Launching your online store? You might spend so much time selecting a custom domain name, getting an intuitive layout done, and getting your hands on a personalized, hand-written font to give your site a personal touch—all in good measure.

But what about your web hosting plan? Have you given it any thought? Or are you treating it as an afterthought?

Your website hosting plan has the potential to impact your site’s performance—and every other facet that matters, such as user experience, speed, convenience, and so on. From small eCommerce stores to gaming sites, everyone can benefit from the right hosting plan.

In this comprehensive guide, we’ll cover everything you need to know about what a web hosting plan is, why you need it, and what makes an effective hosting plan. Let’s go!

What is Web Hosting?

Web hosting is a type of internet hosting service that provides you with the facilities and resources needed to create, store, and maintain your website. Put another way, web hosting makes your website accessible to the world via the World Wide Web.

So, What is a Web Hosting Plan?

A web hosting plan is a service package that a web hosting company like Crazy Domains offers to make your website accessible to online customers.

The cost of your hosting plan will depend on:

  • The storage space and processing power set aside exclusively for your website
  • The extent to which your website’s resources are shared with others
  • Extra features and services provided, such as email accounts with your domain name, blogging tools, and more
  • The level of control and flexibility needed, such as choosing a specific operating system or content management system
  • The extent to which you handle your site versus having the web host provider manage it for you

Common Hosting Plan Types Available for You

When it comes to hosting your website, you’ll encounter different options, each with its own set of benefits and drawbacks. Here’s a low down of three types of web hosting you should know about:

1. Shared Hosting: The Most Common Hosting Plan

Suitable for: Beginners, personal websites, blogs, startups, and small websites

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In shared hosting, multiple websites reside on a single server. Obviously, this means that the server’s resources (read: CPU, memory, storage, bandwidth, etc.) are shared among all the hosted sites.

It’s an economical choice and straightforward to manage. That said, since the resources are shared, performance can be inconsistent. Plus, there are fewer options for customization and security with this hosting type.

Pros:

  • Cost-effective
  • Easy to manage
  • Low maintenance

Cons:

  • Lower speed
  • Less reliable
  • Prone to security risks
  • Limited customizability

2. VPS/Cloud Hosting: An Advanced Hosting Environment

Suitable for: Sites requiring greater flexibility and scalability

With Virtual Private Server (VPS) and Cloud hosting, each website is hosted on its own virtual server, while cloud hosting utilizes a network of servers to distribute resources.

This isolation of resources allows for better performance, scalability, and customization. However, managing VPS or cloud hosting requires more technical skills compared to shared hosting.

Pros:

  • Better speed
  • Excellent reliability
  • Highly scalable
  • Good customizability
  • Strong security

Cons:

  • Often costs more than shared hosting
  • Management requires some technical skills

3. Dedicated Server Hosting: Highest Level of Control and Performance

Suitable for: Large websites with high traffic volumes

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With dedicated hosting, you have an entire server dedicated solely to your website. This allows for maximum customization, security, and performance. However, dedicated hosting is the most expensive option and requires advanced technical skills to manage effectively.

Pros:

  • Best speed
  • Good reliability
  • Best for customization
  • Excellent security

Cons:

  • Likely to be very expensive
  • Requires good skills to manage

Pro tip: Apart from these options, you can get specialized hosting plans such as WordPress hosting, WooCommerce hosting, Business Hosting, and so on.

Why Is It Important to Choose the Right Web Hosting Plan?

You’ve just launched your dream website. Congratulations! But to your dismay, your site is experiencing downtime and is slow-loading already. The culprit could be an inaccurate hosting plan.

A strategically aligned web hosting plan supercharges the day-to-day functionality of your website. Here’s how it impacts your site’s credibility:

1. Hosting Plan = Better Performance & Speed = Happier Customers

Your website is the only way for customers to connect with your brand. If it is too slow to load, customers might walk away before stepping inside. Google says as your website takes longer and longer to load, your bounce rate skyrockets exponentially:

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Fast, reliable hosting ensures your site loads quickly. This will make customers stay longer and reduce bounce rates.

For example, if you have an eCommerce store, you need high-speed hosting to process transactions quickly and deliver a frictionless shopping experience.

2. Hosting Plan = Greater Reliability = Customer Trust

Picture this: It’s Black Friday, and your site has gone down. Your customers have chosen their products and are at the checkout page when they get an error. Every minute of downtime translates to lost sales and frustrated customers.

A hosting plan with a strong uptime guarantee (99.9% or higher) will ensure your website remains accessible, especially during peak traffic times.

For example, say you’ve just posted a blog on your website that has gone viral and is gaining traction. As it experiences high traffic spikes, a reliable hosting plan will ensure your site stays online, maintaining readership and ad revenue in the process.

3. Hosting Plan = Enhanced Security = Protected Customer Data

The right web hosting plan keeps your customer’s data protected at all costs. It ensures your site loads quickly and performs well, keeping visitors happy.

Security is a big deal, too, especially for eCommerce sites handling customer data. A reliable plan means your site stays up, even during busy times. Make no mistake; this is an important factor in maintaining customer trust. In the end, remember that investing in the right hosting plan is an investment in your website’s future.

10 Tips on How to Choose the Best Hosting Plan for Your Site

The hosting plan you choose will depend on the intent of your website. Here are ten tips on how to get to the root of your site’s purpose:

Tip #1: Think about your site’s features.

Before you get to the hosting plan part, it’s important to:

  • Understand your site’s purpose—do you want to increase sales, get more revenue, or boost visibility?
  • List down 5-6 features needed based on the purpose outlined in the previous step.

Tip #2: Choose a plan based on your site’s “type.”

When choosing a hosting plan for your site, choose one based on the type of website you’ve set up. Here’s a cheat sheet that can help:

Website Type Hosting Plan Recommendation
1. Basic Static Sites/Portfolios
  • Shared hosting is adequate for standard static sites as it needs minimal customized user interactions.
  • These sites deliver straightforward content without frequent updates
  • Maintaining these sites is simple as they require little ongoing attention
  • Traffic is usually predictable
  • Exception: For business static sites, consider VPS plans for enhanced dependability
2. Blogs/Image Galleries
  • These sites contain dynamic content and can grow in size as new content is added.
  • The long-term traffic is harder to predict due to varying content updates, but popular sites can experience significant growth
  • Start with shared hosting, as it’s cost-effective and manageable. If your site’s traffic increases, be prepared to upgrade to VPS to accommodate the growth
3. Online Stores
  • eCommerce sites require robust resources to handle scaling content and ensure swift, reliable performance
  • Begin with VPS hosting for eCommerce sites due to the need for robust performance and security
  • Your primary focus should be ensuring smooth operation and driving customer satisfaction
4. Web App Deployment
  • Advanced users need hosting platforms capable of supporting web applications, which require specific environments and frameworks for deployment and operation
  • So, use VPS or dedicated server hosting so that it grows with your scaling needs
5. Specialized Uses
  • You might need hosting for unique purposes, like running a VPN server or setting up a Cloud file server. These applications need VPS or dedicated servers due to their specialized requirements
  • Start with VPS and scale up as needed

Tip #3: Balance your need for features with budget.

Once you’ve defined your website type and nailed its purpose, you can map the features with your set budget.

You might find yourself in a bit of a catch-22 situation. As a small online store, going for a cheaper option might sound tempting at the moment, but it will cost more later—in the form of excessive downtime, lost sales, poor performance, and unhappy customers due to a subpar shopping experience.

The idea is to balance affordability with quality, and the best way to do that is to ask yourself these questions:

  • How much traffic do I expect at the start? How will I handle growth over time?
  • Do I need specific technology or integrations that might limit my hosting options?
  • Is 24×7 customer support central to my website?
  • How much storage space will I need, especially for high-resolution images and short videos?
  • Do I need a hosting plan with automatic backups and easy restore options?
  • How important is server uptime and reliability for my site?
  • Do I need enhanced security features like SSL certificates, DDoS protection, and security audits?
  • How will I handle sudden traffic spikes during promotions or events?
  • Would I benefit from website-building tools, or should I go for one-click installations for CMS?

Tip #4: Focus on high performance—no compromise here.

The performance of your site directly depends on the hosting you choose. Technically speaking, here are a few questions to ask to gauge the plan’s performance KPIs:

  • Does it offer the processing power your online store needs?
  • In terms of storage and RAM, is the hosting plan sufficient?
  • Will the hosting plan work with the content management system and operating system you have in mind?
  • Does it provide the configuration options you require?

Tip #5: Ensure the plan offers sound security.

It’s important to ask around and see if the vendor has a strong reputation for security. Do the data centers have geo-redundancy? Will they secure the website with an SSL certificate? What other security features does the vendor offer? Are there backup and disaster recovery options in place?

You can get answers to all these with a little bit of digging:

  • Go online and check testimonials.
  • Look up their social media handles.
  • Check out online review sites to assess different providers’ offerings.
  • Leverage research and advisory firms like Gartner, which provide insights across industries to assist enterprise stakeholders in making strategic decisions. You can also browse through platforms like Trust Radius and G2 to discover top-rated hosting service plans with detailed reviews from verified users.

The idea is to get as much information as you can about how seriously the web host takes their (and, by extension, your) security.

Tip #6: Do you need website-building tools?

Small eCommerce businesses need to consider whether they need website-building tools or not. If you go for a hosting-only service, you’ll have more control and flexibility to customize your site. But it also means you’ll need some technical know-how and design skills to make it look—and work—the way you want.

On the other hand, services that include website-building tools are perfect for small businesses. They make it super easy for anyone, even without technical skills, to create a website quickly. These tools offer templates that are easy to customize, so you don’t need to be a web design expert.

When picking a hosting service with website-building tools, make sure to check that the templates and tools they provide match what you’re looking for in terms of design and functionality.

Tip #7: If opting for the free hosting plan, do your homework seriously.

Some web hosting providers offer free introductory periods or basic hosting services. While this may sound appealing, it’s essential to evaluate if it’s the right choice for your needs.

Before opting for free hosting, consider the following:

  • Does the free hosting include bandwidth? If not, how is it charged, and at what usage level do charges apply?
  • What customer service or user support is available? Who would you contact if your site went down, and how quickly would they respond?
  • How much traffic can the site handle? Could your account be suspended if your site experiences a sudden increase in visitors?
  • Can you purchase additional storage or bandwidth as your site grows? Are the prices reasonable?
  • How easy or difficult is it to switch to another hosting provider? Would you need to rebuild your site from scratch?

Tip #8: Consider WooCommerce compatibility.

Smaller online stores just starting out need a hosting plan like WooCommerce hosting. WooCommerce is essentially a no-code website builder that allows you to set up a fast, secure, and reliable storefront within seconds.

You can add any number of useful plugins and extensions and build the online storefront of your dreams. So, if you don’t have any coding skills, a WooCommerce hosting plan is the perfect way to start your eCommerce journey.

Tip #9: Don’t settle for the bare minimum for features and functionalities.

If you think adding product images and a short description alone will help you do all the selling, you’re in for a surprise.

The digitally active customer of today wants more—they want to contact the store on live chat or via bots, they want to see your brand active on social media and buy directly from the Instagram handle, they want a frictionless buying experience, and so on.

All this can only be made possible with a hosting plan that offers eCommerce-specific features such as:

  • Integrated payment gateways: Ensure your hosting plan supports popular payment gateways to provide customers with multiple payment options, such as credit cards, PayPal, Apple Pay, etc.
  • Mobile optimization: Cross-check if your hosting plan supports mobile optimization. Around 75% of customers want to shop on mobile first, then desktop.
  • SEO tools: Your hosting plan must offer built-in SEO tools so that you don’t have to work harder to maintain and improve your website’s visibility in search engine results.
  • Inventory management: Remember that some hosting providers offer inventory management tools to help you keep track of stock levels, product variations, and more. So, consult with your hosting vendor and make an informed choice.

Tip #10: Ask – Is there enough support available?

Finally, you must consider the availability and quality of technical support. Some important points to ask at this juncture include:

  • Is there an active online developer community for the hosting platform?
  • What is the typical response time for chat queries and phone calls?

Make the Most Important Decision For Your Site—Choose Crazy Domains as Your Dedicated Web Host

There you go. By now, you must have a good understanding of how to decide the right hosting plan for your site. Use the tips in this guide to make an intelligent decision.

In the end, remember that choosing the right hosting plan will have a trickle-down effect on your site, such as enhanced speed, reliability, and security. In contrast, the wrong plan can invite a host of problems you won’t have the bandwidth to deal with.

Don’t let your site suffer with a hosting plan that was chosen in a hurry and without proper research. To make your work easier, we’re offering a recommendation: Crazy Domains.

Are you ready to supplement your website with the best features for performance and security?

At Crazy Domains, we offer different types of hosting plans for you to choose from such as Web Hosting, Business Hosting, WordPress Hosting, WooCommerce Online Store, and more. To know more about hosting plans, connect with the team for a consult.

 

FAQs

1. Do you need a hosting plan for a website?

Yes. Without web hosting, your website won’t be accessible to anyone online. In other words, web hosting makes your site visible to the online world.

2. Which hosting plan is best for beginners?

For those just starting out, shared hosting is the ideal choice. It’s budget-friendly and easy to manage.

3. Is a VPS difficult to manage?

A bit. If you have some web hosting or server management experience, you’ll find it manageable. For beginners, consider a host like Crazy Domains that offers Managed VPS plans to simplify the process.

4. Can I run a game server on VPS?

Absolutely. Managed VPS hosting is a great option if you’re not confident in managing a VPS. It’s a popular choice for game servers due to its flexibility and power.

5. What makes a good web hosting service?

A good web hosting service offers reliable products and excellent customer support. As a thumb rule, look for providers with a strong industry reputation and years of experience.

6. Can I host my own website?

Technically, yes. However, it requires significant investment in equipment, a reliable broadband connection, and the technical skills to set it up. It’s generally less reliable than using a professional hosting provider.

7. Can I change my hosting plan in Crazy Domains?

Yes, absolutely! If your site is growing and requires more resources, you can upgrade your hosting plan as you see fit.

8. What should I consider when deciding which web hosting service to use?

When choosing the best hosting plan for your online store, consider:

  • Features that guarantee optimal performance and reliability
  • Look for a host that offers fast loading times to keep customers happy and excellent uptime guarantees to avoid downtime
  • Ensure the hosting plan is scalable—it should accommodate traffic spikes and grow with your business
  • Prioritize security features such as SSL certificates and DDoS protection to protect your site from cyber fraud
  • Opt for a provider with 365x24x7 customer support so your issues can be resolved promptly
  • Ensure the host supports essential eCommerce features such as shopping carts, payment gateways, automated backup, and inventory management
  • Balance the features you need with your budget
  • Go for a plan with a user-friendly control panel
  • Check reviews and ratings to find a reliable and trustworthy web host vendor