Choosing the Right Hosting for your Website Type

Posted on September 30th, 2011. Written by Jamie Northrup.

There is no doubt that the internet is a vast network of information. Every site has a niche, purpose, and meaning. When someone decides to start a website they choose the type of site they want. With that decision, comes the tedious task of finding the right web hosting for their type of website. With so many different types of sites out there, it can be difficult to find the host that is perfect for your type. So what do you need to consider when choosing the host for your type of site? Here are some the different types of sites and what you need to look or in a web host in order to get what you want.

Blogs:

Blogs are probably the most popular type of site out there. With the ease, versatility and customization of blogs, it appeals to both personal users and businesses. With the SEO benefits of having a blog and the estimated 55% more traffic a blog can bring to a company it is used my millions. Everywhere from bored at home mom’s to large corporate marketing firms use blogs. But what is needed to host a successful blog?

 

-Web Space:

In order to support a large amount of images, articles, ads, and comments, a blog must have a lot of web space. When choosing your hosting company you need to be sure your plan offers enough space to keep you posting. In the past this was a large problem for anyone wanting to start a blog or site, however now most hosting companies offer unlimited space due to compression and larger servers. Even the smallest and cheapest plan can offer unlimited space perfect for your site.

 

-Blog Specific Applications:

There are blog specific applications that can allow a blog owner to easily setup, change, and post to their site. WordPress is the current leader in free blog software and is widely used. Choosing a host that supports or even offers WordPress will make the setup and management of your blog easy and stress free.

-Reliability:

This is an aspect that ALL sites must consider. Reliability includes up time, response time to fix any issues, and above all, easy to reach customer support. There is no point in having a blog or site when the host is constantly down or is unreachable if you have a problem. Most sites offer 99.9% up time and 24/7 technical support. This is currently the standard. It would be foolish to think your site will be up 100% of the time as that is not realistic in terms of any technology. However if you do experience a problem you want it to be resolved quickly and efficiently. Check the comments from current customers, read reviews and even call the hosting company prior to signing up, to assure you are getting a reliable host.

-Ease of Control:

One of the reasons you choose to get hosting rather than signing up for a free blog service is control. You want total control of how your blog looks, feels, and is managed. When choosing your hosting company you want to choose one that offers easy control of your blog.

 

E-Commerce:

If you plan to sell online there are added features you must take into consideration. Aside from the previously mentioned features, you will want to assure you have security, adaptability, and ease of control. Here are the other features you will want to look for:

-Security:

Whenever customers are concerned you need them to feel safe while ordering on your site. For that, SSL is needed. Any host that offers e-commerce hosting will have SSL in place for your site. This will assure your customers personal and financial information is safe and secure.

­-Shopping Cart:

Unless you want to spend hours coding your own shopping cart, you may want to choose a host that offers it with your hosting package. A well put together shopping cart can mean the difference between hundreds of orders or hundreds of lost customers.

-Statistics:

In all business, numbers don’t lie. You will want to choose a hosting company that has statistical features that can track your traffic, conversion rates, and orders. This will assure you are on top of what is happening with your site and allow you to tweak any part that is lacking.

-Advertising:

This is extremely important when choosing hosting for e-commerce. You need to be able to drive traffic to your site and encourage buying. Most hosting companies will provide tools for advertising your site. Whether they are Adwords credits, social network ads, or submissions to the search engines, you will want to choose the host with the most. The more options for advertising you have the better your chances of being successful.

 

Social Networks:

Since the launch of MySpace and Facebook, many have been trying to jump on the social network bandwagon. If you are planning to launch the next social network craze you will need more than just reliability, security, and customization. Here are the remaining features you will need to check for:

-Databases:

Information on the web is stored in databases. All of your member’s profiles, likes, and dislikes, etc, will also be stored on databases. When choosing a hosting company be sure they allow free databases. Most plans will allow one or two, which is fine for start up, but also look toward the future and your plans for your network. Make sure you have the option of upgrading and adding databases as your site grows.

-Data Transfer Times:

The amount of time it takes for a user to load pages, navigate your site, search through members and find what they are looking for is important. When you are combating the big dogs like Facebook and MySpace, you don’t want to be slower. Make sure the file compression with the host is adequate enough to handle faster data transfer.

 

These are just a few of the types of sites available to host. The features and requirements are very similar with a few differences in necessity. When you choose the type of site use the mentioned features as a guide and inspiration to decide what you need for your project. Shop around and find the right host to make your site successful.

 

Jonathan Sanders creates websites and blogs about many Internet subjects.  He recommends checking out these small business web hosting reviews, as well as some great tips for choosing the best web hosting for business.