Hosting is easy to treat as an afterthought until the site goes down at the wrong moment. A few questions asked up front make it much easier to pick a provider and a plan that will serve you well.
What are you hosting?
A simple brochure website, an online store and a custom application have very different needs. Know the technologies involved, the expected traffic and how much your needs might grow.
Shared, cloud or dedicated?
Shared hosting is economical and suits many small sites, though resources are shared with other customers. Cloud infrastructure lets you scale resources as demand changes. Dedicated servers give exclusive resources at higher cost and with more to manage.
Questions worth asking any provider
- How are backups handled, and how quickly can a site be restored?
- What security measures are in place, including SSL certificates and updates?
- Who looks after the server day to day, and what does support cover?
- How can I get help in an emergency, and at what hours?
- How easy is it to upgrade resources or move later?
- What happens to my data if I leave?
Support matters more than it seems
When something breaks, the speed and quality of support is what you are really buying. Ask exactly how issues are reported and what response to expect outside office hours.
If you would like help comparing options, contact us and we will go through it with you.