With blogs being rated as the 5th most trusted source for accurate online information, more and more people are choosing to access this kind of content before visiting traditional media outlets.
Not only is this good news for bloggers writing about their interests and passions in life, but also brands that want to connect with customers through a different online platform. However, before jumping on the blogging bandwagon with your own daily musings, you must know where and how it will be hosted.
Choosing the right web host
Although smaller blogs could get away with a web host like WordPress, bigger businesses will need a more comprehensive offering that can deal with the demands of greater visitor numbers. Take 100TB Dedicated Servers for example, which manage to strike the right balance between performance, flexibility, and cost.
But while a lot will come down to your requirements and objectives, there are a few things that every blogger should look for when browsing for web hosting solutions. These include:
Reasonable price packages
Despite the fact most bloggers will be happy to pay a yearly subscription, which often comes with a discount, some want more flexibility from their hosting solution. So, make sure that your payment plan is reasonably priced.
Friendly customer support
Should anything go wrong with your blog, it is nice to have the support of customer service staff that can provide friendly yet knowledgeable advice. Round-the-clock support as well as a range of different communication channels such as email, live chat, and telephone is highly advantageous.
Reliable server uptime
The last thing you want is a blog that constantly suffers from prolonged periods of downtime. Therefore, ask for some guarantees from your web host about server uptime and don’t accept anything less than 99.9 per cent.
Room to grow
You never know how popular or successful your blog could become, so make sure your web hosting solution has room to grow. Starting off with a shared hosting solution is all well and good, but with an increasing amount of traffic you might need a dedicated server instead.
Safety and security measures
In addition to multiple data centres, which reduce the risk of losing data from natural disasters, you should look for a web host with security measures like enterprise grade hardware firewalls, unlimited SSL certifications, and 2-factor authentication
Straightforward management tools
Unless you have a great deal of experience with Content Management Systems or are capable of installing your own blogging software, you will need a web hosting solution with straightforward management tools.
Additional web hosting features
To facilitate future growth, you may also want to see whether your web host can deliver the following:
- If you end up selling products or services via your blog
- To design, deploy, and manage your infrastructure more efficiently
- The ability to program blog pages to behave in certain ways
Although this guide only scratches the surface of web hosting, it should provide you with a decent overview of what to look out for when setting up your own blog.