Setting up a business is difficult enough in the early stages without worrying about the website that will promote it. However, it’s easy to make a lot of simple mistakes that will take time and effort to alleviate. So, make life easier by familiarising yourself with the six do’s and don’ts of using web hosting.
Do: Get a Good Business Name
Before diving in and going for a web package that’s wrong for you, you should have some idea of the hub, health and hero content of your website. Detail the personas you’ll be creating content for, the structure of your site, and what capability your site needs (and what it definitely doesn’t).
Sure, you could do everything in reverse, retrofitting your website design into a package that you’ve purchased ‘blind’. But, it makes more sense to have some idea of the size and scalability that you’ll need on your site. Have some of the finer details nailed down so you you can present what you need to the hosting company, as well as getting targeted advice from them.
Don’t: Make a Rash Decision
Searching for ‘best web hosts’ and plumping for one of the first options you see could be pure folly – some list creators in the big, bad internet world have an ulterior motive for some of their choices and receive discounts or services in return for inclusion. Instead, look for trade sites, multiple viewpoints from numerous reviews, and advice from sources you trust.
Do: Get the Right Package for You
If you’re an SME dealing in retail or a small accountancy business, you’re probably not going to instantly need 7TB of bandwidth and 400GB of disk space, with multiple cores. Not only are these at the more expensive end of the market, but they simply won’t be necessary unless you’re hoping to scale upwards very rapidly – these are more suited to complex web applications and multiple sites with high traffic, and will probably cost more than £100 a month.
Don’t: Skimp on Price
That said, you shouldn’t necessarily go for the cheapest option either. A beginner business might be tempted to skimp on yet another set up cost by taking on the cheapest package they can find, but there should be some form of quality control at play here – those offering certain services for just a few pounds a month are probably too good to be true.
Do: Go for Safe Options
As expressed earlier, the new business owner has a lot on their plate, and website safety and security perhaps won’t be at the top of the list of importance. Perhaps they think that web hackers will take pity on them, or ignore them altogether. Well, they’d be wrong, and will find out the hard way when confidential files and customers’ details are stolen. A web hosting company such as VPS boasts experienced cloud hosting teams, with free SSL security for sites – in other words, experts who can solve problems and protect your site.
Don’t: Ignore the Terms of Service
It might not be at the forefront of your mind when setting up a business, but cancellation policies in the Terms of Service (ToS) are perhaps especially important when choosing your host. An example of the wrangling behind minimum contract lengths can be found here. Other potential ways of accidentally getting into trouble surrounding the ToS is by including items on your site that are forbidden, which could lead to your site being penalized or denied service completely, so do read the ToS carefully.
