Most businesses these days accept the necessity of running a website, particularly in the wake of Covid. That helps explain why there are 200 million active websites, give or take.
While occasionally a challenge, a website gives you the option to run an online store, engage in content marketing, and provide customers with essential details about your products or services. Of course, there are some essentials that every website needs. One of the biggest essentials is hosting.
If you’re looking to launch your first company website, you may wonder how you choose the best web hosting service. Keep reading for information on the different types of web hosting and pick the one for you.
Types of Hosting
Not every business needs the same level of hosting service. Small businesses, for example, generally don’t need as many bells and whistles. So, let’s jump in and look at the main types of hosting you can get for your business website.
Shared Hosting
Shared hosting is the choice for most business websites in the early days. With shared hosting, multiple websites reside on the same server and share the server resources between them.
Virtual Private Server
The next step up for most business websites is a virtual private server. With a VPS, your site still shares space on a server with other sites.
Yet, the software emulates the experience of operating on your own server. You get more control over the website and server space but may still see lag if other sites experience heavy usage.
Dedicated Private Server
With a dedicated private server, your website is the only site on a given server. You get control over almost all aspects of the server. You also enjoy all of the resources available for that server.
This is ideal for larger businesses with heavy web traffic. For a more in-depth look, visit this dedicated server site.
Customer Service
While the right type of hosting matters, you should also consider the company’s customer service. Does the company offer 24/7 customer service or only provide it during business hours? A long wait can end up costing you a lot if you sell through your website.
Additional Considerations
For some businesses, the hosting type and customer service are the main concerns. If it’s your first website, though, you might want other services, such as web design.
While you won’t get a custom site, you do at least want to host that supports a content management system like WordPress. That lets you build and customize a site to your preferences.
Hosting for Your Company Website
Picking a hosting service for your company website can feel tricky. In most cases, though, it’s a matter of narrowing down the list by your needs.
If you’re first launching a site and only expect moderate traffic, a company that offers shared hosting and decent customer service should get the job done.
If you’re already established and get a lot of traffic, you’ll want a service with 24/7 customer service and likely a dedicated private server.
Looking for more business tech tips? Check out the posts over in our Business section.