{"id":1988,"date":"2025-07-21T17:07:57","date_gmt":"2025-07-21T17:07:57","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/?p=1988"},"modified":"2025-07-22T15:05:46","modified_gmt":"2025-07-22T15:05:46","slug":"what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/","title":{"rendered":"What to Look For in a Web Hosting Provider"},"content":{"rendered":"<div class=\"wp-block-image\">\n<figure class=\"aligncenter size-full\"><img decoding=\"async\" width=\"356\" height=\"200\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/Equinix-LA3-Data-Center-Los-Angeles.jpg\" alt=\"\" class=\"wp-image-4790\" srcset=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/Equinix-LA3-Data-Center-Los-Angeles.jpg 356w, https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/Equinix-LA3-Data-Center-Los-Angeles-300x169.jpg 300w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 356px) 100vw, 356px\" \/><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n\n\n<p>What do you look for in a <a href=\"https:\/\/www.website.com\/beginnerguide\/webhosting\/6\/1\/what-is-web-hosting?.ws\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noreferrer noopener nofollow\">web hosting provider<\/a>? I asked this question some years back of a member of a web hosting forum who asked for assistance from other members for their recommendations. He had narrowed his list down to two web hosting providers over a couple months span of time. Then he eliminated them because their customer service department had not responded quickly enough to his request for information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<div id=\"ez-toc-container\" class=\"ez-toc-v2_0_80 counter-hierarchy ez-toc-counter ez-toc-grey ez-toc-container-direction\">\n<div class=\"ez-toc-title-container\">\n<p class=\"ez-toc-title\" style=\"cursor:inherit\">Table of Contents<\/p>\n<span class=\"ez-toc-title-toggle\"><a href=\"#\" class=\"ez-toc-pull-right ez-toc-btn ez-toc-btn-xs ez-toc-btn-default ez-toc-toggle\" aria-label=\"Toggle Table of Content\"><span class=\"ez-toc-js-icon-con\"><span class=\"\"><span class=\"eztoc-hide\" style=\"display:none;\">Toggle<\/span><span class=\"ez-toc-icon-toggle-span\"><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" class=\"list-377408\" width=\"20px\" height=\"20px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" fill=\"none\"><path d=\"M6 6H4v2h2V6zm14 0H8v2h12V6zM4 11h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2zM4 16h2v2H4v-2zm16 0H8v2h12v-2z\" fill=\"currentColor\"><\/path><\/svg><svg style=\"fill: #999;color:#999\" class=\"arrow-unsorted-368013\" xmlns=\"http:\/\/www.w3.org\/2000\/svg\" width=\"10px\" height=\"10px\" viewBox=\"0 0 24 24\" version=\"1.2\" baseProfile=\"tiny\"><path d=\"M18.2 9.3l-6.2-6.3-6.2 6.3c-.2.2-.3.4-.3.7s.1.5.3.7c.2.2.4.3.7.3h11c.3 0 .5-.1.7-.3.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7zM5.8 14.7l6.2 6.3 6.2-6.3c.2-.2.3-.5.3-.7s-.1-.5-.3-.7c-.2-.2-.4-.3-.7-.3h-11c-.3 0-.5.1-.7.3-.2.2-.3.5-.3.7s.1.5.3.7z\"\/><\/svg><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/span><\/div>\n<nav><ul class='ez-toc-list ez-toc-list-level-1 ' ><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-2'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-1\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#So_here_is_what_was_important_to_him_See_if_this_parallels_your_criteriarequirements\" >So, here is what was important to him. See if this parallels your criteria\/requirements.<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-3' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-2\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#What_was_NOT_important_to_him_were_%E2%80%A6\" >What was NOT important to him were \u2026.<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-3\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#My_take\" >My take<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-4\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#Of_course_the_type_of_service_youre_shopping_for_makes_a_huge_difference\" >Of course, the type of service you\u2019re shopping for makes a huge difference<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-3'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-5\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#Read_reviews_with_a_grain_of_salt\" >Read reviews with a grain of salt<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-4' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-4'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-6\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#BROUGHT_TO_YOU_BY_PROLIMEHOST\" >BROUGHT TO YOU BY PROLIMEHOST<\/a><ul class='ez-toc-list-level-5' ><li class='ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-7\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#VPS_SERVICES_LIGHTNING_FAST_SSD_VIRTUAL_SERVERS\" >VPS SERVICES: LIGHTNING FAST SSD VIRTUAL SERVERS<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-8\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#DEDICATED_SERVERS_BACKED_BY_A_999_SLA_NETWORK_UPTIME_GUARANTEE\" >DEDICATED SERVERS: BACKED BY A 99.9% SLA NETWORK UPTIME GUARANTEE<\/a><\/li><li class='ez-toc-page-1 ez-toc-heading-level-5'><a class=\"ez-toc-link ez-toc-heading-9\" href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/what-to-look-for-in-a-web-hosting-provider\/#ASIA_OPTIMIZED_SERVERS_IMPROVING_CONNECTION_SPEED_AND_QUALITY\" >ASIA OPTIMIZED SERVERS: IMPROVING CONNECTION SPEED AND QUALITY<\/a><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/li><\/ul><\/nav><\/div>\n<h2 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"So_here_is_what_was_important_to_him_See_if_this_parallels_your_criteriarequirements\"><\/span>So, here is what was important to him. See if this parallels your criteria\/requirements.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nConnection speed<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nCompetitive pricing<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nCompetent and reliable technical support<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nPays for what he uses and not for what he doesn\u2019t use<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp; Doesn\u2019t want his websites affected by other websites on the same shared hosting<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nHonest\/ethical business practices<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"What_was_NOT_important_to_him_were_%E2%80%A6\"><\/span>What was NOT important to him were \u2026.<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\nTestimonials on their website<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>\u00b7&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;\n\u201cUnlimited\u201d advertising on their website when there really was a limit.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"My_take\"><\/span>My take<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>I suspect\nthat pricing gets an awful lot of prospects in the door, but great customer\nsupport keeps them there.&nbsp; Prospects normally allot limited time and\nresources to research a prospective host and those hosts all put their best\nfoot forward to sell you (or oversell you). Once you\u2019re there and experience\nissues, how those issues are resolved weighs heavily on whether you stay with\nthat host.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>I would\ndisagree that testimonials carry no weight for prospects.&nbsp;If ABC Company\nhosts with DEF Company on your short list, and ABC Company is globally\nrecognized, wouldn\u2019t that sway your research?&nbsp;<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Recognize\nadvertising for what it is. Hosts have a very small window to attract your\nattention. I\u2019d encourage you to pick up your phone, talk to 2 or 3 hosts and\nexplain your requirements. You\u2019d be surprised how many hosts will customize\nsolutions for you.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Of_course_the_type_of_service_youre_shopping_for_makes_a_huge_difference\"><\/span>Of course, the type of service you\u2019re shopping for makes a huge difference<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>cPanel Shared Hosting Plans<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Many shared\nweb hosting providers allow add-on domains. With cPanel, this means multiple\ndomains are allowed on one account. While this seems like a good deal, it plays\nright into a hacker\u2019s dream scenario. Infections on one site can be spread to\nevery other site on the account. If you think it\u2019s tough cleaning up a hacked\nsite, try cleaning up 5, 10 or 20 sites on one account. It\u2019ll turn your hair\ngray overnight. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Hopefully, you won\u2019t be one the clients of a web design\/web hosting provider who has your site on an add-on domain, and then want to migrate elsewhere. The provider is not going to give you the cPanel username and password to his account, and some are reluctant to help since they feel no further allegiance to you anyway. I ran into this once with a prospect who wanted to host with us, but his current provider gave him the run-a-round for over two months. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><em><strong>Virtual Private Server Plans with cPanel<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>In stark contrast to shared\nhosting plans, a VPS with cPanel separates domains and sites from each other,\nso there is an increased level of security against malware and want-to-be\nhackers. Here\u2019s the thing though, the servers for shared hosting plans are\nmanaged by the provider, but that\u2019s not always true with VPS servers. You\u2019re\ntypically given the option to purchase managed or unmanaged plans. If you\u2019re\nnot server management literate, then I\u2019d highly recommend procuring a managed\nservice or hiring a third-party vendor to manage that server for you. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>Managed VPS services are going to\ncost a bit more but will give you some peace-of-mind as issues will arise\n(Murphy\u2019s Law). Not all VPS web hosting providers offer the same level of\nsupport, so it\u2019s always best to ask questions BEFORE you purchase their plans.\nI\u2019d also recommend querying members of web hosting forums to get their input of\nprospective providers. Trust me, they can be brutal in their assessments for\nproviders that habitually drop the ball. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<h3 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"Read_reviews_with_a_grain_of_salt\"><\/span>Read reviews with a grain of salt<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h3>\n\n\n\n<p>If you search for online reviews of prospective web hosting providers, be aware that many reviews are generated nefariously by affiliate marketers. Look for current trends as a provider that had an excellent rating ten years ago could be downright awful today. That typically occurs when companies are bought out and the focus changes from customer support to increasing profits. <\/p>\n\n\n\n<figure class=\"wp-block-image\"><img decoding=\"async\" src=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/sites\/4\/2014\/08\/unnamed-e1408122780935.jpg\" alt=\"ProlimeHost Cheap Dedicated Servers\"\/><\/figure>\n\n\n\n<h4 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"BROUGHT_TO_YOU_BY_PROLIMEHOST\"><\/span>BROUGHT TO YOU BY PROLIMEHOST<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h4>\n\n\n\n<p>We\u2019ve been in the web hosting industry for over a decade, helping hundreds of clients succeed in what they do best and that\u2019s running their business. We specialize in Virtual Private Servers (VPS) and dedicated servers, with data centers in Los Angeles, Denver &amp; Singapore.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"VPS_SERVICES_LIGHTNING_FAST_SSD_VIRTUAL_SERVERS\"><\/span>VPS SERVICES: LIGHTNING FAST SSD VIRTUAL SERVERS<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/ssd-vps-server\/\">Virtual Private Servers<\/a>&nbsp;all feature high performance Xeon processors and SSD storage in a RAID10 configuration to optimize your server\u2019s performance, which dramatically enhances visitor experiences on your site.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p>That speed is backed by unparalleled 24\/7 support, featuring both outstanding response AND resolution times to maximize your uptime.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><strong><em>Now is the time to join the ProlimeHost virtual private server revolution.<\/em><\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"DEDICATED_SERVERS_BACKED_BY_A_999_SLA_NETWORK_UPTIME_GUARANTEE\"><\/span>DEDICATED SERVERS: BACKED BY A 99.9% SLA NETWORK UPTIME GUARANTEE<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>We only use enterprise-class hardware in our&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/los-angeles-dedicated-servers\/\">dedicated servers<\/a>&nbsp;and offer a four (4) hour hardware replacement. Throw in IPMI for remote management, support for public and private networks, free operating system (OS) re-installs, and SATA, SAS &amp; SSD (including NVMe) storage. Call 1-877-477-9454 or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/contact\/\">contact us<\/a>. For everything from gaming servers to&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/discounted-dedicated-server-deals\/\">cheap dedicated servers<\/a>, we\u2019re here to help.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<h5 class=\"wp-block-heading\"><span class=\"ez-toc-section\" id=\"ASIA_OPTIMIZED_SERVERS_IMPROVING_CONNECTION_SPEED_AND_QUALITY\"><\/span>ASIA OPTIMIZED SERVERS: IMPROVING CONNECTION SPEED AND QUALITY<span class=\"ez-toc-section-end\"><\/span><\/h5>\n\n\n\n<p>Procuring an Asia optimized server improves the connection speed and quality between the server and the users in Asia or China. This can reduce latency, packet loss, jitter, and bandwidth issues that can affect the performance and reliability of the server and the applications hosted on it. For more information, please call 1-877-477-9454 or&nbsp;<a href=\"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/contact\/\">contact us<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"What do you look for in a web hosting provider? I asked this question some years back of&hellip;","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":4790,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"csco_display_header_overlay":false,"csco_singular_sidebar":"","csco_page_header_type":"","footnotes":""},"categories":[11,1],"tags":[207,199,120,228,123,225,43,107,113,198,214,227,139,232,106,33,119],"class_list":{"0":"post-1988","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-around-the-web","8":"category-geneal","9":"tag-ai-servers","10":"tag-amd-servers","11":"tag-asia-optimized","12":"tag-california-servers","13":"tag-china-optimized","14":"tag-dallas-servers","15":"tag-dedicated-server","16":"tag-dedicated-servers-usa","17":"tag-gaming-servers","18":"tag-gpu-servers","19":"tag-la-servers","20":"tag-nyc-servers","21":"tag-prolimehost","22":"tag-utah-servers","23":"tag-virtual-private-servers","24":"tag-vps","25":"tag-web-hosting-provider","26":"cs-entry"},"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1988"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1988\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/4790"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1988"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1988"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.prolimehost.com\/blogs\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1988"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}