Knowing these essential components will help you understand how your website host functions and how those functions impact you.

Uptime

Have you ever clicked on a website only to discover it doesn’t open? Even if you’re patient enough to try again in a few minutes, the casual visitor is unlikely to take that chance.

Uptime refers to the amount of time a website is operational. Downtime, which is when a website isn’t available or functioning, can be damaging. For example, consider that Amazon’s one-hour downtime in 2018 lost approximately $99 million in sales. 

Your website might not be as large as Amazon, but uptime can determine the success of your business or blog. Downtime can deter potential site visitors, frustrate customers, and incur costs for fixing the problem. 

Generally, the goal is to achieve a rate of 99.99% uptime. Of course, there is no such thing as perfect, but you want a web host that prioritizes service availability. When researching your preferred web hosting plan, find out if they include uptime guarantees.

Unmetered Bandwidth

Something to watch for in your web hosting option is unmetered bandwidth. If you experience an increase in site traffic, some hosting plans have fees or limit data speed. With unmetered bandwidth, an increase in site visitors won’t increase your costs.  

Unmetered bandwidth means the web host charges a flat rate instead of a price influenced by how much data you use. 

However, unmetered bandwidth doesn’t mean unlimited bandwidth. Unmetered bandwidth refers to the data transferred, not the speed. As a result, some host providers might slow the rate of data transfers.  

With unlimited bandwidth, data transfers are unlimited within a specific time frame or data limit. However, the providers might have additional fees after your data transfers reach a contractual limit.

Unlimited bandwidth plans are often an option on shared servers. The idea is that you can use as much as you want. But that’s assuming other website owners aren’t all maxing their bandwidth at the same time. 

In theory, you’d rarely run into that problem. Still, it is something to consider if you’re expecting high traffic and want site visitors to experience high speeds. 

Server Location

You’d be right in thinking that in a digital world, server space isn’t limited by real-world locations. However, server location impacts speed. More servers will increase the speed, but the location of those servers changes your relationship with that speed. If your servers are on the other side of the world, you’ll have slower speeds. 

If you’re in the US, it’s better to choose a host server with locations within the US. If you’re a business spanning the globe, you’d want to invest in more server capacity and a broader range of areas. If you’re a small business with a limited shipping range, choose a server with a domestic server location.

Pricing and Renewal

A website is an investment. As the website owner, you decide the budget, and you determine what you need from a web hosting service. It might seem obvious that a personal blog should have a lower budget than a business website, but it’s not that simple.

When inspecting prices, it’s crucial to look at the overall cost and the included features. It would be best to pay for tools you’ll use instead of features that sound useful. If you’re not sure if you’d use a tool, skip the bells and whistles and only pay for what will help you the most.

Another cost that might slip your mind is account renewal. Of course, you know that monthly or annual charges exist, but did you know renewing an account is sometimes more expensive than your initial payment?

It’s best if you can find a deal for renewal or a clear indication of what renewal will cost before you sign up. 

If you know you’ll be running the website for some time, consider long-term deals rather than short-term renewals. For example, many hosting companies will offer a discount for a client they can keep for a more extended contract.

Mobile Capability

While viewers can access most websites on a mobile device, that doesn’t mean they have the same quality. More views come from mobile devices than desktops or tablets, with mobile devices accounting for 61% of website visits in the US.

Poor performance on mobile can deter visitors and spurn potential customers. You can test if your web page is mobile-friendly with a Google tool. Creating a website with responsive designs and fast loading speeds are significant aspects of mobile-friendly sites.

Before you rest on your laurels, see if your preferred web host has web-building tools or integrates with tools that promote mobile capability.