Even after running different websites for at least the past 8 years, I can tell you that it is still difficult to choose a good host for your website. If you have found a company that you have had a good experience with, it is probably wise to stick with them. It’s tempting to look around in order to save costs or gain different features but you need to do so cautiously because a lot of hosts over-promise and under-deliver. Capacity is apparently a difficult thing to describe.
On Black Friday, I bought a server with a new company that had pretty good reviews and the deal allowed me to get their top tier shared hosting for a fraction of the price I was currently paying. I thought it would give me a place to stick a few websites that didn’t need a lot of performance and experiment with other projects. It is barely able to run a single, very low traffic site… It is very disappointing and I have made other arrangements for my other sites. I still keep sites on this server just to get some use out of it but it can involve long load times.
My top three tips I can offer when looking for a good webhost:
- Stick with reputable companies.
- Be prepared to pay rather than scoring a deal.
- Only buy a month at a time until the company has proven themselves.
You might find deals advertised but you might pay for it in frustration. You might even end up spending more money if you buy a year contract and the server doesn’t work out for you so you have to pay for a different hosting option as well. I have been having great luck with Vultr (affiliate link), if you don’t mind managing the system yourself, it gives great performance and pricing.
Check this infographic for other tips on avoiding a bad webhost:
(Credit: MakeAWebsiteHub)