’s data to a new server. When looking into the provider or plan you want, check to make sure that they offer migration assistance. It can get a little messy while transferring larger data files, and having the extra backup is necessary to ensure your site maintains its integrity as it moves. With free migration assistance from HostForWeb, you never have to worry about your data getting lost or your website getting messed up in the process.
3 – Customer Support Options
Most hosting providers offer some form of customer support, but you want to make sure your provider and plan have the right availability. Servers and websites don’t always wait until business hours to have a problem. When something goes wrong, you need support right away to ensure it’s fixed as soon as possible.
When considering switching hosting providers or plans, double-check what hours their customer support lines are open and how easy it is to contact them. Ideally, hosting services should offer 24/7 support with multiple lines of contact. You’ll want to be able to call, email, or live chat with a support specialist, not just submit a ticket and hope they respond in a timely manner. If your website is down, you’re losing potential business, and you need someone available around the clock to help get it back up and running again.
4 – Safety and Security
When you host a website, there’s a lot that could potentially go wrong. Hackers could infiltrate your data and steal valuable information. Your server could overheat and cause data corruption. A break-in could result in irreparable damage to your data center. Because of all these threats, it’s important to choose a hosting plan and provider that puts safety and security at the forefront. You’ll want to choose a hosting plan that has SSH safety for your website and a data center with additional security for your server.
5 – Third-Party Integration
There are a lot of applications and widgets out there that help design and run amazing websites. Because of them, it no longer takes an advanced degree in computer science to create a professional website. When considering which hosting provider or plan to choose, check to make sure they offer integration with your favorite third-party applications. Many providers support integration for popular website builders such as WordPress, but the more options available, the more you can fine-tune and enhance your web hosting experience.
HostForWeb Hosting Services
At HostForWeb, we’re dedicated to providing safe and powerful hosting services to our clients. We offer a variety of hosting plans designed to support any budget. And it’s always easy to upgrade or downgrade your plan if you find you need more or less power for your website. Our hosting services are always secure to keep you, your data, and your information safe from any digital or physical threats. If you’re ready to experience the best hosting experience possible, browse our available plans online or give us a call at 1-833-201-8322 if you have any questions about your account.
