The Ins And Outs Of Web Hosting And How It Will Help Your Business

Many website owners think it is a big hassle to change their web hosting because their site will be down, but that is only the case if you are unfamiliar with how to keep it live. You just need to know what to do when the time comes to switch hosting providers. This article contains some important information that will show you how to keep your site functioning while switching web hosts.

Make sure the host you choose has minimal to no downtime. It is frustrating if you try to log on to your site, and the server is down. If you have a business that relies on the internet for sales, this means you will lose a lot of money because your site is not operable.

Make sure any offers of “unlimited” data transfer are actually unlimited. Many web hosts advertise unlimited data transfer in their offers, but tuck exceptions in the terms and conditions for the package. Common exceptions include video or non-HTML file downloads being limited, limits on CPU utilization, and general prohibitions on using “too many resources.”

When transferring your site between hosts, have a copy of your website at both your old and new hosts for a few days. It’s important to do this because it takes 6-48 hours for the DNS to propagate. During this time, some visitors will be sent to your old website, while others whose ISPs have updated their DNS info will be sent to your new site.

Avoid free web hosting services. These services support themselves by placing advertisements on the top of all the websites they host. These advertisements may annoy your visitors or make your site appear unprofessional. In addition, some free hosts may restrict the amount of commercial content allowed on the websites that they host.

A good web hosting provider should have good, responsive customer service, so be sure to consider this when choosing a host. Find out how quickly they respond to problems or complaints that their customers have. You want to choose a host that will work to quickly and professionally resolve any problems you encounter.

Before choosing a web hosting service, check to see their bandwidth capacity. This can be seen in terms of the amount of data that come into, or out of, your website. Depending on the plan you choose, you will usually be allotted a certain amount of bandwidth on a monthly basis. Large businesses could need as much as 200 GB or smaller ones could get by with as little as 3 GB. Check the availability, then choose your plan accordingly.

Figure out how much bandwidth you need before shopping for web hosts. Keep in mind that you need more bandwidth if you plan to include photos or videos on your website. Compare different bandwidth plans and purchase a plan that gives you a little more bandwidth than you need so that you have room to expand your site.

Take longevity into account with any web host. Typically, any host that has been in service for multiple years is doing something right, or else they offer such unbelievably low prices, that reliability does not matter to their customers. The latter would never happen. Take a look at the host’s time in business; this will help you narrow the field.

If you want an affordable and efficient host and do not mind running a blog, subscribe to WordPress. This host has a very efficient plug in that converts PHP pages to HTML and caches them: this means visitors still have access to the cached version of your site in case the server encounters an error.

When choosing a web hosting service, check to see if they have a money-back guarantee. This is especially important if you choose to take advantage of cost’s savings by paying in advance for a year or more of service. It will also give you a clue as to the professionalism of the service you are choosing.

As you can see from the above article, it is possible to keep your website active while you switch to a different hosting company. If you understand the transfer process and what you have to do beforehand, then there is no reason why you should lose a second of downtime. Apply the advice from this article to help you switch hosting companies without having to worry about your website going offline.