A lot goes into running a successful website. You need good content, solid SEO and need to make sure that the site is functional and features reliable uptime. Another important part of any website is hosting. Hosting is what lets your site actually be accessible on the internet.

Whether your site is based on selling a product, providing information, or dozens of other things, you need a good hosting provider. When looking for a provider, of course one of the main things to consider is cost. However, you also want one that is reliable at the same time. It is a delicate balance between the two, but is a very important part of a successful website.

With that in mind, this article is going to give you a few helpful tips for choosing a cheap hosting provider that is also reliable.

Ensure it is Scalable

As the size and popularity of your website changes over time, so will your needs out of a hosting provider. The more traffic your site gets, the more overloaded your servers will become. If your hosting provider is not scalable, it can struggle to handle larger amounts of traffic and can’t grow with you.

This could cause your site to lag, load much more slowly or even go down completely. Downtime can be a very costly situation, and should be avoided at all costs. Because of this, you need a hosting provider that is scalable (such as AccuWeb VPS hosting). This will ensure that your hosting provider can keep up with your rises and dips in traffic, without costing you an arm and a leg. 

In a perfect world, you should also try to find a hosting provider that can be scaled up and scaled down very quickly and easily. If you have a scalable hosting solution you will only pay for what you use, which should save you a lot of money in the long run. 

Look at Performance

Of course, the performance of your hosting provider is also very important when choosing who to use. Your site performance includes everything from load times, response times, rates of uptime and other related metrics. The better your site performs, the more people will be impressed with it and likely continue visiting.

Unfortunately, many low-cost hosting providers offer poor performance. As a result, you need to take time to research the different providers and compare their prices to the performance they offer, and try to find a healthy balance. Many also offer a free trial, so it couldn’t hurt to try out a few providers and see how they perform. Looking at third-party data or reviews can also be a good way to see which of the cheaper hosting providers offers improved performance.

Know the Support they Offer

While most of the time a website will operate as normal, this isn’t always the case. Issues can arise and can leave individuals and businesses alike scratching their heads. If issues are affecting your website, one of the first places you should reach out to is your hosting provider.

Unfortunately, many cheap hosting solutions offer less-than-perfect support. Whether their hours are restrictive or it takes a week to hear back, dealing with some customer service can be infuriating. 

As a result, be sure to consider the customer support offered by a host before agreeing to work with them. Simply going with the cheapest option you can find without considering support could leave you high and dry during times of need.

In conclusion, hopefully this article has been able to help you choose a provider that is not only affordable, but also reliable. It isn’t always easy to find a balance between the two, but it can certainly be done.