Choosing the Right Website Host

Creating a website is not a one-shot process – it continues with ongoing updates and the information that it holds needs to be stored in a way that allows it to be accessed by visitors. In simple terms, web hosting is the act of renting space for your website, where all of its contents, files, and applications are stored on a server to maintain your presence online. There is a wide variety of hosting options to choose from but how do you know you’re choosing the right one? 

We’ve compiled a comprehensive list that outlines what to look for, what to avoid, and how we do things differently at BOOST.

What’s important for people to look for when deciding on a web host?

While researching different providers, you should take into account seven major factors that could impact your experience: Performance, scalability, reliability, security, backups, price, and support. In addition to checking that your host provides you with the above, you should also pay attention to a few common red flags that many overlook:

Contracts that contain landmines and lock you into long-term commitments. 

If a host is advertising discounts for yearly rates or imposes limits on storage, bandwidth, or visits, it’s best to steer clear. Any feeling of wariness is normal, as these hosts typically bank on charging you extra fees or overages, having less incentive to provide you with good service seeing as they’ve already locked you into a long-term contract. 

Because of this, only consider hosts that offer month-to-month, cancel anytime contracts that have no arbitrary overage fees.

No automated backups or bad backup policy.

Oddly enough, many hosts don’t have automated backups, instead requiring you to generate your own manually. Those who do often impose restrictive policies that make it difficult to restore your data. Typically, backups aren’t kept longer than one or two months and end up counting against the storage limits they set. The end result is often a database not being backed up at all.

Extra charges for better security.

Upselling an “extra layer of security” is just a tactic to exploit you for more money. Strong security should come standard with any good hosting provider so if you see one that uses extra security as an added benefit, it’s best to look the other way.

Things That We Do Differently

As your web hosting provider, not only do we provide you with the basics of security and good performance, but we go the extra mile to ensure you’re receiving the best service possible through a few of the things that we do differently.

The Technical Side of Things

From migration and performance tuning to security, backups, or configuring email, we handle everything from a technical perspective. In the event that anything breaks or goes wrong, as one of our clients, you won’t need to stress or worry about anything. Our company is comprised of real people who have extensive knowledge and experience with websites, and all support requests are handled by professionals who are familiar with your site. Our team is extremely responsive and quick to address any issues.

Better Performance

This holds especially true for WordPress sites. Our servers are extremely performant and our team has got our system down to a science that all web clients are provided from the start. Compared to setting a site up on an arbitrary server, our process is faster and stands the test of time.

Better Backups 

In the case your website was to crash, we have automated daily backups and databases that are kept off-site via cloud storage, so you never have to worry about losing data. Our backup retention policy is 28 daily, 24 monthly, and 3 yearly. A majority of website hosts don’t keep backups dating past one or two months, which can put you at risk. We also take a snapshot of every server every week as an additional fallback.

Better Security

Our security setup is strong, with everything being containerized, protected by a sturdy firewall, and software that is updated daily. We utilize custom software that blocks suspicious and unfavorable traffic as well as bots. Our clients get the best security we can provide them that isn’t based on a pay scale. Better security is a given regardless of what you pay.

Active Uptime Monitoring 

If your website were to go down, it’s likely we’ll know before you do. We have active uptime monitoring, so if a server problem occurs, we’ll be notified and can resolve it immediately.

No Limits or Hidden Fees

We’ll never limit you on storage space, bandwidth, or website visits and because of this, will never charge extra for overages. Additionally, we do not charge you extra for backups, security, or regular performance tuning.

No Long Term Contract

Our cancellation policy does not require a minimum contract duration, so clients can cancel at any time.

Better Image Processing & Optimization

A benefit of having your website hosted by us is that our client sites get our custom image processor to greatly improve image processing speed and compression quality, which leads to overall better website performance.

Host Your Website with BOOST

A website’s host can have a significant impact on its performance, quality, and security, so it’s important to choose the right one for your website. Interested in making the switch? Get in touch today – we’re experts in all things web!

ABOUT BOOST CREATIVE

We are Southwest Florida’s proven design resource for digital and print marketing for over 20 years. Our specialties include corporate identity, advertising campaigns, website development, and content marketing. We also offer a range of other services including marketing consultation, print production, search engine marketing (SEM), and social media marketing. Our team is composed of creative-minded, forward thinkers. With solid multi-industry experience and a foundation in education…we are the real deal. We serve businesses all over the country and are the chosen outsourcing option for many other advertising agencies and marketing consultants. Learn more about who we are.

INTERESTED IN WORKING WITH US? Send us a message or give us a call!