Selecting a good web hosting provider is essential if you want to create a professional website. Unfortunately, web hosting costs can easily spiral out of control and many online businesses end up spending thousands of dollars each month on their web hosting. Here are eight tips that could help you to reduce the cost of web hosting:
1. When you are on a budget, you should always opt for shared servers. Dedicated servers are much more expensive and they are generally redundant unless you have a hugely popular website. If you own several websites, however, it can be cheaper to host them all on one dedicated server, as opposed to hosting them all individually on different shared servers.
2. Investigate whether your internet service provider offers web hosting as part of your monthly connection fee. Many internet service providers give their customers generous amounts of webspace and the cost is already included in the monthly internet fee.
3. Before purchasing a web hosting package from a company, always use one of the most popular search engines, Bing, Google or Yahoo, to search the Internet for discount codes and vouchers. Most web hosting providers over price their hosting plans and then use generous discount codes as marketing tactics. Therefore, you would be foolish to purchase a hosting plan without using a discount code.
4. Investigate free hosts. While free hosts may not be suitable for everyone, they do have their uses. Try to look for hosts that do not put intrusive banner ads and popup windows onto your website. If you own an online business, however, you should stay away from free hosts, as they can make your company appear unprofessional and they are not very secure.
5. Apache (Linux) servers will always be cheaper than Windows severs. You will only need to host your website on a Windows server is you want to use ASP instead of PHP. Fortunately, Apache (Linux) servers are more popular than Windows servers, so there is lots of free information on the web about developing stunning websites on Apache (Linux) servers.
6. If you have a fast computer and a reliable Internet connection, you can set up your own web host on your computer for free. In order for your website to load quickly, you need to ensure that your Internet connection’s upload speed is fast. Furthermore, you will need to make regular backups and consider what would happen to all of your website’s data if your computer was stolen or damaged in a house fire.
7. Consider using offshore web hosting companies. Although hosting your website in your home country is advantageous, offshore web hosting providers are typically cheaper.
8. Keep in mind the fact that web hosting usually works out cheaper overall when you sign up to longer term plans. Unfortunately, if you have cash flow problems, singing up to a 24 month hosting plan is not a realistic option. You should, however, try to sign up to the longest plan that your current financial situation allows.
As you can see, there are many ways in which you can save money on web hosting. Ultimately, however, you should aim to balance the cost of your web hosting against your website’s visitors experience.