Choosing a web hosting provider is one of those decisions that often doesn’t receive much thought until something goes wrong. If you’re setting up a new website, it’s tempting to simply choose whichever company offers the cheapest hosting package, particularly when some providers advertise prices starting at just a couple of pounds a month. After all, if two companies are offering to host exactly the same website, why would you pay £20 a month when somebody else will apparently do it for £2?
Unfortunately, not all web hosting is created equal, and choosing the wrong provider can result in slow loading times, unreliable service and some fairly unpleasant surprises when you eventually need technical support. Having worked with websites hosted by dozens of different companies over the years, I’ve encountered everything from excellent service provided by relatively small hosting businesses to some spectacularly poor experiences with much larger, supposedly reputable providers.
So what should you actually be looking for when choosing somewhere to host your website?
What Type of Hosting Do You Need?
Firstly, it’s worth understanding that there are several different types of web hosting available, and the most suitable option will depend largely on the size and complexity of your website.
Shared hosting is generally the cheapest option, with multiple websites hosted on the same server and sharing its resources. For a relatively straightforward WordPress website receiving a few hundred visitors a day, this might be perfectly adequate, particularly if the hosting provider manages its servers properly.
However, problems can arise when websites on the same server start consuming excessive resources, potentially affecting the performance of other customers. Cheap shared hosting packages can also impose fairly restrictive limits on things like memory, CPU usage and database connections, which aren’t always particularly obvious when you’re signing up.
A Virtual Private Server (VPS) provides a more isolated environment, with a defined allocation of server resources and considerably more control over how the server operates. However, you’ll generally pay more, and unless you’re purchasing a managed service, you may also be responsible for maintaining the server yourself.
For most small businesses, I’d probably recommend a decent shared hosting package or managed WordPress hosting rather than attempting to run their own server. There’s little point having complete control over a VPS if you don’t know how to configure or maintain it properly.
Does the Server Need to Be in the UK?
This is something I’m regularly asked, particularly by businesses concerned about website speed and data protection.
If most of your customers are based in the UK, it generally makes sense to choose a hosting provider with servers located here, or at least somewhere reasonably close, such as another European country. The physical distance between your visitors and the server can affect how quickly information travels, although the quality of the hosting infrastructure and network connections is often more important than the precise location.
You should also consider using a Content Delivery Network (CDN), such as Cloudflare, which can cache certain website resources on servers closer to your visitors, potentially improving loading times regardless of where your main server is located.
There’s also the question of GDPR. If your website collects personal information through contact forms, customer accounts or ecommerce transactions, you’ll need to understand where that information is being stored and processed.
Hosting your website in the UK can make certain aspects of data protection easier to manage, but it’s not a legal requirement for every UK business. Hosting elsewhere can be perfectly acceptable, provided you comply with the relevant UK GDPR requirements, including any rules that apply to international transfers of personal data.
How Important Is Website Speed?
From an SEO perspective, website performance is something I’d pay particular attention to. Google has been using page experience signals, including Core Web Vitals, as part of its ranking systems, and while having an exceptionally fast website isn’t going to guarantee that you’ll rank above your competitors, poor performance certainly isn’t desirable.
More importantly, slow websites are frustrating for visitors. If somebody clicks through to your website and has to wait several seconds for every page to load, there’s a good chance they’ll give up and go somewhere else, particularly if they’re browsing on a mobile phone.
However, it’s important to remember that hosting is only one part of website performance. A badly built WordPress website containing dozens of unnecessary plugins and enormous images can still be painfully slow even when hosted on an expensive server.
When comparing hosting providers, I’d pay attention to the resources included with each package, whether they use SSD storage, what caching options are available and whether they’re using reasonably up-to-date versions of PHP and other server software.
I’d also be cautious about companies advertising ‘unlimited’ resources, as there’s almost always a fair usage policy or some other restriction hidden in the terms and conditions.
What Happens When Something Goes Wrong?
Personally, I think technical support is one of the most important considerations when choosing a hosting provider, and it’s something that’s difficult to evaluate until you actually need it.
If your website suddenly stops working at 9am on a Monday morning, you probably don’t want to discover that your hosting company only offers email support and generally takes two days to respond.
For a business that relies heavily on its website for enquiries or sales, even a few hours of downtime can become expensive. I’d therefore recommend checking whether support is available 24 hours a day, how you can contact the company and whether the people you’re speaking to actually understand the technical issues you’re likely to encounter.
It’s also worth finding out precisely what the provider is responsible for. Some companies will help investigate WordPress problems, while others will simply confirm that the server is running and leave everything else to you.
A UK-based support team can be particularly convenient for British businesses, although I’d be much more interested in the quality of support than whether the person answering the telephone happens to be sitting in London or somewhere else.
Backups, Security and Reliability
Another thing I’d strongly recommend checking is how your website will be backed up.
Most reputable hosting providers offer some form of automated backup service, but the frequency and retention periods can vary considerably. Some might take daily backups and retain them for several weeks, while others charge additional fees or provide much more limited protection.
You should also establish whether backups are stored separately from the main server and how straightforward it is to restore your website if something goes wrong. Ideally, I’d recommend maintaining your own independent backups as well, rather than relying entirely on your hosting provider.
Security is equally important, particularly for WordPress websites, which are frequently targeted by automated attacks. Look for features such as free SSL certificates, malware protection, firewalls and the ability to keep your server software updated.
Most providers also advertise uptime guarantees of 99.9% or higher, although it’s worth remembering that 99.9% uptime still allows for more than eight hours of downtime over a year. Check what the guarantee actually covers and whether any compensation would amount to more than a small credit against your hosting bill.
Don’t Just Compare the Introductory Prices
Finally, be careful when comparing prices, particularly with providers offering heavily discounted introductory packages.
A hosting plan advertised at £2.99 a month might require you to pay for several years upfront, with the renewal price increasing substantially once the initial contract expires. You might also discover additional charges for backups, domain registration, email hosting or other features that you assumed were included.
For UK customers, it’s also worth checking whether advertised prices include VAT, as some hosting companies display prices excluding VAT until you reach the checkout.
Personally, I’d rather pay a little more for a reliable hosting provider with decent support than save £50 a year and spend half a day trying to resolve a problem that shouldn’t have happened in the first place.
Ultimately, the best hosting provider isn’t necessarily the cheapest or the one with the longest list of features. It’s the one that provides the performance, reliability and support your particular website needs, at a price you’re comfortable paying.
If your website is an important source of business, I’d suggest treating hosting as something worth investing in rather than simply another expense to minimise. After all, even the most beautifully designed website isn’t particularly useful if nobody can access it.