Top Web Hosting
Features to look for in a top web hosting provider
Many top web hosting companies offer an abundance of features (at an array of prices), giving each one equal weight. But all features are not equal. As any great website hosting provider knows, certain features in your website hosting are way more important, valuable, and necessary than others.
Customer Support: This is the only one that speaks for itself. You know quality customer support when you get it, and you should get it from your website hosting provider.
Online File Management: The benefit in this great feature offered by many top web hosting providers is that you can access your files from anywhere in the world, from any computer (connected to the internet), at any time of day or night. Never again do you need to worry about your hard drive crashing or losing your flash memory stick, because your website hosting company has got everything stored safely and securely for you. And speaking of security...
Security: If you're going to be asking visitors to provide personal information on your site, such as when running an online store and collecting credit card payment information, your customers are going to want to know that that information will be used responsibly. Top web hosting providers know that identity theft is a real and present danger, and nothing to take lightly. SSL certificates and digital encryption are just two ways that website hosting providers guarantee your site visitors that the information they give you will be safe.
Statistics and Reports: It's nice to know how your site is doing out there in cyberspace, so that you're not throwing good money away after bad. And the way to do that is with statistics and reports. Not all website hosting providers offer these, but the top web hosting companies do.
Control Panel: It's got to be easy to use. All the features in the world are useless if you can't figure out how to access them or use them. That's why most top web hosting providers use cPanel or Plesk, the two top control panels, offering years of testing, improvement and refinement. If a website hosting company offers its own proprietary control panel, it had better be for a good reason - namely that it's easier to use. Otherwise, in giving them a try, you may find yourself treading in muddy waters.
Bandwidth: Most companies don't need unlimited bandwidth, like so many website hosting providers offer. Most, in fact, don't need anything close to that. What every company needs from their website hosting provider is enough bandwidth to serve their traffic needs. You don't want to pay a website hosting company, even a top web hosting provider, for loads of bandwidth you'll never use. But even more importantly, you don't want to be stuck in the position where your visitors can't get to your page because you've reached your bandwidth maximum. Many top web hosting companies offer a variety of tiered plans so you can find the level that's right for you, and increase or decrease your allotment as needs and discoveries change. On the other hand, if a top web hosting provider is offering unlimited bandwidth at a steal of a price, you'd have to be a fool not to take it.
Free Domain Names: Not really one of the most vital features for a website, all other features and prices being equal, a free domain name (or a few) could be the tie-breaker between two website hosting providers you're having trouble deciding between. As it is, top web hosting companies don't really charge that much for domain names anyway, but every penny counts!