How to Choose a Web Host for Your Blog

This entry is part 3 of 11 in the series How to Start a Blog

When you are in the process of starting a blog, one of the first things to determine is which web host you will use. Today’s post will explain how to choose a web host for your blog. Your website is your small piece of property on the internet. Your domain name is your address, and the web host is your landlord. You will pay a web host “rent” in order for your online property to continue running.

Will You Blog for Free or On Your Own Site?

As I mentioned in previous blogging posts, you have the option of blogging for free or on a paid site that you own. If at all possible, I highly recommend you purchase your own site. You can blog for free on a social media site (Such as Tumblr or Medium) but that site belongs to the company that owns the social media.

You can also blog for free on Wordpress.com or Blogger. However, if you plan to earn an income from your blog either now or in the future, your best option is to create your own site as the host for your blog. It’s really not that expensive (less than $100) to get your blog up and running with your own dedicated site.

How to Choose a Web Host for Your Blog

The first step in choosing a web host is determining your own needs. You need a host that can support your website. Therefore, you must take the type of site you want to create into consideration when choosing a host. For example, are you creating a company website, a blog or a site where you can sell your personal services? Knowing what you need will help you make the best decision.

If you are creating a photography or video-based site, keep in mind that you might need more storage or bandwidth because of the large files you will be storing on your site.

Generally, a beginning blogger can start with a basic package, but it’s still helpful to ask yourself these questions before choosing a web host:

How much storage and bandwidth do you need?
What are your technical requirements?
How much traffic do you hope to receive?

If you start to use too much storage or your website traffic increases, your host company will talk you through upgrading your package.

Once you determine what type of website you’re building, you’re ready to start searching for your web host. Here are a few more important details to consider that will help you choose the best one for your needs:

Dependability – You need a dependable web host that offers fast and reliable service. You can’t grow and increase traffic if visitors can’t reach your site.
Security – Security is very important to protect both you and your visitors so a good web host will offer ample security, including malware and spam protection
Usability – Check out the dashboard or control panel to make sure it’s user friendly and fully functional.
Features – The web host should offer a variety of features that include backups, technical support, scalability, upgrading options, add-ons, ample disk space, email options and a variety of web hosting plans for you to choose from.
Great customer service – Choose a web host that has a reputation of providing great, round the clock customer service. When you need help you need it now so you can get your site back up and running fast.