We all realize the importance of being present on the internet, whether you are a business or an individual service provider. If you are looking to find clients from all over the world or you just want to gain more traction in your local market, the internet can do that for you. Moreover, considering that internet presence is close to being free, everyone is willing to invest their time and a little bit of money to gain visibility in the online space. However, even though people realize the importance of being online, they don’t always understand how to get the most out of this service.

Just a few years ago, going online was relatively straightforward and didn’t require a lot of technical expertise. It is still quite a simple process, but the tools and services we use to make our way there have changed drastically—combined with the fact that the internet functions, the number of people that it can reach and the kinds of things you can do through the internet have all completely changed, it’s important for you to know how you can make the most out of it. In the quest to create a solid digital presence, the most important thing to consider is your web host. Think of this as being your online accommodation. Your web hosting service is the team that is going to be taking care of everything you do on your website and will also be where your website is digitally stored. Here are a few things you want to consider when choosing a hosting service.

Your Needs

Just like how you can have a website that is for commerce, or a portfolio website, or you can have an online forum where people can interact, you need a web hosting service that can do all of these things for you. There are different types of hosting services that you can use, such as dedicated server hosting, cloud hosting, shared hosting, and many others. The differences between these boil down to the actual hardware used to host the website as well as the software that the server runs. More importantly, different hosting types give you different levels of control, and certain types work better for certain kinds of websites. It’s a good idea to clarify exactly what you want to do with your website and then look at hosting services that perform the best for those specific purposes.

Price

Keeping in mind the previously mentioned types of web hosting, it should come as no surprise that some high-end services such as dedicated hosting can be quite expensive. Of course, if your website is creating that kind of value it’s not going to be a problem, but you don’t want to go for something that expensive for a basic website. If you want to get a better price for hosting, the tech whizzes at wp-tweaks.com/hostgator-coupon-code-list suggest that you look at the offers and promo codes that each potential hosting provider has that could help you save quite a bit on hosting services. Buying hosting services through referral links and affiliate links can also save you some money. Even if the monthly cost seems pretty low, it can quickly add up when you are purchasing hosting for 3 or 5 years at a time.

Pro tip: many hosting providers offer lucrative Black Friday deals. HostGator is one such host and their last year’s offer was a steal.

Security

Security should be a major concern for anyone starting a website. Especially if you are a business, having a secure website should be your first priority. According to a recent study, small to medium scale businesses have been the target, with up to nearly 60% of all online attacks because they rarely have any security measures in place. The SMEs that do have security usually rely on free tools which are easy for attackers to break through. With a brick-and-mortar store, you are only protecting yourself from local threats, whereas your business website is available to the global market. Not only are you protecting yourself from attackers all over the globe, but it can also be very hard to recover from a digital attack. Not to mention that it makes a deep dent in your reputation as a reliable business that can take care of client data.

Many web hosting services will try to sell you extra services that aren’t going to be of any use to you unless you have very specific requirements. These additional services are generally used to mask the incompetence that they have in their core services. Rather than focusing on the bells and whistles, look for a company that offers you a solid foundation for you to build your website on and gives you the room to scale up when you need to.