As fundamental has web hosting is to modern life, there’s still a ton of ignorance out there. Many people maintain tons of false assumptions about web hosting, costing them valuable time and effort in their web pursuits.
If you’re serious about making your online ventures succeed, it’s critical that you have all the facts and none of the lies. While I’m sure you’re eager to get to the exciting stuff - web design, monetization, and more - you have to start with the fundamentals.
Fundamentals are everything, and overlooking them is a big mistake. When I first started out, I rushed through my web hosting set-up only to realize I had made some serious mistake. In this article, I’ll clear up some common web hosting misconceptions so you can hit the ground running the right way.
- All Web Hosts Provide the Same Service
When I chose my first host, I did so based on the recommendation of an ecommerce influencer. I thought it would be amazing, but it turns out they were just being paid to say that. I learned quickly that all web hosts are not created equally.
Some are fast, and some are slow. Some have great customer service, and others don’t. Just like how a fast-food restaurant won’t taste as good as fine-dining, some web hosts will be much better than others.
To find a good web host, research each option thoroughly.
- Web Hosting is Always Expensive
While costs will vary, you’ll find that web hosting may be much less expensive than you think. There are web hosting options for every sort of price point, from cheap to expensive.
Just keep in mind that you generally will get what you pay for. A shared server may be very cheap, but don’t expect lightning-fast speeds. On the other hand, cloud hosting may be more costly but will be more than made up for in responsiveness.
- Switching Hosts is Hard
At some point, you may decide that your website has outgrown your current host. This happened to me when I realized that my first host provided a poor service, and I needed to move to a better one.
I was so worried that moving over would be a huge hassle. As it turns out, all it took was installing a plug-in to transfer the data, and some DNS record changes to point the website to my new host. It was so easy!
The exact process will vary, but overall you’ll find that switching hosts is one of the easiest things in hosting.
- A Web Host’s Technical Support Isn’t Important
You may consider yourself pretty experienced in the art of web hosting. You may think that you’re not going to need tech support all that much, either. After all, you can just Google any problem, right?
Wrong. No matter how experienced or knowledgeable you are, you will always need access to good tech support to guarantee your website’s success. It should be a key factor in your decision to choose or skip over a given host.
- You Must Register Your Domain and Host From the Same Company
Although many hosts offer free domain registrations with their services, you don’t actually have to register with them.
I actually recommend registering with a dedicated registrar separately since they’ll generally be better equipped to deal with the specific challenges with domain registration. In addition, you might get a better deal.
For instance, I have my domain registered with Namecheap, but my server is hosted on Cloudways. This way I have both a compartmentalized security setup and more flexibility.
- Your Web Host Will Handle All Your Website’s Security
I’m sure I don’t need to explain to you how incredibly important security is to your website’s success. With that in mind, you need to know that your host won’t handle all of your website’s security - most of it will be up to you.
Your host will protect the big issues such as server encryption and protection, but all the points of entry - usernames, passwords, payment, and more - will be your job to keep secure.
Make sure to take all necessary measures of security, such as SSL certificates, website back-ups, safe passwords, and everything else your website needs. Only you can prevent website hacks.
Conclusion:
I hope that this article has been helpful for you, and has better equipped you on your journey to online success. Just remember, the principles I’ve discussed here are just the tip of the iceberg - web hosting is a massive subject.
Always make sure to put time into thorough research, which will be an essential factor in your website’s success.
