You’re losing clients and sales every time your WordPress hosting goes offline, slows down or becomes inaccessible.
Do something about it now, before it’s too late!
Just like the ideal partner, your WordPress hosting needs to be stable, reliable, dependable and trustworthy. How much money do you need to lose before you say;
Enough is enough!!
Website hosting is the backbone of your business. You must lay a good foundation to build your business upon. If you pick the wrong WordPress hosting provider your business could come crashing down any minute!
So how do you pick the RIGHT WordPress hosting provider?
https://www.premiumpress.com/wordpress-hosting/
1. Pick a hosting provider closer to your customers.
Before you even start looking for hosting providers you should try to find where your potential visitors might be coming from.
There is no point choosing a hosting provider in the UK if 75% of your customers are from China. Your website will load significantly faster and provide a better viewing experience for visitors who live closer to your website hosting servers.
Pick a hosting provider closest to your customers.
If you have a website already you can find your user locations using a free tool by Google called Google Analytics. If you don’t, then take the time to think about whom your expected target audience might be, this will be different for everyone depending on the products and services you offer.
2. Ring them now, then ring them again!
Don’t be fooled by advertisements from companies offering 24/7 support when actually they close on weekends and send all their calls to India after hours.
Ring them first and make a note of who you’re speaking too! Then ring again but this time select a different department.
Is it the same person? Red flag alert!
Ask questions like, what time is it there? Where are you based? When do you finish your shift? Then ring them again 5 – 10 hours later and confirm they are still in the office.
If a hosting company tells you they close after 8pm or are unavailable during weekends, STOP and move on.
Don’t waste any more of your valuable time.
Remember, you make money online 24/7 so your website hosting needs to be working 24/7. If your website goes offline on Friday night and isn’t available again until Monday, you’ve just lost a whole weekend of sales!
Your website will be one of your most important business assets, so if something goes wrong, you want to have the peace of mind that your web host provider will be there to lend a helping hand. Tech support is a real deal breaker for the majority of online business owners. Check that the support team can be reached via phone (toll free) and email and enquire about their response times. Some companies offer 24/7 monitoring, giving them extra bonus points.
3. Is their website user-friendly and intuitive?
Not everyone likes phoning people up, I know I don’t! So their website needs to be just as quick and helpful when it comes to finding the resources you need.
If you cannot find a support forum or support desk, STOP and move on!
Before signing up to a hosting plan send them a quick sales email and see how long it takes to get back to you. If possible ask a complex question and see how user friendly their response is.
Not tech-savvy? Don’t panic!
A good web host provider should have a user-friendly interface that makes it easy for you to perform a number of actions from setting up your email and FTP accounts to installing WordPress. Ask them to provide screenshots or a demonstration so you can see how it works.
4. Do they know their stuff?
Keep in mind that different web host providers cater their services to different types of customers. For example, some web host providers may specialize in hosting WordPress websites, whereas others may be more suited to Magento ecommerce stores. Before choosing a host provider, find out their area of expertise and check that it’s a good fit for your website.
It’s almost guaranteed that from time to time you’ll need assistance with one thing or another so make sure they know their stuff. Ask them a simple question like;
What version of WordPress comes installed with the hosting?
What support do you offer if i need to backup my WordPress website?
5. Have you picked the right hosting package?
Although your site may be small now, with any luck you’ll be getting way more traffic once your name is out there. When selecting a web host, you need to make sure they can accommodate for the future growth of your site and give you the room you need to grow. Having to transfer from one host to another can be a real pain, so it’s easier to just pick a host offering scalability in the first place.
Do i need a shared host, VPS or dedicated hosting account?
It’s a question I get asked all the time and the answer is simple. Start small and grow with your business.
It might take you 2 months to get your design finished or content written, why waste money paying for expensive hosting when you’re not benefiting from it.
A good hosting provider should make it easy for you to start on a shared hosting account, upgrade to a VPS and then again to a dedicated when the time comes.
Make sure you check what options you have available before you sign up!
6. Don’t get tricked by fake hosting reviews!
Always do your research on potential hosts before making your choice. You need to make sure that the provider is reliable and has a good uptime percentage. One of the best ways to check the quality of a web hosting provider is to look for credible reviews and ratings from REAL customers.
Do not be tricked by affiliate websites or review websites. Avoid them at all costs!
Affiliate and review websites will provide amazing feedback and reviews for hosting companies who pay them the most money. Most of the time the reviews are faked and designed only to tick you into thinking it’s a good host.
A good way to find a creditable hosting provider is to look at your competition.
If you’re up against a trusted company that’s been around for a while and you know their website is fast and reliable, why not checkout who’s hosting them?
Check our this website: https://myip.ms/
Alternative you can checkout social media networks for reviews such as twitter, yahoo community and face book.
7. Check the small print.
Don’t be fooled by hosting companies who advertise that everything is unlimited only to discover it’s only valid for their premium services.
Watch out of excess charges!
Some hosting providers are still billing people extra if they use up more bandwidth or resources than quoted in the small print.
Don’t fall victim to such scandals!
A good hosting provider should provide unlimited bandwidth and more than enough server space for you website and database content.
You should check with a hosting provider what happens if you exceed these resources before even considering making a purchase.
8. Is your hosting provider secure?
It goes without saying that you want your website to be secure but how secure is your hosting provider?
When did they last update their support desk?
How many times have you provided sensitive details such as passwords, payment details and photo ID’s via a support desk or email?
Most hosting providers will buy third party software such as support desks, forums and chat software to help communicate with you. It’s not uncommon for smaller hosting companies, especially the ones offering amazing offers, to spend more time making money than worrying about keeping their website updated.
Security goes both ways!
Stay safe online and make sure you delete old support tickets and emails once you’ve finished with them.
Make sure the host offers high security for data transfers and uses secure servers like SSL.
9. Are you going to lose your domain name?
I have seen this happen time and time again, don’t be an idiot.
A user buy a hosting account with includes a free domain name. They pick the perfect domain for their business and spend a lot of time and money promoting it. 2 weeks later they decide their hosting company is run by the devil and want their money back.
Oh no, I’m going to lose my domain name! Now you’re stuck!
Make sure you confirm with the hosting provider that the free domain name can be transferred to you even if you decide to ask for a refund.
There may be a small charge for the price of the domain name (usually $10 – $20) but this should still be possible. If they say you’ve got to continue hosting with them then cut your losses and move on.
Although the hosting company may not be upfront about the hardware they use behind-the-scenes, it’s definitely worth inquiring about it. The hardware they use will have an affect both on their services and the up-time and speed of your website. Check that it’s top-of-the-range and up-to-date.
10. Did you get what you paid for?
When it comes to choosing a web host, many people make the mistake of considering price first – hence why we’ve included it last on our list! The saying ‘you get what you pay for’ should definitely be kept in mind. Choose the cheapest host and you may end up rather disappointed with the service they offer. Of course you’ll need to find a website hosting package within your budget, but consider the factors featured above first and do not base your decision on price alone.
Finally, If your still unsure which hosting provider to choose, why not consider our recommend solutions for general website hosting.
https://www.premiumpress.com/wordpress-hosting/
Kind Regards
Mark Fail
