SUMMARY
Your web host provides a server where your site’s content, code, images, etc., are stored. Broadly speaking, good hosting offers the following:
Performance – Your site should be operational and load quickly.
Security – Certain measures should be in place to protect your site.
Support – Your host should be there to help if problems arise. (Within reason)
MY RECOMMENDATIONS
Entry Level: GreenGeeks
Premium: Stern Design Hosting (via Rocket.net)
As much as I like cars, when it comes down to it, I just want my car to work: to get me from point a to point b with safety, comfort and, ok, maybe a bit of style.
You might feel the same way about your website: it should just plain work. At minimum, it should be secure, load quickly, and actually be there when people visit it.
Your web host is one of the key factors in the success of your website. It’s not everything, and it alone doesn’t guarantee success (no one thing does), but without good hosting, succeeding online becomes more difficult.
So what is a web host, exactly?
Your web host provides the digital home for your website. It’s where the contents of your website live. All the code, images, written content, etc., live on a server that your web host provides. Your web host is responsible for maintaining this server.
It’s easy to take hosting granted, since most websites work well-enough most of the time; and most website owners only think about their hosting when they’re having problems with their website.
But where you host your website matters, and it is worth some consideraton.
Why your web host matters.
There are three main ways that your web host affects your website: performance, security and support. In short, good hosting is performant, secure and offers good support. Keep reading for more details.
Performance
In order for your site to perform, it has to be operational, so uptime is the first requirement of a good host. Most hosts have solid uptime, (99% plus), but some bargain hosts do not.
The second part of performance is speed. No one likes a slow website, and if you’re anything like me, you’ve probably hit that back button more than a few times if a site takes too long to load. Your web host plays an important role in your site speed.
There are other factors that contribute to your website’s load time, but again, your web host plays a crucial role and in a certan respect sets the baseline speed for your site. Though most hosts claim to have fast servers, their actual performance is variable.
Security
Security is the second part of your website that your web host affects. Like performance, website security is not just about your host, but your web host plays a part.
Backing up just for a moment, you might be wondering: why does having a secure website matter? The more secure your site, the less likely you are to be hacked or infected with malware.
The consequences of malware can range from inconvenient (your site goes down for an hour or two) to catastrophic (you lose important data or expose private data to the public).
Different web hosts take different measures to increase site security. Most offer free SSL certificates, some offer firewalls, some offer private or contained servers (so someone else’s website can’t potentially harm yours), and some even offer automated malware scanning and cleanup.
When evaluating a potential web host, make sure you know what security measures they implement.
Support
The last piece of the what-makes-a-good-web-host puzzle is support. In my experience, even well-built websites experience issues from time to time, and your webhost can potentially be an ally that helps you troubleshoot the problem.
Support varies widely from host to host. Some are frustratingly un-helpful, always deferring the problem back to you, the website owner, while other web hosts offer incredible support that goes above and beyond just “server management.”
Turn-around time is also important. How fast do support tickets get answered? Chat support is a nice bonus, but not required, as long as response times are quick.
So, what host should you choose?
If you search “buy web hosting” on google you’ll get 170,000,000 results. So yeah, there are a LOT of choices. Reading reviews can be helpful, but sometimes it’s hard to tell if reviews are genuine or affiliate driven.
I’ve been working with websites since 2013, and I’ve had the opportunity to work with over 30 web hosts – on both my own and client websites. My recommendations are based on my experience, and though I know these aren’t the only good hosts out there, I feel confident in recommending them.
Entry Level Recommendation:
GreenGeeks
I have hosted many of my own sites and client sites on GreenGeeks for years. They offer great features at very affordable prices. Here’s a short list of things they offer:
- Fast speeds on Litespeed servers
- Good security and malware cleanups
- Responsive support
- and more
Who should use GreenGeeks?
GreenGeeks is a great choice if you’re just getting started with your website, have a relatively simple website, or are simply on a budget.
If you have high traffic, e-commerce or other more complex website, look at our next recommendation.
Click here to get started with GreenGeeks.
Premium Recommendation:
Stern Design Hosting (via Rocket.net)
I’ve been so impressed with Rocket.net that I’ve partnered with them to offer my clients hosting through their incredible platform.
What GreenGeeks does well, Rocket.net does even better:
- Blazing fast load times
- Enhanced security
- Helpful support
And other goodies such as:
- One-click staging
- Automated updates
- Easy-to-use control panel
Who should use Rocket.net
If you have the budget, I recommend that all site owners host with Rocket. The recommendation is stronger if you have a high-traffic or a more complex website that includes e-commerce or other resource-intensive use.
Click here to learn more about Rocket.net
Can you host directly with Rocket.net? What’s the benefit of going through Stern Design?
You can definitely host directly with Rocket.net, and many clients who have an in-house website manager go with this option.
On my web hosting plans, I’ve bundled hosting with care and maintenance. This is a cost effective option when you want to get both great web hosting and the extra support I offer with care and maintenance.
I recommend this option unless you have an in-house website manager or are already experienced with maintaining websites.
Click here to learn more about Stern Design’s Web Hosting Packages
If you need a hand sorting out a web hosting issue, don’t hesitate to reach out.
