Top 5 Things Most People Are Misinformed When it Comes To Web Hosting

Check this list of the top 5 hosting-related misbeliefs that people hold you to make sure you’re fully informed while picking your next web host.

1. Shared Hosting

Most hosting plans offer access to shared hosting for your website, app, or blog. This works great for the largest percentage of web projects, as shared hosting is inexpensive and reliable. For those with more specific needs and concerns about SEO shared hosting does have its drawbacks, however.

As its name indicates, shared hosting plans put your website on a server with other sites. Most people aren’t aware that these other sites, usually chosen randomly and without description, can affect your site’s performance and rankings. 

If you’re sharing a server with a traffic-heavy website, or a site with highly variable peaks in traffic, your site could become slowed down at inopportune times. If you’re going with shared hosting, make sure the host has specific terms regarding speed and traffic and is equipped to provide the resources it needs to stay online when needed.

2. Optimized Hosting

A lot of people think all unlimited hosting plans are the same. This a huge misconception among site owners, even in 2017. Whereas you will get unlimited bandwidth and storage space with an unlimited plan, you may be sacrificing speed, ease of use, and other features to do so. 

Look for a hosting company that tailors its services to your needs. For example, if most of your projects will be built using WordPress, look for a host that offers One-Click WordPress installations to save time.

Many hosts have servers setup to give WordPress or other types of websites preferential hosting, and they can optimize for the plugins and backend software you’ll need to install to keep your site up to date. Some hosts provide automated backups for specific content management systems. 

Make sure your planned CMS or project type is compatible with any potential hosts hardware and policies, and that they go a step further to optimize your plan for your needs.

3. Factors Affecting Speed

Hosting speed is an area of much confusion among site owners. That’s because hosting companies often advertise simplistic speed specifications, ignoring a huge amount of variables that could affect your site’s actual load times. 

To make sure you’re getting the fastest hosting plan possible, check that your new host has adequate equipment as well as reasonable bandwidth plans. For equipment, look for servers with lots of RAM and processing power, so the backend of your site can function smooth and quickly. 

Plans with limited bandwidth are often a concern too, because after hitting a certain level of traffic some hosts may slow your connection or limit data transfers from your domain. Choose an unlimited hosting plan to avoid this issue altogether.

4. Green Hosting

Green hosting is a somewhat new area in web hosting. Green hosting is part of the green movement to save the environment from waste and preserve our resources. It’s no surprise that those who are aware of the practice of green hosting often have misbeliefs about it. 

It may be thought to cost more since the focus seems to be on environmentally friendly, but green hosting can actually save you money. That’s because the hosting company is implementing dozens of practices to safeguard against wasted electricity and other resources, such as metered power usage, recycling and using energy efficient equipment. 

Green hosting can actually save you money while keeping the environment safe.

5. Free Website Hosting

Not all web hosts are created with equal value, a fact that is most often reflected in the pricing structure of paid hosting. While free hosting does exist, it is not well suited for any professional project. Free web hosts often limit traffic and uptime to levels that are unacceptable for 24/7 online businesses. 

That said, there are times when free web hosting is the right choice. For example, students and other just learning and practicing creating websites and using hosts can benefit greatly from free web hosts. As can small sites that aren’t created for profit, or new site owners with strained budgets who want to test the waters and see how much traffic their content would gather on a smaller scale.

Taking these 5 factors into account will ensure you select the hosting plan that will best suit your needs and preferences. Whether green hosting is important to you, or you base your decision strictly off speed and storage specifications, being informed about hosting plans will enable you more freedom and better hosting for your budget.