You are excited about your startup and have already taken the first vital step of planning a website for it. You must be looking for the best web host for it. Seems very easy, doesn’t it? You must be motivated by so many startups and businesses that put up a website almost every other day and board the bandwagon of online business. But, have you ever thought of the mistakes they make while choosing a web hosting? It is going to be a commercial website, and you can’t take the risk of committing even a single mistake. Hosting a web is not a piece of cake. It requires money, immense effort, a good amount of search & research, and proficient knowledge of the nuances of your niche industry’s online presentation. So, it’s better to learn from the mistakes of others than repenting afterward.
Being a responsible owner of your startup, you should be aware of the dos and don’ts and remain careful before taking any decision. Agreed? Then, you are at the right place where we will learn some of the common mistakes people commit while choosing web hosting.
Searching for ‘Top’
We know that internet is your best friend and it provides solutions to almost all of your queries. However, there are several websites that display fake data and reviews. Obviously, any ‘top list’ presented on such websites are created by their own just to attract potential leads. Don’t fall prey for such websites by searching – ‘top web hosts,’ ‘top web hosting companies in India,’ etc. Instead, browse some reliable forums and web hosting review sites to get the accurate data and factors you should consider before choosing web hosting service provider.
Going for ‘FREE’
image: magicofdoing.com
Seriously, does anything come free in this world? Then, why should your web hosting come for free? The FREE word is a trap where you lose out more money for a really good web hosting package. Free or cheap plans may seem tempting, but if you are really looking for a decent web hosting service, you should be ready to pay the real cost for it. If you are going for a free web hosting, you may come across the following problems in future:
- Free web hosting service may shut down anytime, and so may your website.
- Your web address/domain name may become a subdomain of your free hosting service provider.
- The free web hosting service may shut down anytime, and so may your website. It means that your website will vanish in no time.
- You may not get sufficient web space. It might be possible that if you demand more space from your web hosting provider, you will be asked to pay a hefty amount for it.
- Your website might show a few irrelevant ads. Since the web hosting company has the right to run ads on your website, you have no choice and you are left as a silent, poor spectator.
- Remain prepared for a poor traffic on your website as most search engines don’t give importance to free web hosting servers. Therefore, if you are dreaming of first-page ranking for your website, it won’t take much time to shatter your hopes.
- You need to fix technical hitches. Bad news for you – the free hosting provider may not respond to your problems.
- Latest version of application, fast data transfer, instant loading of your websites – forget all these! No upgradation, no support, and no control are what you should expect from a free web hosting service.
Trapped for ‘Unlimited Storage’
Always mind that UNLIMITED here doesn’t mean ‘without limit’ from your dictionary. ‘Unlimited storage and bandwidth’ is the most common, lucrative advertisement which is posted by even popular web hosting companies. Like every new entrepreneur, you would believe that there is no limit to what you can store and how many visitors your website gets. Disappointingly, it is not the case. You will receive this lucky condition subject to the ‘normal circumstances’ decided by your web hosting service. In case, your website starts to receive a considerable amount of traffic; you might have to pay extra money.
Overlooking the Terms of Services
Ignoring Terms of services and mailing policy of the hosting provider is a common mistake that may make you land in a big trouble in future. ToS limits the resources of a website. Additionally, mailing policy refers to different limits of emails you can send per hour . Don’t forget to check the refund policy ignoring their advertisements of ‘30 days refund.’
Ignoring the SEO implications of web hosting
Have you ever thought that slow site speed, shared hosting, and database connection errors may damage your site’s integrity (not just to human users but also to Google bots)? It means sheer wastage of your
Support portal and its utility
If you are ignorant about the support portal and its meaning, ask your host about it. Every reliable web host keeps up a support portal for its users so that they can submit tickets and get real-time update on its status. This facility is provided to the users so that they can review and respond to the tickets till the issue is fixed.
Signing up for a longer period
If you don’t have any previous experience with a web hosting company, do not sign up with them for more than a year. In most of the cases, refund becomes tricky, and if you have paid in advance for a long-term service, you may lose your money. Start with a monthly plan and only after experiencing the service of the web hosting company, switch to an annual plan.
Web hosting is crucial for your online business. The smallest of mistakes might lead to major revenue losses. Every year, several entrepreneurs and small businesses become victims of a bad hosting service. If you do not want to be a victim, be careful about your choice. If you have even fallen prey to bad hosting services, share your experiences in the comments below; you might show a few untold disadvantages to the world.
