3 Common Beginner Misconceptions About Hosting That End in Regret

There are a surprisingly large number of misconceptions that are floating around, only to get scooped up by first-time hosting users. Some of these misconceptions make it almost impossible for a first-timer to make a good decision that will leave them satisfied. Fortunately, many of these misconceptions, especially the larger ones, can be easily dispelled with a little explanation and additional information.

Choosing and using a hosting service can be a confusing and seemingly complicated process, especially for people who have never used it before. There are a number of common misconceptions that beginners tend to share when they are introduced to this type of technology. Fortunately, many of these confusions can be easily cleared up with a little explanation Here are some of the most common misconceptions that many beginners may share.

Negative Reviews Are Only Given to Bad Companies

One of the first things that many people do when searching for a hosting company is read a bunch of reviews. While this is not inherently a bad idea, it is important to understand that even the best hosting companies will get negative reviews. An unfortunate fact of hosting is that eventually something is going to go wrong. Instead of focusing on what went wrong, it is more important to focus on how quickly and efficiently it was fixed. It is also important to note that your website will never be available 100% of the time; however 99.5% uptime is not unrealistic. Sometimes, the server your website is on, will need to be taken offline for a short amount of time (usually 10-30 minutes) for maintenance and software updates. This is done to keep the server up to date, secure, and well-functioning.

Additionally, competitors will make false claims and post negative comments, often without ever giving a good hosting company a chance to address the issue. Reviews are still a great resource; however there are some things to keep in mind when looking at them. Does the commenter provide any specific details or examples? Is the same type of problem found in a variety of different locations, with the complaint coming from different people? Does the negative review “feel” credible and trustworthy? Just because there are a few bad reviews, does not mean that the hosting company is a poor choice.

Every Cheap Hosting Company is the Same

Some beginners believe that all of the cheap hosting companies are pretty much the same. In truth, there are a number of longstanding companies that have taken the time to create a more streamlined process in order to allow them to maximize the benefits of economies of scale. This allows them to provide a higher quality product and higher quality services at extremely low prices. On the other hand, there are a number of cheap hosting companies that are out to make a quick buck. These companies often go out of business within a year or two. If a company has been around for a long time, it is a safe bet that they will deliver a higher quality experience, while still offering a low price.

I Need and Can Have Unlimited Bandwidth and Unlimited Disk Space

This misconception is fundamentally incorrect in two distinct ways. First, very few websites will ever need “unlimited” bandwidth or disk space. This is especially true for people who are just starting their first website. The young website will often only use around 10MB of space (at most) and 2 GB of monthly bandwidth (on average). This means that get getting 200 GB of disk space and 2,000 GB of monthly bandwidth is simply unnecessary. Secondly, it is physically impossible to provide unlimited bandwidth and disk space. New users will almost always have as much resources as they need, but they are not infinite. It is also important to read the fine print. Many hosting companies will limit the resources allotted to you. If you surpass them, either you will have to pay overage fees, or you will simply get your account canceled

There are a lot of other misconceptions that are common among inexperienced hosting users, however these three are not only the most common, but also critical to understand in order to make a sound decision.

About the author: Roko Nastic is writer and editor at WebmasterFormat - place where webmasters go to master the ever changing web and to find the best web hosting providers.