How to choose the best hosting to host your website –

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In the end you have decided to put your fabulous idea into practice for your business, or for any other type of project. !! Congratulations!!

But of course, your technical level is medium – low, and when choosing a place to host, you may get a little lost. Don’t worry, you are in the right article.

Along these lines, I am going to explain what you have to take into account to not choose a web hosting, and what you do have to take into account to choose the best hosting for your project and that suits your needs.

Previous clarifications

Before getting into the matter, I want to explain a series of key concepts and terminology that you have to be clear about before continuing reading the following sections of the article.

Surely you have heard on several occasions some (or all) of these words that sound like Chinese to you, and you have been left with a face of better I shut up that I am more handsome.

It’s happened to all of us, and it’s completely normal. Today technology overwhelms us, and you don’t have to know anything by heart, the best thing is to know reliable sources of information.

Hosting vs Web server

These two words that people mix like colacao with milk. Server over there, hosting over here…. But what is the difference? Language.

Plain and simple. You can call it whatever you want, but if you are one of those who says “Google” by marking the “o” sound in your voice, instead of transforming the double “o” into a “u”, it will be better for you to use the finished server.

If you are one of those who look for information on the Internet of all kinds and in any language, surely you will already have more than established the term (in English). It seems silly, but it creates a lot of confusion (such as differentiating WordPress.com from WordPress.org).

What is a hosting

Now that we know the big difference between server and hosting, we are going to use the term in English.

A hosting It is a virtual folder on a computer (your own or rented) where you store data in files, to show them privately or publicly to whoever you want. That is, in the case of WordPress, all the files that you download from WordPress.org will end up in that folder.

When you have a , that domain will have to “look” at what’s in that folder, in order to display its content. I speak of a folder in the simplest sense, since you can have a hosting with several folders, with different websites or applications in them (not only WordPress).

What you have to be clear about is that a hosting is a physical space that you rent on a computer, which is normally located in a large building with many computers, well cared for and monitored.

what is uptime

Here comes into play the time that computer is active, displaying your website.

If there is a time when there is a lot of activity inside the computer (many visits, which require uploading your files many times), this will tire the machine, and it will hang or not respond for some time.

This is what is called the uptime, ideally it has to be greater than 99% (which is what is offered in most reliable hosting).

What is a CDN (Content Delivery Network)

A CDN is a more complicated and advanced term. What I can tell you is that with a CDN, you can display just as quicklythe same content to someone who visits you from the same city, and someone who visits you from Australia.

This is possible thanks to the fact that, through a CDN, the information on your website is copied to various computers spread all over the planet, and thus, this “transmission” of information is shortened, since there is always a computer available with your web, close to more any site from where they are visiting you.

What are the differences between shared, private (VPS) and dedicated hosting?

Depending on what your website needs (we will see it in the next section), one type of hosting or another will be more convenient for you. In the vast majority of cases, you will opt for the first or the second, but do not worry, because a good hosting will allow you to switch from one to the other with little effort.

Self-managed hosting

It is a relatively new concept or service. It is a type of hosting very focused on a particular technology, where you forget about all the technical maintenance part, and any question you have is answered and managed by a support person.

Let’s say this type of hosting is the most comfortable, since you don’t have to worry about anything at a technical level. You have it all self-managed, and you only have to worry about the content of your website.

shared hosting

As the name indicates, in shared hosting the space on a computer is shared.

This has its advantages and disadvantages. As advantages, it is cheaper, more affordable, you do not have to deal with too many configurations (since the hosting itself is in charge of maintaining it) and it is simple to use in general.

As disadvantages, although few, the availability of resources and the limitations that exist in terms of security are mentioned. For example, if you have a neighboring website on your same shared hosting, which receives many visits (but many), this is going to make the resources allocated to your website, by that shared computer, look a bit limited.

Here is an interesting article that mentions you in detail.

VPS Hosting (Virtual Private Server)

It is having your own small plot within a hosting, which is assigned to you through a disk partition, just for you. In this type of hosting, you have many more options and control over what you have rented.

If you need more RAM, then you add more. If you need more resources, then you have them. Its use is mainly for medium-sized companies, with a prominent website, or for somewhat complex applications that require stability, performance and security.

dedicated hosting

Here you are already the master of the universe. You have your own computer at your disposal, without sharing it with anyone, and with all the resources you want.

Of course, it is the most expensive hosting, and it will require certain more technical and advanced knowledge. It is the typical type of hosting that you hire when you have to delegate the website to one or more technical experts, who will take care of everything for you.

And your website… What does it need?

Balance (I love that expression) the question!

This is where you should pay more attention, so that they do not sell you the motorcycle. Think back to when you bought your first car: what did you want it for? See if you can feel identified with any of these scenarios:

You need a website to “get by”, in which you know that you will not have large spikes in visits, and that you will use to show who you are, what you do and how to contact you: I recommend any of the first two types of hosting.
You have a website that already receives many monthly visits, and you need to add more content and features, since you sell products online, or you have a certain monthly membership service: I recommend the VPS.
You are a web tycoon, and you appear at the top of Google when someone searches for your keywords. You receive thousands of visits per month, and you have several subcontracted people, so that they constantly edit the content of the web; you also have one or several technicians who take care of the small (and big) problems that the web may have, and provide technical support to everyone: definitely hire a dedicated server.

The most important thing is that don’t be seduced for the super extras offered by hostings, and the large storage space they sell you (sometimes surreal).

As with some car extras that you do not need, stick to what you need at that time, and hire what is fair. The good news is that, unlike with a car, when you need to scale and add extras to your hosting, you can.

Bad practices of some hostings to avoid.

I’m already hooking up a lot! But I really want you not to be given a pig in a poke, and that you know how to recognize, in general terms, a bad hosting. If you detect any of these characteristics, start considering choosing another option for your website.

Fast hyper-mega-speed-light service

When you see that on the hosting sales page, they emphasize that their servers run at lightning speed, even though the price is very low. Doubt it.

bad user interface

When you have already contracted the hosting, and you enter an administration panel where you get lost, and that is not quite pleasant, usable, and above all useful. Ask for your money back.

Support? What support?

When you have your first problem or doubt, and you cannot clearly find a contact form or a support ticket system. Ask for your money back here too.

When you had contracted a server for X euros per month, and the invoice that they send you when contracting for a whole year, shows a price of X plus Y, plus Z, which are two extras that you did not know you had contracted (and that appear in the terms and conditions that nobody reads, of the initial contract with the hosting).

Look for transparent hosting with prices.

Hosting at the price of montadito de queso

Lightning speed, unlimited space, unlimited databases, all for the cost of a sandwich of cheese in a bar. Do not trust, nothing is free.

hard money back

You have not finished liking the server, and in addition to not being able to easily find the money return form, they give you long and make hits… do not pay them again.

They have come to you the cheese sandwich server, and then they bombard you with emails to sell you a web creation service, or a fantastic and wonderfully old-fashioned page builder, with an anti-hacking protection service of 40 euros per month…. change hosting.

Difficult to incorporate domains

When you already have a domain purchased on another site, and you can’t find your hosting’s DNS to tell the domain where to look and what to show. The server insists that you transfer the domain to its contracted services with you. Nope.

free hosting

Here I will not expand: there is nothing free and good at the same time.

God level unlimited space

They promise you the gold and the Moor in terms of space, but when you really need it (after several months or years) they increase your monthly bill with an “extra” for that extra space. (But wasn’t it unlimited??)

trouble everywhere

You notice that your WordPress website hosted on their servers crashes, that it doesn’t go fast, that continuous server errors appear… you’re not comfortable, change your hosting.

It’s your fault from the start

You finally manage to contact support, and the first thing you…