5 key questions to ask before choosing a new hosting provider

19 April 2018

Whether you’re planning to launch a new website, or you’ve outgrown your existing hosting provider, choosing a new provider can be difficult. When it comes to creating your shortlist, answer these 5 key questions to find a partnership that’s right for you.

Can I rely on them to keep my website running?

Any hosting provider worth their salt will be able to give an uptime guarantee of at least 99% - that’s the percentage of time every month or year that your site will be live (excluding scheduled downtime, upgrades or maintenance).

It’s also worth asking how they would manage sudden site traffic increases (for example during promotions, or if a blog goes viral) to avoid downtime and hefty expenses.

What kind of customer support do they provide?

Choose a hosting provider that will be able to respond within minutes, not hours, with 24/7 support. Struggling to put a name and a face to your customer service team could be a bad omen for future communications.

Is their server secure?

Your website will be hosted on a physical server - so it’s very important to know how secure this is, how your data will be protected and where the server is kept. If you take payments through your website, the server environment also needs to be Payment Card Industry compliant (PCI). If your provider can’t provide detailed information on their server security then how do you know that your business will be safe?

Backups?

Regular scheduled backups of your data are essential to preventing loss of website data in event of a crash or malicious hack. Check that the frequency and turnaround time of the back-up schedule they recommend is suitable for your business.

How do their prices compare to other companies?

There are a range of budget hosting providers available online - but as with any product or service, you pay for what you get. Make sure they tick every box for great uptime, customer support, and security when comparing the market. Some companies (like Wida Group) provide great package deals for hosting, domain and email, which could save you extra and make everything easier to manage.

To find out more about Wida’s hosting services click here , contact us on 0115 921 4797 , or fill in the form below - we’ll be happy to help explain more