Best Cheap Web Hosting

By Zac Johnson, CEO of blogging.org.

Web hosting is something every online brand and business needs. While it might seem like you can set it up once and forget about it for years to come, it's actually not that simple. If you lose track of advancements in web hosting, not only will your site continue to be hosted on tired and old technology and platforms, but it could also harm your site performance and search rankings in the process.

As someone who has been in the internet marketing industry for over 20 years now, I've had the pleasure of seeing web hosting in its most basic and clunky form back in the mid-90s as well as the amazingly fast and "hands-free" hosting options that are offered today. Such advancements in web hosting have not only made it easy for anyone to get started with a website or blog of their own, but also for organizations and brands to scale in size and technology at any given time.

With all of this in mind, let's take a look at some of the latest industry trends and changes in the world of web hosting and how you can keep your online business ahead of the competition by using such technology and changes to your advantage.

Cost Efficient Hosting Plans

While the costs of web hosting have always been quite minimal, some hosting providers can be more expensive than others. Since most hosting plans are billed on a monthly basis, this can add up over time and cost your business a decent amount of money in the long run. Whether you are running off a shared server or your own dedicated server, be sure to keep an eye on how much you are paying while looking at competitor pricing in the market.

If you're in the market for a new web hosting provider, check if they have any discounted hosting plans available when ordering for 12, 24 or even 36 months in advance. Take note of any additional upsell services that might be built into such packages as well. Many of these additional services often aren't required or wanted by site owners.

WordPress and Performance-Based Hosting

In addition to keeping an eye on the costs of your web hosting, it's important to make sure your hosting is set up to properly host your site. Not all websites are the same, which means they shouldn't all be thrown on the same type of hosting plans. With more websites being hosted on WordPress than ever before, it might be a good idea to go with a hosting solution built specifically for a WordPress-based site.

The benefit here is that you have a web hosting provider that not only is built to run WordPress at full performance, but you will also have contact with a team that knows WordPress and can offer premium customer support in the process. WordPress is one of the easiest and fastest ways to start a website or blog, but there are many ways it can slow down the performance and speed of your site if it's not set up and managed properly. This is where advanced WordPress hosting-based solutions come in handy.

Consolidation in the World of Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting has quickly become one of the most attractive ways to host a website, blog or even store information on the internet today. When it comes to choosing a cloud hosting provider, keep in mind that Google, Amazon and Microsoft have some major dominance in this space.

With this in mind, be sure to consider cloud hosting options from each of these providers before going with another, smaller company solution. Not only will your site and data be hosted by a trusted solution that is likely powering millions of other big name brands and web sites; they also usually have competitive pricing that can't be matched by other providers, as they have such massive hosting solutions at scale.

As mentioned previously, web hosting isn't the sexiest of topics and it's not one that you might be thinking about after it's set up. However, the success and performance of your site ultimately rely on the uptime, speed and reliability of your site. Be sure to understand the current technology and industry changes in the world of web hosting and how they might be able to improve your online business in the process.

Zac Johnson has 20 years of experience in the online marketing and business space. You can learn more about Zac through Blogging.org.

The opinions expressed here by Inc.com columnists are their own, not those of Inc.com.

Source: 3 Industry Trends and Big Changes in the World of Web Hosting