Tips to starting your first website with shared hosting

Over the past ten years, web services have changed quickly, and now web hosting offers a huge range of options to meet any request or need. The server technology, control, traffic limits, and resources for bundled services are all different. Hosting companies compete with each other by offering ready-to-use solutions for customers of all sizes and budgets. Everything, though, costs money. But anyone can find a cheap way to host their website today.

Hosting companies make it easy and help you with all the preparations so you don’t give up on your idea because of problems at first. Later in this article, we’ll talk about how to choose the right web hosting after buying a shared hosting plan from a reliable provider and show you other details and extra services that any good hosting provider has. 

In a few steps, you’ll have a hosted website online.

1. Buy a domain

Domain name registration is required for hosting. Most hosting providers help you buy a domain. Bundling a domain name and hosting plan often saves money. Hosting companies may not register domain names. This requires buying the domain name from another registrar. Joint purchases simplify customization. For beginners, this option avoids additional settings.

2. Select a web host

Selecting a web host follows. Hosting your website on the Internet is crucial. Web hosting companies typically provide this space, though you can self-host. Next, we’ll discuss how to choose a web host.

How to choose a web host?

Web hosting involves many factors. Local and national hosting providers like Namecheap are among hundreds. Prices and services vary.

Web hosting goes beyond putting your website online. Hosting companies provide technical support, firewall protection, email services, domain name registration, and more.

Good hosts aren’t judged by price. Without knowing your website’s technical requirements, you won’t know whether to spend $20 or $200 a month. Web host feature tips follow. Consider your website’s requirements and other features when choosing hosting.

a) Server Uptime Guarantee

First, your website must be available 24/7/365. When visitors type in your URL, you don’t want a blank screen. Find a host with 99.5% uptime. Uptime may not be a problem for a small website with low traffic. If your website grows, uptime is crucial to avoid downtime and upgrade issues.

b) Redundancy

Small websites may recover from hosting provider issues. Downtime can cost a website-dependent business money. “Redundancy” means a hosting provider will compensate a website if their server issues cause an outage.

Specs (Tech Specs)

c) Database Type

WordPress and other CMSs typically use MySQL databases. Check your website’s database type, such as SQLite, and see if your hosting provider offers it. WP Reset helps manage WordPress databases.

d) Bandwidth

Bandwidth measures the amount of data (or traffic) transferred between the website and users during customer interaction. Consider your website when choosing hosting. If you plan to use media like video clips, advertising videos, audio recordings, or live broadcasts, you should consider plans with up to 150 GB of bandwidth per month. Website owners who mostly post text and use other platforms to store podcasts, movies, and images usually need 10 GB.

c) Scalability

Consider your long-term goals when choosing a website host. Any smart business or project eventually outgrows its hosting plan. Pay attention to the hosting provider’s tools to increase plan capacity or switch hosting types without complications or fees.

d) Accessibility

Accessibility means your hosting provider has the tools to manage and configure your plan. Hosting companies manage customer accounts with cPanel. This trusted dashboard lets you manage databases, backups, emails, and more. If your hosting plan doesn’t include a control panel, you’ll have to do the technical work.

e) Customer Support Hosting

Hosting is complex. A lot can happen behind the scenes without users knowing. Hosting providers benefit from 24/7 support. When choosing a hosting plan, the ability to get help from your provider at any time and in a convenient way (chat, correspondence, hotline) is crucial.

f) SSL Certificates

SSL certificates are needed to secure your visitors’ data and process online transactions. An SSL certificate boosts SEO because Google uses it in its ranking algorithm. Namecheap offers free SSL certificates with some hosting plans.

g) Backups

Why backup when your hosting provider can? To restore your website if it’s hacked or your computer crashes, run regular backups. If something goes wrong, reliable hosting providers offer 24-hour backups.

Conclusion

Hoping you have understood tips to starting your website with shared hosting. If you have any doubts, please share them with us in the comments section below. Till then, happy reading.