There are numerous steps before choosing Shared Hosting as your website hosting solution.The next task includes choosing a hosting service provider. There are many in the trade right now, and each would promise to offer the best-in-class hosting services. But not all companies provide the same top-notch services.

If you are not sure of how to proceed further, here are six questions that you must ask your service provider.

What is the uptime period?

As a novice, gathering users’ attention is of utmost importance. Imagine a scenario where a customer visits your website only to find it down. Hence, it is essential to know the uptime period offered by the company. Since Shared Hosting is an inexpensive option among website hosting types, the provided uptime is sometimes less. But, enquire about the uptime guarantee offered by the service provider and do not agree for an uptime less than 99.9%.

Do you offer the flexibility to upgrade web hosting plans?

As time goes by, your website might grow in size and attract more traffic. Under such situations, the resources required by the website might exceed the limit set by the current hosting plan. It is essential that the service provider has an option of upgrading, or at least, allows switching to higher and more resourceful plans as and when needed by you.

What kind of security do you provide?

Ask the web hosting company about their security policies. How often do they manage updates and malware scans? Moreover, verify if they provide an SSL certificate with the web hosting solution. Make sure you manually check their policies and regularly check the customer reviews. Also, read the terms and agreement documents carefully.

Do you give support for website migration?

Sometimes, it might so happen that you already have an excellent website hosted on a different server. It is now that you want to migrate to the other service provider. Inquire whether the service provider has the provision of website transfer and if yes, do they charge anything apart from the hosting plan.

What is your backup policy?

Inquire whether they have any data backup policy. Data backup is crucial as, in Shared Hosting, a single server is shared between numerous websites. When burdened with traffic, the server might crash losing all your data. Additionally, verify with the provider if they offer additional automated data backup solutions with their web hosting plans.

What is the response rate of your support team?

Even though service providers broadcast round the clock assistance and 24×7 continuous services, it is best to ask them immediately and seek confirmation for the same. Read the reviews on third-party sites and get a clarity of the security of the provider.

So, before you opt for shared web hosting in India, ask the above questions to your service provider. Get clarity and then buy the web hosting plan.

Edward Bertrand