How to Choose a Web Server

A lot more goes in to finding the right web server than a lot of people think right out of the gate.

For starters, almost all web hosts and web server providers are going to promise the moon and the stars when it comes to features and the services that they provide. Unfortunately, almost all of them will offer the exact same features and services, while at the same time promising that they are the best of the best – making the selection of a single web server nowhere near as simple or as straightforward as it probably could or should be.

Thankfully though, by arming yourself with the inside information that we highlight below, you shouldn’t have any trouble whatsoever finding the perfect web hosting company to do business with.

You’ll be provided with all kinds of detailed tips and tricks that will make the selection of the right web host almost effortless, and by the time you’re done with this quick guide you will be rocking and rolling with the perfect hosting platform for your online needs.

Let’s dive right in!

Outline your hosting needs right out of the gate

The very first thing you have to do – well before you start to look into different hosting services – is figure out what you need out of a web host to begin with.

It’s impossible to find the perfect host without knowing exactly what you need as far as technology infrastructure, web services, and technical/customer support are concerned, so spend a significant amount of time before you start to search really outlining your needs and your expectations.

You’ll want to think about:

  • The kind of website you are building
  • The kinds of resources you’ll need from your host
  • The kinds of tech you’ll need to get your site up and running
  • The budget that you are operating with

… And that’s just the tip of the iceberg!

By highlighting these factors before you start to search you will be able to narrow down the hosts out there, as finding a server suitable for starting a blog is different than finding the perfect server set up for an existing website with lots of traffic.  Defining your specific needs helps by eliminating a lot of the services that just wouldn’t suit you as well as you would have hoped.

Important factors to consider

The first thing that you’re going to want to look for in a quality server is that it has a reliable uptime that you can depend on 365 days of the year.

Having your website up and running perfect on a 24/7 basis is mission-critical to your success online come in the last thing you can afford is to have any kind of slow down, any kind of throttling, or any kind of downtime limits the ability of your prospects and your customers from visiting your website when they are hoping to.

Secondly, you’re going to want to look into the opportunity you have to upgrade your server when you get started.

If you are starting off with a relatively simple and straightforward server solution (which isn’t a bad idea, especially if your budget is relatively tight) you’ll want to make sure that you will have the opportunity to flexibly upgrade and extend your server and its services as your budget and your needs grow later down the line.

The best web hosts are going to have plenty of flexibility built into all of their web hosting plans so that you don’t have anything to worry about going forward. These are the kinds of servers that you and your business can grow with and are definitely the kinds of servers that you want to sign up for right out of the gate.

It’s also important to look for servers that can handle multiple add-on domains. This is true even if you don’t yet foresee the need to add multiple domains to your hosting package, but with how quickly the world of online business moves these days you want to make sure that you have plenty of flexibility and adaptability available.

As a general rule, you’ll want to grab a server set up that allows for anywhere between 25 additional domains and 100 additional domains, just to make sure that all of your bases are covered. The best web servers out there won’t charge you any extra for these additional domain names, though you’ll have to pay their registration costs and set up the DNS settings correctly.

Look for web hosts that offer discounts on renewals

Because the world of web hosting and web server technology is so competitive, the overwhelming majority of top-flight institutions out there on the market today are going to offer their existing customers considerable discounts when it comes time to renew their web hosting service.

These are the kinds of companies you want to look to do business with, as even though server costs aren’t going to be astronomical by any stretch of the imagination, it’s important that you do everything you can to limit your expenditure in your business and cut your costs without crippling your capabilities.

Deals and discounts will routinely be offered via email just before your renewal date, but from time to time you want to reach out to your host and inquire about special unadvertised discounts and savings that they may make available. This is how you save a ton of money on your renewal without negatively impacting your online capabilities.

Choose a server with an advanced and flexible control panel and administrative backend

One of the most important things you have to look for in a new server is that they have the administrative and technological foundation you need to build exactly the kind of website or web platform you are hoping for in the first place.

Not all web servers are going to have an easy to use backend or administrative tools that you can take advantage of without a world of experience in web development and web administration. The best servers, however, will have an integrated cPanel, one click installation and management tools come in and effortless to take advantage of administration section in the backend of the website that allows you to handle most of the heavy lifting without a computer science degree.

An easy to use and flexible backend is going to allow you to rapidly deploy your website, make effortless upgrades, and extend your web platform without having to bring in any outside technical support to get things up and running. It will also allow you to troubleshoot any minor issues on your own so that you can resolve problems as quickly as humanly possible.

Quick and responsive customer and technical support are a must

At the end of the day, however, it is almost inevitable that your website and your web platform are going to have to deal with a couple of bumps in the road – especially if you start to push a flood of targeted traffic to your website in an effort to boost your sales.

This is why you want to make sure that you have selected a server solution with a quick and responsive customer and technical support team that can help you on a 24/7 basis.

You’d be surprised at the amount of companies out there that promise this kind of help but aren’t really able to deliver, handicapping their customers and their clients with services that are slow, sluggish, and unresponsive.

This will cripple your credibility with your customers through absolutely no fault of your own, which is why it is so important to choose a company with a sterling silver reputation for both customer service and technical support before you dive right in.