A cheap web host is not always an incompetent web host. A good website host can come at pocket-friendly rates, and their service features can give some VPS hosts the stiff competition. Yes, it is rare to come across a budget host with the features of a prime cloud hosting service. Nonetheless, 2018 is a year of new possibilities.

Cheap hosting can be good hosting

So, let us start by defining what’s cheap right now. Over the last two years, we have seen hosting prices drop by over 60% across the USA. Right now, if you can find a service that charges you $5 or less per month, then you can call it a cheap service. You need to ensure that the hosting service has enough features to fuel your website services and satiate your business needs within the given budget. In fact, if you try a little, you may even find unlimited storage, data transfer, and domains in less than $10 per month. For these features, ten bucks are indeed cheap. Your target hosting service should be ready to cover auto script installations, PHP updates and MySQL updates along with basic website statistics and analytics support. “After-sales support is vital for all businesses irrespective of their budget requirements,” says our Dragon Advantage executive.

Impeccable data services along with budget hosting packages

Along with budget-friendly hosting services, the provider should also be able to focus on regular data backups, SSL certifications, encryption of data and malware detection. These are integral components of the digital leg of any business. Often entrepreneurs settle for less, without realizing the massive impact of the lack of SSL, 128-bit encryption, backups and malware protection on the UX. Proper collection, storage, and maintenance of data are indispensable for the company. All the data that website interactions with the customers generate contribute to a massive amount of actionable data. You can refer to this as your big data since it increases in volume with rapid velocity and it is not homogenous (has variety). This kind of data meets the 3V requirement of big data.

Double check the dream deals before signing

Cheap and good quality do not always go hand in hand. Thus, you need to check all the promised deliverables double before you get into an agreement with your hosting provider.

Painfully slow website loading

In many cases, the shared hosting companies serve too many websites on the same server. As a result, these websites have access to limited resources at a time. This can lead to extremely slow loading speeds. Sometimes, the excess load on the server can also lead to unprecedented crashes and significant downtime. When you are shopping around for hosting solutions, none of the companies will tell you about possible resource limitations or slow loading rates. The only way you can cross-check their claims is by checking their history. Check if they always provide at least 99.8% server uptime or if they are just upselling their hosting plans to a new client.

99.8% server uptime

Hosting uptime refers to the time when your website is accessible to your target visitors. If the hosting server is down for some reason, you will lose visitors and possible sales. This is harmful to your business profits as well as for your business reputation. If a visitor fails to reach your site today, there are 90% chances that they will not try tomorrow. Thus, the hosting providers, who promise 99.98% uptime, are the only ones you should look into. Unless they can promise that, there is no point wasting your time looking at services that might otherwise fit your budget.

Is your server hosting “bad” websites?

The web is a confusing place, and it is very easy for credible website owners to end up in bad company. Google and other search engines can hold you “guilty by association” if your hosting service also hosts spammers, hackers, and malware-laden websites. Nowadays, the risks are little lesser thanks to the new and stricter hosting policies against spammers. Even then, if you get a whiff of nefarious activities on the server, you can request your provider to shift your account to another server block. This also works when an agent blacklists your server IP. This is possible even within your budget limitations and irrespective of the amount you are paying per month; your website has the right to be safe and secure.

Finding a reliable hosting company, while running on a budget, does not need to be a nightmare. Get your requirements in priority and let’s start searching through the list of budget-friendly hosting packages for 2018.