You must assess website development and design prerequisites to select the right host for your site. If you want the best hosting plan, consider the server’s security and analytics suite and the amount of data you’ll upload to the server. These factors affect how your website performs once it goes live on the internet.
According to a study conducted in 2021, 66% of internet users say their website browsing experience influences their decision on whether they can trust a business or not.
So if you want your site to grow your business, you must invest and choose the right type of web hosting. The servers hosting websites determine how fast they can be and how much web traffic they can handle in a single session.
There are important factors that you have to consider when choosing your web host. First on the list is your budget. The second is anticipated website traffic. The third is the set of data you’ll encode on the server. If your website needs various media, you should know if the host can handle the number of uploads you foresee without compromising loading speed.
What Is Web Hosting?
Web hosting services use special computers called servers to handle web traffic and keep data secure. Every website you have visited is stored on a server through website hosting. When you sign up for a hosting plan, you rent space or the whole server, depending on the plan you sign up for.
Think of your server as the brain of your website. It stores all the information you upload as your content. When you put too much information, it can affect the performance of your website. It may crash, slow down, load information incorrectly, and more.
As your business grows, so do the requirements of your website in terms of server capacity. When this happens, it would be handy to know a thing or two about types of hosting to know which one best suits your business.
Types of Web Hosting
To help you decide which website hosting services fit your site requirements, here are the types of web hosting services commonly on offer.
1. Shared Hosting
A shared hosting plan is the most popular choice for website owners because it allows multiple users to share a singular server, which means the annual cost is lower than others. Your rented space on the server is safe from getting accessed by other users, so you will not have to worry about data breaches.
Small and starting businesses often choose this plan because it is less pricey, can handle decent website traffic, and is more manageable. Most shared hosting services have a straightforward interface, making them convenient for business owners who are not tech-savvy. When hosting needs upgrading, changing the plan is painless.
2. Dedicated Hosting
As the name suggests, dedicated website hosting gives you complete control over your server. You have admin and root access wherein you can host multiple websites and allow other software or applications to get installed. You can perform routine maintenance anytime, like backing up data and scanning for malware.
Dedicated hosting has a large capacity and can handle a sudden influx in website traffic at once. Also, if you need to add data-heavy content and features to improve the user experience, you can increase your capacity anytime.
The downside of this plan is some providers charge extra payments if you fail to use the server at its maximum capacity. Also, you are responsible for maintaining the security of your server, which means that you need to perform maintenance tasks —unless you hire an expert.
So while it provides better security on your private data and information on the internet and has a bigger capacity that lets you play with the website, more dedicated hosting is not recommended for beginners. If you think your website needs this hosting, you can hire a team of IT experts or outsource this service from a digital marketing company.
3. Virtual Private Server (VPS)
Virtual Private Servers (VPSs) offer superior performance and customization over shared plans. Each VPS acts as a complete system dedicated to your site. You get dedicated resources and, in some instances, access the configuration of that server.
VPS acts as the middle ground of dedicated and shared website hosting. You still share the same physical server but with improved security and performance. Depending on the hosting provider, you might also be able to set up your VPS from scratch and customize it according to your needs. In terms of pricing, it’s less costly than dedicated hosting.
It is an interface that lets users manage and maintain the hosting. The downside of VPS is that some providers may not allow you to access the control panel. When your website encounters bug issues, you may be unable to fix them quickly.
4. Cloud Hosting
Cloud hosting works by having a virtual server hosted on many computers instead of one machine. People often refer to cloud servers as distributed VPSs.
This website hosting allows you to quickly scale up your server’s resources according to your needs. Cloud hosting is also very reliable in handling traffic and storing data.
Cloud hosting is gaining popularity with many business owners because of its benefits. However, it requires experts to set up.
Cloud hosting is affordable or costly, depending on your server’s configuration. However, there is no need for large-scale hosting if you have a simple website. Many cloud hosting providers charge per hour.
5. Managed Hosting
Managed hosting is a type of website hosting where your provider takes care of server maintenance, backup, security, software updates, and other hosting services.
There are managed shared plans and managed VPSs. All of these hosting options come with a small additional cost. Many business owners prefer this plan because it helps them concentrate on their portfolio, blog, or e-commerce site.
The definition of managed hosting differs from one provider to the next. Many hosting companies provide 24/7 support for all aspects of your website’s operation. Others will only take care of maintenance. Before you sign-up, you should find out what “extras” your provider offers.
Choosing the best hosting plan for your website can be challenging. Hopefully, our post will help you assess the needs of your website and match it to a provider that will work for you effectively.
The Bottomline
When choosing the best web hosting for small businesses, prioritize features that best fit your company’s website needs, such as:
- Maximum security from fsd
- Loading speed
- Capacity of data that can be stored
- Design elements
- Media (Photos, Videos, Infographs, etc.)
- Regular maintenance
- Costs
For instance, if you have a local real estate company, you can add walkthrough features for every listing to make your website more interactive. This feature requires a high-capacity server, so you may want to look into dedicated or VPS plans.
Select a web hosting plan that fits your business requirements best. This way, you will not have to waste resources on excessive or limited hosting services.
If you are unsure, there are digital marketing agencies that can help you assess the needs of your website and choose the hosting plan for it.
Let Us Help You With Your Web Hosting
At Advanced Digital Media Services, we offer dedicated web hosting for our clients. It allows you to develop and design a website according to the needs of the business. You don’t have to worry about it slowing down due to high traffic or going over capacity.
We also offer a wide range of digital marketing services, from content creation to website development. Our Cleveland SEO experts will ensure that your online platforms work according to their purpose. Our expertise guarantees that your website and digital marketing tools will help increase your leads and sales.
