How to Choose Good Hosting

It is never easy finding a new hosting provider. You are searching around on Google, using many different keywords, showing results of thousands of hosts available to you. Many of which have fluctuating prices, different features and mixed reviews - but you just want to find that one good host which can meet all of your requirements and give you the perfect experience. In this article, I am going to give you some tips & tricks to assist in finding that perfect host for you and your project!

There is no such thing as one perfect host for everybody - in fact, no business is able to satisfy every single client's requirements. Each business has a focus on what it deals with best, and what it lacks in...

Tip #1:

My first and most important tip is to have a summary of what you want. Before focusing on hosting providers, it is important to first note what exactly it is you need from your hosting provider. Whether you want to start a business and have a website made completely for you, or if you already have a project ready to go and just need somewhere to host it, or if you want to start an online gaming community, or simply just want to experiment with something! The summary can include:

  • Requirements: What specific things you need from the host in order to achieve your goal.
  • Location: The country of which your host needs to be located, if necessary.
  • Budget: How much you have to spend, or are willing to spend.
  • Payment methods: Which payment methods can/do you have? Which of those will the host accept?
  • Support methods: Do you need telephone support or is the more common e-mail/ticket support acceptable?
  • Support times: Do the host's support times match your own working hours? Do you need 24 hour support?
  • Reviews: Is the host's average customer review rating acceptable? Do you need reviews that focus on your product of interest specifically?

Tip #2:

Once you have a summary, you can then focus on my second tip - ruling out hosts which do not meet those requirements. Most good hosting providers will offer all the general details of features that each product plan provides. For example, if you require a web host with a certain PHP version, or if you require a game server with a custom-made modification, these will tend to be mentioned somewhere on the product plan or when going through the order.

If in doubt, you can always contact the host. Which brings me nicely onto my next tip!

Tip #3:

Always contact with a host before ordering any product with them! Don't be shy to ask a question that you may already know the answer to. A good host will be more than happy to answer any question you have related to their services, even if it is printed in black & white on their FAQ page.

So my third tip would be, if you receive no response or a response that seems like the host does not care about your query, then that would be a host to avoid. You will only encounter issues in the long-run should you be looking for a long-term host! Don't be afraid, your host should always be willing to support - it's called support for a reason!

Tip #4:

If you are running a game server or have country-specific requirements, you will want to make sure your host has a datacenter in the country of your requirements. For example, if you are digging away in Minecraft, and it feels like there is a delay between actions - this could be because of latency. Latency is the time it takes for each packet to be sent and received between a server and your internet (or your game in this instance!)

The idea of a perfect gaming experience or the fastest loading times is to achieve the lowest latency possible. To do this, you will need to choose a location that is closest to you and/or your community. Unfortunately it is impossible to have lowest latencies for different continents - this is why you tend to see different continents in most online gaming scenarios (Europe, USA, Asia, etc).

Tip #5:

My fifth and final tip is to take your time. Try not to rush into choosing a host unless you really are on a time-critical project. There is no such thing as one perfect host for everybody - in fact, no business is able to satisfy every single client's requirements. Each business has a focus on what it deals with best, and what it lacks in comparison. Of course in an ideal situation the business should work on what it lacks, but sometimes this just is not possible as each business works differently and has different aims and goals - just like your requirements for a host!

So, take your time to find that perfect host. If possible, take all the tips I have written above and spend some time figuring out exactly what you want, what would work best for you, and eventually you will find the perfect host that you can stick with long-term. Thanks for reading and we at EpicHosts wish you the best in finding that one host for you!

If you are looking for Website Hosting, VPS Hosting, Game Server Hosting or Radio Server Hosting - give us a try! Contact us today to receive an unbeatable quote and start a whole new project with us today, or transfer your current one to us!