An essential cog in the wheel for any website or blog is the right web hosting. It is the deciding factor to make or break your site. Unsecured web hosting can cause you to lose years of your hard work. Most webmasters focus on the domain name and branding rather than choosing a secured web hosting provider. It can be a massive mistake in the long term.
It is not that difficult to choose the right web hosting. We will today share with you a handy guide which you can use to shortlist the right web hosting options easily.
- Check for hosting with redundant security:
Security is a relative term. Many consumers think that just because a web hosting provider offers 2-factor authentication to log into your web hosting account, it is secure. It is not true at all.
There are quite a few features which a secured web hosting provider should have on offer. These features should be redundant so that your website is entirely secure. Some of the features which you should look for in a secured web hosting include:
- Firewalls: Firewalls are the most basic security feature which your hosting should offer. They can thwart the basic attacks without any harm to your website.
- Malware scanning: The web hosting provider should regularly scan their servers for any malware. It will allow them to limit the damage and remove the malware right away.
- Secure FTP connections: Once you purchase any web hosting, you will probably use the FTP connection to upload and download the files. It should be safe to protect not only your data but also your login details.
These are the bare minimum features which you should look for in a hosting provider. If the hosting provider has these on offer, it will allow you to protect your website to a large extent.
- Use hosting that offers automated backups:
The best way to secure your hard work is to create a backup of your website. The problem is you might not always get time to initiate a manual backup time and again. That is why, when looking for secured web hosting providers, you should choose one which offers you automated backups.
In case of hacking or loss of data due to server problems, you can restore the latest backup which will allow you to prevent any data loss. If the web hosting provider offers automated backups, chances are you would lose the data of a few days or even less.
With the restore option, you can get your website up and running within one hour. Hence it is an essential feature which you should look for in a secured web hosting provider.
- Prefer cloud hosting solutions:
Cloud hosting solutions create redundant storage of data across different servers globally. The advantage of redundant storage is that when one server goes down, another server provides the information. It means that your website does not go down, regardless of your WP design. Additionally, there are a few other advantages of cloud hosting solutions as well like:
- Easy to scale: You can opt for resources on cloud hosting as per your current traffic. If your traffic increases suddenly, most cloud hosting providers will scale up the computing power and bandwidth on the back end. Your site will not go down.
- Flexible pricing: Unless you use any extra capacity, you will only pay for the basic package which you have taken. It ensures that regularly, you can opt for a smaller package and if your traffic increases, you can pay for the extra bandwidth used. It is very economical.
- Additional safety: The redundant server assembly protects you from any hardware or server issues. When one server goes down, it is automatically replaced by another which ensures that your website doesn’t go down.
- Instantaneous hosting setup: Whether you buy the beginner hosting package or the advanced one, most of the clouds hosting providers offer instant installation. It ensures that you can get your website and apps up and running in no time at all.
These numerous benefits of cloud hosting not only make it highly secure but also imperative when looking for a secured web hosting provider.
- Go with DDOS protected hosting:
A DDOS attack is the most common form of the hacking attempt which most hackers use. In this type of attack, hackers direct thousands of bots to access your website simultaneously which can clog up the server and disrupt your website for regular visitors. That is why, when looking for a secure web hosting provider, it is essential to choose one which offers DDOS protection.
DDOS attack prevention involves offering overprovision bandwidth to the client. The extra bandwidth ensures that the additional bot traffic does not clog up the server.
It also makes it necessary for the web hosting provider to upgrade the physical uplink and downlink of the server. In a nutshell, it is an expensive proposition. That is one of the main reasons why not many web hosting companies provide DDOS protection.
That brings us to a fundamental question, how to find out if a particular web hosting provider offers DDOS protection or not? First things first, you can safely assume that web hosting companies which provide packages for as low as $ 5 per month do not provide DDOS protection. After that, you need to ask a few questions to your web hosting provider to know the truth. These are:
- Do you offer overprovision bandwidth?
- Can you detect IP spoofing?
- Do you monitor your servers around the clock?
- Do you support geo-IP blocking?
The answers will determine if your web hosting provider offers right DDOS protection or not.
- Check the frequency of updates:
There are quite a few platforms and software involved when it comes to web hosting. Some of them are:
- CPanel
- Firewalls
- Network security platforms
- Email service clients
- Content management systems
These platforms and software have been around for quite some time. They have however launched newer upgrades to close the security loopholes present. If your hosting provider does not offer you the upgraded version of the software right away, the security loopholes will make your website vulnerable.
You have to inquire about the latest version of the software which they have on offer. If it is not the latest one, it is better to skip that web hosting as it might not be that secure after all.
- Conduct due diligence:
Lastly, you have to conduct proper due diligence before choosing any web hosting provider. You can undertake multiple steps to know more about the web hosting provider which you are about to pick. These include:
Online reviews:
The first thing which you need to do is to check the online reviews of the web hosting provider. It will give you a judgment about the type of service which the web hosting provider has on offer.
Check the domain details of the web hosting provider:
Most of the fly by night companies have whois guard to protect their real identity. If that is the case, you have to avoid that web hosting provider. If the web hosting provider which you have shortlisted has contact details listed on their Whois, you should verify that.
You can use a tool like Spokeo to check the true identity of their phone number. Here is a reverse number lookup which allows you to verify the phone number. The phone number search will provide you not just the name but also more details of the owner. Similarly, you have to check the address on Google maps to ensure that they are a legit company.
Support channels:
You have to also look at the number of support channels which they offer. Sooner than later, you will need some support from the hosting company. That is why it is essential to check the support channels on offer in advance.
Social media channels:
When you go through the social media channels of the web hosting provider, it is easy to find out what people think about them. It will allow you to detect red flags if any.
These four steps will allow you to conduct proper due diligence. It will help you choose the most secure web hosting providers.
Conclusion
So, if you’re on the quest to find the most secure web hosting providers, it is wise to use our guide above. You need to pay more attention to decipher the different hosting options to pick the most secure one.
Using our guide, you can quickly discover the web hosting providers that are not only secure but would also provide high-quality support. The guide above will make it easy for you to choose the correct web hosting for your website.
Bio
Olga Andriichuk works as the content manager at Spokeo. Her field of expertise includes business, marketing, and personal growth. In her spare time, she enjoys yoga classes and exploring new destinations.