Choosing a blog host is one of the most important steps to take in the process of starting a new blog. Whether you plan to use your blog for business or you just want a place to share your personal views online, the right blog host can make the difference between reaching a large audience and struggling to attract visitors. Consider the following factors when choosing a blog hosting company.
Software Installation
Many blog hosting companies now offer tools to help you easily install WordPress and other content management systems. These tools completely eliminate the need to install software and
configure it manually, which can be a time-consuming and confusing process. When you use an installation tool, you simply answer a few questions about your new site and the tool installs and configures the software for you. Make sure you choose a blog hosting company that offers these tools, as they can save you a significant amount of time and money.
Disk Space and Bandwidth
Disk space refers to the amount of physical space you are allotted for your content. If you plan to have a text-only blog, you do not need to worry too much about the amount of disk space offered by your host. If you plan to use videos, audio, and high-quality images, however, you will need to have enough disk space to store these files. Bandwidth is the amount of space available for the
people visiting your blog. If you receive only a few hundred visitors per month, you only need a small amount of bandwidth. If you blog about a popular topic, or one of your posts goes viral and attracts thousands of visitors, you will need more bandwidth to accommodate all of your traffic. Find out exactly how much space each blog host offers and pick the plan that best meets your needs.
Pricing
Blog hosting companies typically have several different packages, all of which have different features and prices. The cheapest package is not always the right one, however. An inexpensive plan is fine for a personal blog that does not get a lot of traffic, but a plan with more features is ideal for business blogs. Picking a plan with more features reduces the likelihood that your customers will be unable to access your blog or use all of its features properly. Review all of the packages available to you and pick the one that has all of the features you need at a price you can afford.
Technical Support
It is essential to choose a blog hosting company that offers blog support to its customers. Experienced support technicians can help you troubleshoot problems with your blog, especially if those issues are related to bandwidth or server space. Blog hosting companies typically make technical support available via telephone or Internet, making it convenient for customers to contact them.
Reliability
Once you set up your blog, you want people to be able to read what you have to say. This is why it is important to choose a blog hosting company with a good reputation for reliability. Ask a representative from each potential hosting company about site speed and uptime. Site speed is important because your visitors expect your site to load in a short amount of time. Uptime refers to the amount of time a server is online without any downtime. If your blog’s server is constantly experiencing downtime, your visitors will not be able to access your content.
Upgrade Options
If you have a small budget at first, you can choose a low-tier blog hosting plan until you get more traffic and have more money to spend on hosting features. If you do this, it is important to choose a host that makes it easy to upgrade your plan at a later date. Many hosts will take care of the entire upgrade for you, making it an easy and painless transition. Make sure the blog hosting company you choose has the high-level services you need to grow your blog.
