When the time to finally go online with your website comes, you’ll want to thoroughly think through what the best type of hosting for you and your needs is. Plunging into it headfirst could very easily backfire with unwanted results and the unanticipated feeling of your wallet and site being exploited.
However, choosing the right hosting provider – one that’s authentic, trustworthy, offers you full support whenever you need it while targeting the right audience, and keeping your data safe and sound on their server might seem impossible, you just need to do good research.
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To do proper research, you need to understand exactly what you need from your provider. This means that using the same type of hosting for when you’re running an online store and for when you’re just putting a personal blog out there is absolutely unnecessary.
An online store needs high-performance, speed, and a stable support system while a personal blog, such as a portfolio or interactive resume can do with a shared hosting service that’s rather affordable as opposed to dedicated servers which offer a lot but also charge quite a bit.
If you’re looking for cheap web hosting in NZ, the first step to understanding all of this is learning about the different server types, what they provide you with, and when they are or aren’t the right solution for your website.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the best solution when you need to get a small to medium site online without expectations of high traffic or a constant and fast connection.
It works on a principle where a single server runs many different websites, hence the name. The stability of your website always depends on how demanding the other ones are in terms of processing information. Bottom line is, if you’re stuck on a service that also hosts other various burdensome websites, your site may suffer.
Generally, shared hosting also limits you when it comes to accessing the server’s capabilities. For example, if you have programs you may want to run it’s highly likely you won’t be able to due to these restrictions.
On the other hand, it’s really not all that bad. Sharing a server has its benefits, like simplicity and straightforwardness and it’s definitely a recommended option especially if you’re a beginner when it comes to hosting.
All in all, if your site is not demanding or if you’re putting it online as more of a hobbyist, this is probably what you want to go with. If you ever decide you’re in for more serious business, you can always start thinking about VPS India or dedicated servers.
VPS – Virtual Private Server Hosting
Virtual private servers are a great middle-ground between shared and dedicated hosting. Basically, the server is broken down into multiple parts and each of them acts as its own virtual machine. This is where your website is hosted, on one of those machines which act as their own dedicated server.
Essentially, you still share a server with other VPS customers but are provided with far more control and a greater connection to that of shared hosting. Additionally, opting for a VPS means that you should at least be acquainted with some server management and maintenance.
When it comes to support, it’s far better than the one shared hosting offers but since you’re still technically sharing a server, you might sometimes get put on standby if another customer asks for assistance right before you do.
You’ll want to research what type of storage the server uses since it’s all supposed to be more professional. In translation, make sure the server uses high-speed SSDs (solid-state drives). They offer far better processing speed than HDDs (hard disk drive) do for example.
Moreover, if you want to get a hang on things, then make sure they offer a control panel licenses or root access, managing services, proper security, and CDN services (for quicker transfers to load pages fast).
Finally, this option is ideal for you if you have a fast-growing business or a website and/or want to expand your skillset and knowledge when it comes to hosting.
Dedicated Hosting
If you know what you’re doing and run a serious website with loads of files and content, then it’s time to start contemplating buying dedicated hosting.
In this case, you get your own server. That’s right, no sharing the host in any way. Your very own box, except it’s not sitting in your room but in the hosting company’s space instead.
This is ideal for high-performance tasks your site requires, whether it’s a serious online business with a high-traffic, powerful application or something else – this sort of hosting will give you everything you could possibly need.
Being “dedicated” means that there is someone ready to help you at any point of the day or night with whatever security, configuration, or management issues you have. You also have the utmost control over the whole system; customization of security and operating systems, doting architecture, etc..
Of course, this means that you should know quite a bit about hosting to find your way around the management. As previously stated, if you’re in need of a serious and powerful hosting, you’ll know what you’re doing already since you’ve probably been in the business for at least a little while.
Naturally, dedicated servers with the amount of power and support they offer really do not come at an affordable price. Instead, the luxury features this type of hosting offers come with a luxury price.
5 hosting services to consider
By now you might have an idea of what you need but you are not sure where to look first. For that reason, we’re going to take a look at a couple of different hosting firms so you can get started as soon as possible.
1. Bluehost
The first on the list is arguably one of the best hosting providers on the whole web with millions of happy customers. What’s really great about Bluehost is the fact that it works for both newbies and advanced users due to its usability but also affordability.
A balance of high power and the friendly price is probably its greatest advantage, along with user-friendliness and a really lovely support team.
Now at a discount, Bluehost starts at only 2.65$ per month. Moreover, you get a free domain for your website for the first year along with an SSL certificate.
2. Hostwinds
Hostwinds is a great catch for when you’re looking for something more – specifically virtual private server hosting.
It offers hosting which uses the aforementioned SSDs which are high-powered and have a 1GBps port. So it’s practically impossible to end up dissatisfied considering such speed is offered at a great deal which starts at only 5.17$ per month.
The user interface is very easy to use with modern and useful tools. And all the operations are simple, from installation to management.
3. Liquid Web
Another service to consider when you want a VPS would be Liquid Web. The company’s cloud promises high-speed rates with its SLAs and professional support from Heroic Support experts.
It starts at 19.99$ per month, but for managed hosting, you’re going to have to cash out a little more. Don’t worry, it’s definitely worth it considering its uptime rates and hands-free management.
Liquid Web also holds the files on SSD only with up to 16 processors along with root access, DDoS protection, free of charge backups, and CDN. They consist of a large capable team and they own all of the hardware they use so everything you need will be taken care of.
4. A2 Hosting
With A2 Hosting you can choose from 3 dedicated plans depending on your needs and experience with website management. The Lite plan starts at only 3.29$ per month.
The hosting actually boots not that many private servers while also using less CPU and memory to provide you with a constant connection and overall better performance. Their SSDs process thousands of input and output operations per second which are roughly three times faster than the usual HDDs.
As an A2 Hosting customer, you also get access to their hack protection scanner – HackScan. And any obstacle you find on the way will be dealt with by their 24/7 support.
5. HostGator
Some will argue that HostGator is the best when it comes to dedicated servers. It starts at only 2.75$ a month with features like free domain, SSL Certificate, unmetered bandwidth, and more.
You’ll find everything you need with this one, from website builders to and easy application installer. Blogs, forum, galleries – whatever your type of website is, HostGator is here to let you build it with no fuss.
Conclusion
To sum it up, the first step to finding the perfect hosting service is understanding exactly how much of what you need. Sites like Facebook and personal blogs are very different in many ways, including the type of hosting they require.
Keeping all the different factors we’ve outlined above in mind can seem daunting at first. However, putting in the effort to set your priorities and assess different services is worth it in the long run. Investing the time and effort to find the best hosting provider now will ultimately help you build a faster, better, and more visible site.
So research, read, learn, and get that beautiful website of yours online!