How to Choose Web Hosting for Your First Website Without Getting Ripped Off
Meta description: Confused by web hosting options for your first website? Here’s a simple guide to choosing the right hosting without overpaying or overcomplicating.
You know what it’s like. You’ve had this brilliant idea that you want to put on the web, and you’ve just started looking around trying to find out how to do this, only to be faced with infuriatingly complex lists of hosting options and prices that rocket upwards after a year.
You should know that there really isn’t much to web hosting – just a few basic options to choose from according to what you think you need.
What web hosting actually is
Think of it as the land on which your house (your website) stands. Web hosting is just a service which allows you to store your website online on a server so that people can view it via the internet on your domain name (your website address).
If you don’t have web hosting, your website has nowhere to be hosted online.
The different types of web hosting (and what they mean)
Shared Hosting
Hosting is where your website shares a server with other websites, kind of like an apartment block. It’s normally the cheapest option out there, and ideal for new websites or blogs (it’s also sometimes called economy hosting).
Best for: New websites, blogs, portfolios or simple business websites that don’t expect masses of traffic.
Worst for: Anything that needs serious power, speed or security.
VPS Hosting (Virtual Private Server)
You get your own chunk of server space (like your own apartment) – more powerful and reliable than shared hosting, but also more expensive.
Best for: Medium-sized websites and blogs, or ones that are expecting lots of traffic.
Dedicated Hosting
With this type of hosting you get an entire server to yourself (think of it as buying a building), so you know you’ll have all the power and space you need. It’s much more expensive than shared or VPS, though, and is usually unnecessary for smaller websites.
Best for: Big businesses and websites with lots of traffic.
Managed WordPress Hosting
This is hosting that’s specifically designed to make running a WordPress website easier (more on WordPress later). It’s often faster and has more features than standard shared hosting, and can be a good choice if you’re not technical.
Best for: Your first ever site or blog, if you want something a little more straightforward.
Cloud Hosting
With cloud hosting, your site is hosted on a network of computers rather than one server.
Best for: Websites that expect to grow.
The basics: What to look for when you’re comparing web hosting providers
Uptime
This is basically how much time a website has been up and running, and a good provider will have a reliable uptime of at least 99%. Your website should be online and accessible as much as possible – ideally 24/7.
Speed
If your website is slow to load, people are much less likely to stick around and check it out. Speed is also good for SEO, so make sure the hosting provider you choose has a decent speed – and bear in mind that cheaper options might not always be the fastest.
Customer Support
If you’re the technical type and know how to fix things yourself, maybe this isn’t that important to you. For most people, though, having good customer support is absolutely crucial, especially if you’re using a cheaper service that can’t afford to offer round-the-clock support. Ask around, and read reviews from other customers as well as the company’s website.
Security
Look out for free SSL certificates (this means your website address will start with https:// – more on these later) and things like malware scanning to make sure your website is secure.
Ease of Use
Some providers have very technical dashboards and interfaces, and others have been streamlined to make things as simple as possible for non-technical users. If you’re new to websites and don’t know much about them, you’ll want something with a simple interface that doesn’t put up a huge learning curve.
Scalability
This refers to how easy it is to move up to a higher plan if you need more space/power, which you’ll probably want to do as your website grows.
Avoiding the trap of ‘introductory’ prices
This is really important. Many hosting providers will advertise an ‘introductory’ price for the first year, which is often much lower than what you’ll be charged every year after. Always check the small print to see what the price will actually be after the first year. You’ll also want to look out for things like whether a free domain name is renewed for free automatically when your first year is up, and whether there are any hidden charges for things like backups, SSL certificates or migrating your website.
A simple checklist
Do you know what type of hosting you actually need (shared, managed WordPress etc)?
Do you know what the renewal price is, and is it significantly higher than the introductory price?
Does the price include an SSL certificate?
What do reviews say about the customer support on offer, and is it available 24/7?
Are backups included in the price, or is there an extra charge?
Can you move up to a higher level plan easily if you need more space/power?
Common mistakes first-time website owners make when choosing their web hosting
Not realising that some hosting providers advertise a low introductory price which is much higher when it renews.
Having no backups for their website until it’s too late.
Getting more powerful hosting than they need for the type of site they have, just because they thought it was a good deal.
Only relying on reviews from the hosting provider’s own website, and not doing any research elsewhere.
Underestimating how important good customer support is until they actually need it.
Final thoughts
Choosing web hosting for your first website doesn’t have to be as intimidating as it seems. Just find a provider who offers reliable hosting at a reasonable price (both for your first year and for renewals afterwards), and who offers features and support that you can understand and manage easily. You can always move up to a higher plan as you go along.
Your turn: What web hosting provider have you used and had the best experience with? Let us know in the comments below, so we can help other website owners make the right choice!
