How to choose a hosting and not lose money
Hosting is a place on a server where website files are stored - databases, content, engine, etc. The functioning of a resource, its stability and business profitability, when it comes to commercial projects, depends on the reliability of the storage and the speed of the servers.
Where can I find a good provider?
You can search for a hosting company for rent website hosting on thematic platforms, forums. There are also compiled ratings, but there is no guarantee that the information presented in them is objective. On the forums, you can chat with real users.
What kind of hosting are there?
There are three types of them, the difference lies in the degree of service by the hosting company and technical capabilities.
Virtual
Sites of different owners are located and work on the same server. Technical capacities are distributed among all users, there is no need to configure everything manually, the provider is in charge of ensuring the operability. Why virtual hosting is good for a website:
low prices (the hoster makes a profit from a large number of clients);
the ability to contact technical support if problems arise. Important: the response speed is always high, because the hoster is responsible for the operation of the resources of many users. If conditionally 1000 sites become unavailable at the same time, this is fraught with loss of the provider's reputation;
additional functions - checking files for viruses, installing an SSL certificate, CMS, backup, etc. Many of them are available in one click;
accelerated work of the resource in some cases. Suppose the server is designed for the uninterrupted operation of 1000 resources, but only 500 owners use the services of a particular provider. Accordingly, existing sites take extra power from the "blank cells";
setting up the server and updating the software is the sole concern of the hoster.
There are two disadvantages:
The desire of the provider to receive increased profits and the placement on the server of more accounts than provided. For each of the users, this is fraught with performance problems, low page loading speed. The solution is cooperation with honest hosters for whom reputation is important.
Bad Neighbors. On the same server, along with your online store, there may be online cinemas, casinos, adult resources, which in one way or another violate the current legislation. If they are blocked, "law-abiding" projects will also suffer. Solution: check in advance which resources are hosted on the same IP, cooperate with reputable hosters who do not work with problem clients.
In general, this is a reliable and good hosting, it is suitable for a beginner who does not want to understand the intricacies of settings, and for an experienced website owner, for whom saving time is important.
VPS hosting
Implies virtual dedicated server. You rent a part of it, do not depend so much on your neighbors, because there are also fewer of them. Benefits:
You have full control over the capacity you paid for. Resources that you do not use are not distributed among other clients, but you cannot use additional ones either.
You control the operating system and software on the server. Technical support staff can set up hosting for the most comfortable work.
Adequate price when it comes to medium or large projects. We recommend choosing hosting for an online store, corporate portal, forum - resources containing a large number of files and using a lot of disk space. For Landing Page or one-page websites, such a decision is not rational.
There is no limit on the number of sites for one account. All limits apply only to capacities. You can host a single large project or many small ones.
There is only one drawback: you will have to delve deeper into the settings or separately pay for technical support services if something goes wrong or you need additional functionality that is not provided in the selected tariff plan.
Dedicated server
All capacities and equipment are completely yours, there are no neighbors, any settings are possible. The only limiting factor is the high price. However, it makes sense to rent a dedicated physical server only for very large projects, for example, online games.
How to choose a hosting: practical recommendations
Think about how much disk space you need. This value is in direct proportion to the type of project. Requirements for a business card are minimal, large projects need more resources. This is one of the points that affect the choice of a tariff plan. Also decide if you plan to expand in the future so that you can order the optimal package right away.
Look at the technical requirements for hosting on the official website of the CMS you are using (for example, these are hosted on WordPress). Build on them when choosing a service.
Find out if a dedicated IP is provided. This is much more convenient than sharing it with several users, besides, it will protect you from unwanted neighborhood.
Inquire about the possibility of setting up an SSL certificate (the service is provided on a paid and free basis).
Ask if you can choose hosting and domain from the same provider. Why it is profitable: pay for 2 services 1 time, in case of problems you immediately know who to contact, you can get a domain as a gift or a good discount on it.
It should be possible to back up data so as not to lose the site and all the money invested in it in case of trouble.
Find out what type of storage the provider uses - regular hard drives or SSDs. The last option is better, as it works several times faster. Accordingly, pages are also loaded at an increased speed.
Pay attention to uptime - the uptime of the site. The minimum value is 99.5%, you can find it out using various services, for example, Yandex.Metrica. With low uptime, the number of dissatisfied visitors grows, which negatively affects your business.
Analyze the convenience of the control panel installed on the server. How much time you spend on administration depends on how it is implemented.
Ask your provider where the equipment is geographically located. Many companies use server facilities located abroad, explaining this by the reliability and stability of work. However, keep in mind that as the distance between the server and the user increases, the download speed decreases. It doesn't matter if you need to choose a hosting for a landing page, an online store or a news publication: the further the server and the more "heavy" elements on the pages, the longer they load.
Ask in advance the schedule of the technical support and questions with which you can contact it for a prompt solution.