Creating a functioning website for your brand is a career-affirming experience. However, creation is nothing without the perfect outlet for your online content. Even when you have a good idea of what web hosting platform to use, you may be in for a shock.

You may narrow your criteria to a certain price range, but it could end up costing you more down the road. Some web hosting services can be affordable because they sacrifice vital resources such as security, data backup, and quality assurance. When your site gets hacked, all of your work goes down the drain. Don’t let this happen to your website. Here are a few ways experts select the best web hosting service.

Let the Service Fit the Content

Choosing a hosting service is no different than picking the right outfit. Let’s say, for example, you’re selling real estate in Fort Lauderdale, but your agency’s website is a WordPress blog. Would you get many customers?

Many personal sites and online portfolios utilize website builders that go beyond drag-and-drop methods. Online businesses should consider an eCommerce option that can integrate PayPal and customer information security. Even if your business doesn’t sell products online, you’ll still need a service with unlimited disk space and bandwidth to give you enough room to grow.

Bandwidth Amount

The rate of data transfers depends on the bandwidth. An average web host can allow up to 40 GB in data storage. That may seem like enough to accommodate each of your web pages, but a popular website’s bandwidth could be overburdened. A simple 45 KB image file on your site could balloon to 205 MB per month in bandwidth every time a visitor downloads that image on their browser.

Some monthly accounts impose restrictions on bandwidth usage. High bandwidth web hosting accounts are perfect for sites that host images, videos, and other special effects. Unmetered bandwidth plans are reserved for business information pages that have tons of customers to cater to.

Customer Support

When you’re paying a substantial amount of money for hosting, shouldn’t you get a substantial level of care from their customer service department?

Web hosts worth their salt have 24 hour, 7-day-a-week customer service to solve your problems. You need to know your provider has your back when either your site gets hacked or there’s a problem with your billing information. If your host’s customer support line is giving you terrible service, maybe even ignoring your concerns, then it’s time to start shopping again.

Consider Pricing

Once you factor in the points above, you might understand why web hosting costs vary. In a way, the line between cheap and expensive is a thin at best.

The lowest starting costs can range from zero to $5.99 a month. At these prices, you’ll start with a bare-bones service and add on premium features a ’la carte. Your monthly rates could end up being lower than $19.99. Profitable websites would do best to spend $79.99 each month for dedicated server hosting.