Starting a website is exciting, but before you can make exciting content for your website, you need to pick a web hosting company. Whenever you access a website on the Internet, your device connects to the server on which the website is hosted. Picking the best web host that meets you needs is essential to running a website.

However, there is a lot of competition in web hosting and not all companies are equal. While many of them have competitive pricing, what they are offering can be very different. Here are some tips you need to pick the best web host for your website.

Decide What Your Website Will Include

Before you even begin thinking about which web hosting company is best, you need to have a clear plan of what you will have on your website. Will your website just include blogs? Will you have a lot of video content? Do you plan on selling any merchandise or products? Which platform do you want to build it on?

There are lots of ways to make a website and the direction you choose will dictate what you need. For example, having a website with a lot of video content is much harder to host and will cost more overall than a standard blogging website. You also need to understand web hosting lingo.  The difference between shared web hosting and dedicated hosting is a great example.

Have a clear plan of what your website will include before you even begin web host searching.

Look Up Third Party Reviews

There are a lot of web hosting companies you can choose from, but it can be hard to find the best one for you. Third party user reviews can really help point you in the right direction, but make sure your read a lot of reviews. However, you need to make sure that the third party is unbiased. Don’t stop at user reviews. If you know other web developers ask them who they use and why.

See which names start to overlap and reach out to these companies and see what deals and services they offer you.

Find the Best Price

Finding the best prices in web hosting is challenging. There are many factors that you need to look at, but if you are starting from scratch, pick the cheapest plan possible. While you may be envisioning a huge website that requires a lot of servers, you won’t need much at the beginning. Find a basic package that includes the essentials and that can be upgraded easily.

The most important thing to examine when hunting for the best price is what the signup cost is versus the renewal cost. To entice new customers, web hosting companies offer low signup prices, but those prices may skyrocket when it is time to renew. Make sure that you are comfortable with the increase and compare renewal prices alongside signup prices.

Experience Matters

Web hosting companies may vary greatly in experience and that is not a good thing. Experienced web hosts are a force to be reckoned with. They can quickly identify a problem, properly maintain servers, offer support, and much more.

One of the biggest reasons why seeking an experienced web host is crucial is because of the equipment they use. Web hosting is an expensive business to enter and newer companies simply do not have the equipment and resources needed to sustain fast growing websites. This can force you to switch to a more capable web host down the road, but it can be avoided by picking one that is capable from the start.

Look for Green Options

Just about every product has a green option and web hosting is no different. There are multiple green web hosting companies that offer competitive pricing and services, while also lowering or eliminating the carbon footprint your website will leave behind.

Other than keeping the world we live in clean, being green has many advantages. Visitors and customers feel better about their choice of visiting a website that cares about staying green.We only have one planet, so we better take care of it.

Understand What Their Services Include

The biggest problem when you are talking to a sales agent is not asking the right questions. Make sure you get clear answers on the security measures, bandwidth limits, support, when your sign-up prices end, and other important topics that relate to your website.

Make sure that you know how much uptime they promise you and their refund policy. Many companies will hide their refund policy in the terms of service, so read everything.

Always Have a Backup Plan

It is not easy to select a web host when starting out and odds are you will make a mistake, but it’s not one that you need to stay with. The best part of having a crowded market like web hosting is that it is easy to switch web hosts. Your choice never has to be final because you can easily switch to another web host. If you are ever unhappy with your web host for any reason, look elsewhere for web hosting.

The biggest mistake you can make is staying with a web hosting company that does not deliver the quality of support your website deserves.