A web host plays an important part in the growth and success of your website. After all, it is the place where all the relevant files of your site reside and the performance of the host can directly impact that of your site. Having said that, the market offers a plethora of hosting options to cater to the varying requirements of websites. Hence, finding the best host for your site can be an overwhelming process. With most hosting providers claiming to be the best and offering similar features, it is important to look at the data centres of the hosts and assessing if they can deliver the promised features. Since this requires some amount of technical know-how, most site owners simply compare features and purchase a plan. In this article, we will focus on Cloud Hosting plans and highlight some specific data centre features that a growing business needs.
- HVAC (Heating, Ventilation, & Air Conditioning System)
Technicalities aside, a data centre houses many computing devices. In order for these devices to function optimally, it is important that the HVAC system is designed and maintained efficiently. Before choosing a Cloud Hosting Provider, ensure that you assess the HVAC systems of the data centre. Talk to the host about it and ask for features like adequate air supply, power distribution, and cooling.
- Backup and Security
As a website owner, the security of your data is of paramount importance to you. Therefore, before you sign the dotted line, look at the security and backup features offered by the host. Here are some questions:
- Does the host use the latest antivirus and malware tools?
- Redundant storage systems (like Ceph)?
- Do they take regular website backups?
- Also, how does the data centre tackle security threats? Do they have a team of experts dedicated to the same?
- Resource Scalability
One of the best features of a Cloud Hosting plan is instant resource scalability wherein you can add resources to your website plan (CPU, RAM, etc.) with the click of a button. However, assuming that all providers offer similar scalability features can be counterproductive. Hence, you must read the fine print carefully. Also, for the provider to offer unlimited scalability for your growing business, the data centre must have adequate resources and free physical space to add more if needed.
- Data Center – specific reviews
Most of us check reviews before buying any product/services. It helps to know about people’s experiences before moving your website with a particular host. While reading reviews, ensure that you look for datacenter-specific reviews from users who have tried more than one hosting providers.
Conclusion
We hope that these tips can help you assess the data centre of a Cloud Hosting provider without worrying about the technical details. The best way to select a host for your website is to assess its hosting requirements, research the market and look for providers who offer the required features and strike them off against the data centre infrastructure. Remember, changing a web host is a time-consuming process. Hence, ensure that you ask the right questions before purchasing a hosting plan. Good Luck!
