A lot of clients come to me with questions about hosting. What is it? Why do I need it? Where can I buy it? Below you will find the hosting tips I give my clients.
What is Hosting?
If your website was a brick and mortar store, hosting would be lot and building you lease out for a storefront and office space, and the hosting provider would be your landlord.
A Few Do’s and Don’ts
Do…
- Do be prepared to pay a large sum at the beginning for a better deal. A longer commitment hosting will save you significantly over the first year or two.
- Do expect your bill to increase the second, or third year. Take that into account as you choose your hosting provider.
- Do explore your options, but avoid going too far down the rabbit hole.🐰 There are thousands of options and it’s not worth your time to research them all! I’ve got a few trustworthy recommendations below.
Don’t…
- Don’t pay extra for SSL. Nowadays, this should be included free with any good hosting plan.
- Don’t be overwhelmed by all the options. When you are starting out almost any basic plan will suit your needs. Remember that as needs change, your hosting provider can be changed too.
- Don’t hesitate to reach out if you have questions. 😊
Hosting Provider Recommendations
BlueHost
BlueHost is a big company, with lots of users. Expect a hefty sum upfront in order to get very low price/month contract. I’ve worked with them before and they are pretty solid. Support I would rank 3.8 out of 5.
SiteGround
My personal choice for web hosting. I host all of my sites on SiteGround. When contacting support, they have always been quick and helpful, overall ranking 4.5 out of 5.
Yours Truly
If you really want to take the easy route, let me do all the work for you! I can host your website on it’s own corner of my SiteGround server. You’ll never have to login and figure out CPanel, make sure PHP is on the right version, or worry about accidentally deleting your website.
Plus it’s one less password to remember. 😅
Hopefully these tips are helpful to you as you’re deciding on hosting. As always, I’m happy to answer your questions!