Choosing The Best Web Hosting Plan For Your Website

Establishing a meaningful online presence in today’s day and age has become the single most essential component of a successful business. A website allows you to reach your potential and active customers in a way that would have been impossible only a couple of decades ago. Even though building and maintaining a website is far easier today than it used to be, it’s important to understand the central element of what gives your audience a functional online experience: web hosting.

In order to understand what web hosting is and how it works, let’s break down some of the terms that make up its definition.

Server – A server is essentially a computer that provides storage for your website and permits users to connect to your site from different places in the world. Servers are usually physical machines, so it might be helpful to think of them as a physical spaces that can be rented out for storing your website.
Web Host – Setting up a server is a complex process. Although any computer could act as a web server, a web host or a web hosting provider has dedicated machines that function as servers and offer high-security and high-performing services and features. A web host can contain and manage all of the text, files, images, and videos that make up your website.
IP Address – An IP address is like a physical mailing address of your business. A server usually has one IP address, but more can be set up. Whereas websites and domain names can change, an IP address is a permanent address through which online traffic is directed to your website.

By definition, web hosting is the process of renting out space on a web server from a web host, so that your website can be housed on the World Wide Web and be viewed online. Every single website that exists is hosted on a web server.

At first, it might seem like web hosting companies in Kuwait are one-dimensional and different web hosts offer a universal service at a universal price. However, that is not the case. Hosting providers can differ significantly based on the type and level of hosting plans and the size of your business. These hosting plans often range from free but limited web hosting services to services that are specialized for large organizations. Choosing the right web host will play a huge role in determining your business revenue and scalability. What may seem like a meagre one-second delay in your website’s loading time, can cause as much as a 7% reduction in conversions. (NeilPatel) So, in order to help you make an informed decision, we have consolidated the different types of web hosting services and a brief guide on choosing one in accordance with your business needs.

Some key metrics to consider prior to selecting a hosting plan:

Data Storage – Also called disc space, it’s the amount of space you are allocated (in gigabytes (GB) or terabytes (TB)) for the storage of files, images, videos, etc. Some hosting plans have unlimited data storage options. Generally, a solid-state drive (SDD) is better than a hard-disc drive (HDD) when it comes to data storage since it facilitates access to your website’s data at a lightning-fast rate.
Bandwidth (Data Transfer) – As the number of people that visit your website increases, there is an increased transfer of data that takes place between the site and its visitors. The amount of data that is allowed to be transferred from your website to its visitors, also called the bandwidth, has a limit, which if violated can result in additional fees. But like data storage, some hosting plans do offer unlimited bandwidth.
Uptime – Technology isn’t completely full-proof. Even the most expensive hosting plan can experience occasional downtimes. Uptime is a measure of reliability and is defined as the amount of time your website remains accessible to the world. Most hosting plans include a 99.9% uptime guarantee.

Now let’s get to the specific hosting plans, and how they can be analyzed on the basis of these metrics.

1) Shared Hosting – This is the most popular option for startups and small businesses, who tend to have smaller budgets and lesser traffic. With shared hosting, your website ends up sharing the same server and its resources with a myriad of other websites. This means that occasional slowdowns as a result of other sites attracting a lot more traffic, is to be expected. However, each website is securely isolated in its own sector. Shared hosting is cost-effective, easy to manage, and allows for simpler software integrations. Best of all, it’s scalable, so new and small websites can upgrade their shared hosting plan as their traffic volume increases, without changing servers. Depending on your business needs, slow load times, high downtimes, and less secure setups might be a reasonable trade-off for the low cost and easy maintenance that comes with shared hosting plans.

2) Virtual Private Servers (VPS) – Let’s say that you are a medium-sized business, or that you have finally outgrown a shared hosting plan. Without changing servers or hosting providers, you can step up to VPS. Fewer websites share the server’s resources and dedicated resources for your website will lead to better performance and site security. That is, sudden bouts of traffic on other websites will have no effect on the speed and performance of yours. Needless to say, Virtual Private Servers are slightly costlier than shared hosting plans, but they can prove to be a great choice for businesses that need to prioritize privacy and speed.

3) Dedicated Hosting – The most expensive type of hosting plan, dedicated hosting allocates all of the space on the server to your website. This guarantees that your website can utilize all of the server’s resources to its full potential. The server can be configured to exactly meet your needs, leading to higher security, reliability, and performance. The increased flexibility in setting up a hosting environment is ideal for large online businesses that tend to deal with huge volumes of traffic.

In a nutshell, the success of your website and business is dependent on your ability to choose an appropriate hosting plan and provider. Creating a checklist of features that suit your business needs will help you find suitable plans more quickly and effectively. Design Master is one of the most experienced web and app development companies in Kuwait, determined to help our customers build a lasting online presence and reach millions of users all over the world. Our expertise in website design and hosting enables us to help our clients choose an optimal hosting plan and increase online traffic. We strive to remain among the top web hosting companies in Kuwait, embracing all innovations and breakthroughs of the generation.