Without the best web hosting, your ability to run a successful website will be seriously hindered. There is a dizzying array of web hosting providers competing for your business. How can you pinpoint the best one? Start by keeping the following points in mind:

Bandwidth
The first thing you need to do when shopping for a web hosting service is to evaluate your disk space and bandwidth needs. You will need decent bandwidth and disk space if your site features many graphics, dozens of pages, and large amounts of traffic. Unlimited plans are available, and they make life easier.

Compatibility
Keep compatibility in mind, too. In the excitement of looking for a website hosting provider, you might overlook one critical thing: the type of operating systems that are supported. You're not going to want to switch operating systems, so double-check this point before settling for a provider.

Reliability
Reliability and availability are critical characteristics to consider when shopping for web hosting. The best web hosting companies offer availability rates of 98 and 99 percent, frequently referred to as Uptime.

Security
Security is also an essential concern. Choosing a web hosting provider without learning its available security features is a big mistake. Things like firewalls, daily backups, and user authentication should all be included.

Take a look at how we choose the best web hosting sites in the industry to make a better decision about which is right for you.

The larger or more complex a website, the more comprehensive a configuration package will need. The main ones are broken down as follows:

Shared
Shared web hosting is the basic package that services offer. Your website sits on the same server along with many other websites, so you're sharing the server, and any other resources, such as memory or CPU. These are good for basic website needs such as email sending, file sharing, and base-level ecommerce sites. Shared hosting is the cheapest and, therefore, smartest option for smaller or startup businesses.

VPS
A virtual private server is designated for your direct purposes, more than a shared server. You may still be sharing an actual server, but the service creates a virtual server of your own. That means all the resources are yours, from memory storage to processing power. This is a safer and much more reliable option that keeps your site separate from the others while maintaining affordability.

Dedicated
Dedicated hosting is already on another level. In addition to getting your own server, dedicated hosting lets you take full control over your server. That means you have full administrative access and can set things up the way you like them. This package comes with a royal suite of features that may not be necessary for all types of businesses.

Wordpress
WordPress is a shared hosting service that caters to a more specialized clientele. The servers themselves are optimized differently and have features that are particularly attractive to WordPress performance, such as faster load time, pre-installation, security features that work specifically with WordPress, and WordPress updates. This is useful for businesses that have websites created on WordPress.

Hosting quality is affected by several factors that are important to weigh during your decision-making process. Some of the most significant ones include:

Uptime guarantee
We mention this in more detail below, and really it’s one of the most important factors to consider, so don’t skimp on uptime. HostGator has one of the best uptime guarantees at 99.98%.

Load time
Load time is also really important. Recent studies show that the average attention span has shrunk over the years to smaller than that of a goldfish! So, if your website takes too long to load a page, your business is dead before it’s even started. To keep yourself in the running, be sure your hosting service has a fast load time. A2Hosting will deliver a 360ml load time for pages, the fastest in the industry.

Customer support
Because having an issue with your website is nothing to take lightly, you want to make sure customer service is available, knowledgeable, and easy to work with. More on this is below.

Location
The number of servers and location plays a huge part in your website loading and service speed. Obviously, the more servers available, the faster the service, but where those servers are found worldwide will also affect the quality. Depending on your location, you should look for servers in substantial locations close to you such as the UK, US, or Israel.