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It was around the late fall of 2011 when I was talking to a college friend of mine and we started talking about the importance of a website.
He was a marketing major while I was an art major.
We got on this subject because he was getting business as a graphic designer/web designer and he said one of the main reasons he continued to get referals and clients were due to the fact that he had his own personal space online...
A website.
I sat back amazed not only because we were both college students, but while I was struggling to get by, trying to figure out what I'm going to dow with my life and pay for things like textbooks, or more importantly my next meal...
here he was telling me about this thing called a website and how he is consistently get new business regularly with his side business.
He called it his form of "portfolio" and this was how you begin to establish yourself as a "brand" and demonstrate your previous work for people to see and that you're serious about your work.
Here I am in college, as an art major of all things, were they talk about building a portfolio, but not once did they teach you HOW to create an online "portfolio" to get me recognized from my work and putting up on the web for the world to see.
Thus began my journey.
I wanted to learn how to get started with this thing called a website and learn how to build me a legitimate portfolio, or more importantly my online brand for others to see and get to know who I am and what I could do.
I was excited ready to begin...
then I learned the first thing I needed in order to get my own personal online space was this thing called hosting.
Host what?
I don't want to host anything, I'm introverted and not that good with too many people in social settings.
Again my research began and I learned that hosting is how you are able to put your website online and others can access your website.
Ok I now I know what it is, but which hosting provider exactly do I choose?
That is what brings us here today!
See back then it was a little easier because there were only a few options especially since the internet just got its start, but with over 1.5 billion websites online now there are so many more hosting providers to choose from.
See what I did was just ask my friend "who do you use?" and it was as simple as that.
See because he had experience and success with using this one hosting provider I trusted his answer and just went with them.
Nowadays its not so simple.
However, that is what this post is about.
I made my transition from "art" to web design to web development.
I wanted to be like my friend in college who told me about things such as having a website and a hosting provider, and just like he was a guide for me on how to pick a good hosting provider that is my goal with you.
Helping you with things like what to look for when choosing a provider.
I know getting started and with so many choices out there how does one even go about picking the right one.
I mean how do you know if it's even worth it.
No te preocupado (don't worry in spanish), I’ve been in your shoes and I would like to help you out with that.
Getting started in the world of web development and creating your own website can be hard enough.
So don’t let the choice of picking the right hosting company hinder you from building your next project, portfolio, or blog.
This is about your life and can turn into your business.
Ok now to the good stuff.
Picking a good hosting provider is like choosing the right pair of shoes, its the one that you feel most comfortable with.
If your just getting started with getting you own space online then your choices should be very simple.
The reason being is because hosting acts as a piece of land and space online and when people visit your site its like inviting guest to comeover to your house.
However, the more people that come to your site the more space you will require.
But just starting out the basic package that hosting providers normally recommend is great for any started.
Unless your running a site like netflix where the can easily get over a million visitiors a day then your in good shape.
And if your goal is to gain massive amounts of traffic to your site then the beginner package is equipped to handling an average of 100,000 visitors a month before you would see need something a little more advanced.
I'll tell you some of the things you should look for and recommend the one I use.
I personally use Host Gator as my web hosting company, come to think of it it's the same hosting company my friend told me about in college.
I guess you can tell I've been loyal to them all these years.
If you been looking online about hosting providers you will see a lot of other bloggers, web designers or even web developers recommend the oh so infamous bluehost.
Why, well let’s explore that.
Supposedly it's one of the most affordable hosting there is, and it helps that these bloggers and others may get an affiliate commission from someone who buys from their link.
But when you look more into the price there are stipulations and the cheap price comes from buying hosting in a bundle, which I will explain further into this post.
As I researched even more into other hosting providers they provided about the same discount rates if not a slight difference.
So I didn't see price being a factor in my decision for choosing a good hosting provider.
So let’s think of some other factors that come into play.
When I look for a hosting provider there are some other things that come into place for me especially over the years with my experience working with clients and other providers.
There are about 3 Critical things I look for when making a decision.
You want a hosting company that has these 3 things and if they do your all set...
These 3 things play a major role especially when just starting out.
Some people always go for the cheapest price, but there are some cons to that as well, but the good news is Host Gator is affordable too!
The amazing thing about them is the quality of service they provide for the price they are charging.
I am paying approximately $11.95 a month, but I have a hatchling plan which means I can host multiple websites so it was well worth it for me to buy and upgrade my plan.
However they also have plans that start off at $2.95 a month.
Again a disclaimer for these prices being so low is if you're paying in bulk, meaning if you pay for the whole year, or up to 3 years, they will charge $2.95 a month.
As seen from the screenshot below.
As you can see, you will be paying the full amount for up to 3 years one time and it will be like paying for hosting at the price point of $2.95.
In comparison that’s still saving a lot of money.
Think about it that’s like paying $100 for 3 years.
That's a steal in my opinion!
If you have the $100 cash on you.
If you wanted to start an online business and all you had to pay was $100 for the next 3 years I couldn’t pass up on that.
The cheaper the plan the more months you're paying for.
The average price for a hosting plan that you pay month to month is about $6-$10 a month.
I still think this is a good price especially for a WordPress hosted site which is the best way to get started if your trying create and manage your own space online.
For the price of about a Spotify subscription you can have your own web space online.
I have used Host Gator for well over 3 years now and I have had no regrets.
My sites have been up and running with no glitch to the point I sometimes forget that have multiple sites running.
Their interface is easy to use and access to it makes hosting your website a breeze.
You have other hosting sites like bluehost and the most popular one godaddy.
Honestly I've seen a lot of people online recommend bluehost because there so cheap, but in reality the price is about the same.
As you can see from the image below...
So choosing a web host based on price isn't really a huge factor in this situation.
I believe it's more of the experience you have with the host or by recommendation.
I don't have any real negative experience with other hosting providers but my experience with godaddy was a little cumbersome.
Getting around their platform was a hassle when I first got on and their customer service was ok from when I used them before, but honestly I feel more comfortable with Host Gator.
I feel like they actually help me with any problems right away.
If I had any problems that is, but I haven’t so that goes to show you.
So now you know the three things that you should look for when choosing your first hossting provider:
When you have these 3 things you're in good shape and you can trust that your site will be up and running without any hiccups.
Again, like my friend was to me in my college years and guided me to how to get started in this world of web and web development...
So I will be to you and suggest Host Gator as your hosting provider.
for me it has been for me the best experience I have had with using a good web hosting provider and I would definitely recommend anyone trying to get started with.
If you want a simple tutorial on how to get started then definitely check out how to get web hosting and I walk you through how to get your very first web host and website.
As you grow and develop in your journey through web development you will find other options that might suite your needs.
For example if you see that your space needs have grown and you are driving towns of traffic and need the speed to keep up with it then there are other providers made specifically for that which you can find out more here.
Remember you always have the choice in which hosting provider you want to go with. Do what you feel more comfortable working with and continue building.
Your projects may require a more robust platform and you feel you need something better.
But if you only have one website to host and you want to get started today then Host Gator is your best bet.
Good luck and keep learning and coding.
Note: This post contains affiliate links, which means that we will receive a commission if you decide to purchase through our links. This is at no additional cost to you, and it helps us continue to offer free content on our blog. Please read our disclosure for more information.
If you have any questions on this topic you can email me at courey@coureywong.com.
I would love to help you get started in your web development journey.
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