What I Look For In a Web Host
Images from: Siteground.co.uk
Choosing a web host is such an interesting topic. I imagine that you could divide a crowd discussing the pros and cons of different services! Some people would swear by a host and others would steer clear of them.
There are some key factors which I would consider:
- Security - Protection from hackers
- Uptime - What is the good of a web host if most of the time your website is offline?
- Customer Service - if you have an issue or a question then you want it answered fast and conveniently
- GRPR Compliance - this is a new consideration bearing in mind the new regulations that came into force in May 18
- Enables unlimited domains
- Has email addresses included in the price.
I was recently asked if I still used a particular web host. I had been an advocate for them for many years however I kept hearing more and more bad stories about them. I heard that their ethics were not good - particularly when dealing with websites that had been hacked. I heard their security was not great and when customers were hacked they were left to fend for themselves or referred to costly services to fix the problem for them.
I joined them many years ago and at the time they came highly recommended because of their excellent customer service and reasonable prices. Even though I had not experienced any of these issues (such as being hacked) I had noticed that my websites kept going offline. I contacted them on numerous occasions and even though they were very polite and helpful the problem did not resolve itself. For that reason and my itchy feet I decided to switch. I had been with them for over 5 years so it was not a decision that I took lightly. I have never switched hosts before so I was concerned that the whole process would be a complete headache - especially as I had many, many websites - some of which I hosted as a favour to other people.
The turning point was when I went through a course called 'Traffic Victory' course. It was a course all about SEO and building review websites. I reviewed this course on website (http://jenniferbaileyonline.com) and Mark (the creator of the course) explained that his review website was offline for a year after it was hacked - then then had to rebuild it. He WAS with the host I with but moved across to SiteGround. I also then listened to a webinar hosted by a website security expert and SiteGround was one of the ones he recommended. Two recommendations in as many week was good enough for me!
I contacted SiteGround, who I have heard recommended on several occasions, and decided to do a bit of fact finding. I was expecting to pay more for them as I thought my current host was pretty reasonable but to my surprise they were actually better value for money. They offered exactly the same service as I was getting currently (I had a plan which allowed unlimited domains to be hosted on one package).
Security
SiteGround runs a regular scan of your websites and informs you if there is anything suspicious going on - which means that you can act fast to fix the problem. I will also write a separate post about the plugins that I use to secure my website. I wrote some great notes from the webinar which I mentioned earlier - so I will share those with you too in the near future :)
Uptime
I have been using SiteGround for a couple of months so far and I haven't experienced any downtime. I recently installed a plugin which emails me if my website is offline and so far I have not received one whereas I was having one of my websites constantly going down with my previous web host.
Customer Service
The customer service I have received from SiteGround has been excellent. There are several ways of communicating SiteGround such as via phone, online chat or you can submit a ticket. Up to know I have preferred to go onto the live chat as I tend to be quite impatient however whichever way you communicate with them, they tend to get back to you at in a very timely manner.
Their staff seem to be very knowledgeable and thorough. I particularly like that you can rate the customer services representative - and you can easily see how many people, they have served and their personal rating. Up to now I have not met one who has less than 5 stars.
SSL Certificates included (at no extra charge)
With my previous host I had to pay extra for SSL certificates - these were costing me about $39 per website per year. Having a secure site for customer confidence and also for the new General Data Protection regulations (GDPR) it is all important - and as you can imagine the costs can add up if you are having to buy a certificate for every website you own or manage! With SiteGround web hosting they are included. SiteGround also links efficiently with CloudFlare which means that it is much easier to get a super fast website. Both SSL and website loading speed are important when it comes to getting your website ranked in the search engines.
Pricing
I decided to go for the GrowBig plan(knowing I could upgrade if need be) and paid 2 years upfront - making a considerable saving compared to what I had been paying.
Images from: Siteground.co.uk
You can find out more about SiteGround here: https://www.siteground.com/go/steemit
Until next time.
J x
Hello @jenniferbailey and welcome to steemit; @slobberchops introduced you in this post. I look forward to finding out more about you.
Thank you @shanibeer for the warm welcome. I am looking forward to checking out @slobberchops' post - and yours too. Keep in touch :)
https://steemit.com/websites/@it-info-group/i-will-design-professional-and-responsive-website-with-seo
hey i am webdeveloper i will help you
I also found you via @slobberchops. Wishing you all the best on steemit
@steevc thank you so much for taking the time to comment on my post. I look forward to following you. @slobberchops is a star :)
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I dont use hosting services anymore as I found the cost to promote a website and have it high on GoogleSeach using SEO was prohibitive.
Now I just put up with eBay, their fees and take advantage of the many £1 fees deals they offer.
Choosing a web host is tricky for sure. We stayed with our provider for a long time because of the customer service; really good customer service is sometimes worth the headaches. However, the customer service is not what it use to be and we find the people are just trying to make their numbers good and ready to push you off the line. We have decided to look elsewhere and I will be taking a look at this company. Thanks so much for sharing the information.
Ren