Ready to find the perfect hosting for your Filipino website to hang out online? Awesome! With the internet booming in the Philippines, it’s really important to pick the best hosting provider. Don’t worry, though, because we’re here to help! In this guide, we’ll talk about everything you need to know to choose the right provider for your website. From making sure it runs fast to keeping it super safe, we’ve got you covered. Whether you’re starting a blog, opening up a shop, or building a cool community hangout, this guide will show you the way to find the perfect spot for your website to call home. Let’s dive in and make your website shine!
What is a Hosting Provider?
Before diving into why choosing the right provider is important, let’s first talk about what it is. Okay, so imagine your website is like a house. A hosting provider is like the landlord who lets your website live on the internet. They give your website a place to stay so that people can visit it whenever they want. Choosing the right hosting provider is important because it affects how your website performs. You want a good hosting provider that makes your website load fast and keeps it safe from hackers. It’s like picking a good location for your house – you want it to be safe, fast, and reliable so that everyone can come over and hang out without any problems.
How to Choose the Right Provider?
1. Pricing
When making a short list of your potential hosting providers, you may want to try to eliminate the hosting options that are too expensive. Some of the website hosts who offer their services in the Philippines tend to be resellers. Resellers usually have a higher price than companies that have their servers.
You also want to check if the host has Philippine-friendly payment options. If you pay a foreign-based host, you may need to pay using dollars or some other major currency. If this is the case, the changes in currency exchange rates and the fees that come with them tend to add to the cost of maintaining the website. You can avoid this by choosing a host that provides payment options in the Philippine Peso.
Compare pricing plans and consider the long-term cost implications. Choose a provider with transparent pricing and flexible billing options that align with your budget and growth projections. For blogs, that usually means sticking to the lower-priced plans to start but make sure that you have the option to move up to better-priced plans as you create more websites or as you get more traffic.
Among the hosting providers we like to use, Hostinger.ph seems to have the best pricing in terms of cost and scalability.
2. Server Location
Next to pricing, the next most important factor is the location of the data center where your website will be hosted. Picking a hosting provider with data centers in the right location is important for your website. The closer the data center is to where your visitors are, the faster your website will load for them. Think of it like this: if your website’s data center is nearby, it’s like your website’s information has less distance to travel to reach your visitors’ devices.
This means they don’t have to wait as long for your site to load, making their experience smoother and more enjoyable. Plus, hosting your site in a data center within the same country or region (Asia) as your visitors can also help you follow local laws about data protection, which is really important. So, choosing a hosting provider with data centers in the right place can make a big difference in how well your website performs and follows the rules.
3. Uptime Record
Most hosting providers can offer 99.99% uptime. Look for a hosting provider that offers a high uptime guarantee to ensure your community website remains accessible to users at all times. You may also want to check how often websites from a certain host go down. You can do this by searching social media for the keywords “Hostname” + “Down”. When websites go down for a considerable period because of problems with the host, users tend to go to social media to vent their frustrations. X (formerly Twitter) is a good network to check for this purpose.
In my decade-long experience of maintaining websites, I’ve used BlueHost, GoDaddy, NameCheap, and Hostinger. I’ve experienced downtime in all four but it’s very rare for the issue to last for more than a day.
4. Customer Support
When you encounter a problem with your website because of a problem with the host, you should be able to contact someone for support. For me, customer service is the reason why I stick with Hostinger.ph and why I highly recommend them. They have a dedicated chat team for servers in Asia (Singapore), and I’ve never had a question not answered or a concern not resolved when dealing with their customer support.
Assess the responsiveness and expertise of the hosting provider’s support team. Opt for providers that offer 24/7 customer support via multiple channels (e.g., live chat, phone, ticket system) to address any issues promptly. Having a communication line always open allows customers to report issues as they arise. This, in turn, allows the host to provide solutions so that websites can go back online at the soonest time.
5. CMS Compatibility and user-friendliness
Before you start shopping for a host, you should already know how you are going to build the website. If you are like millions of other webmasters who use WordPress, you want to choose a hosting plan with a one-press installation of WordPress. Without it, a process that takes five minutes will take you 30 minutes or more if you are not experienced in building websites.
Aside from this, you may also want to consider how user-friendly the interface is. Many providers have been around since the early 2000s. While a lot of them have updated their user interface, many are still using the old version of CPanel.
6. Service Scalability
Service plan scalability is a key factor to consider when selecting a hosting provider because it allows your website to grow and adapt over time without disruptions. Choosing a host that offers scalable service plans means that as your website traffic and resource needs increase, you can easily upgrade your plan to accommodate these changes without experiencing downtime or performance issues.
This flexibility ensures that your website can handle sudden spikes in traffic, seasonal fluctuations, or expansion efforts seamlessly, providing a smooth and uninterrupted experience for your visitors. Additionally, scalable service plans enable you to manage costs more efficiently by only paying for the resources you need at any given time, allowing you to scale up or down as required without overpaying for unnecessary resources. Ultimately, opting for a hosting provider with scalable service plans empowers you to future-proof your website and adapt to evolving demands with ease.
7. Data Breach History
It’s crucial to choose a hosting provider with a clean record of never experiencing a data breach before because the security of your website and its visitors’ data is paramount. Opting for a host with a spotless security track record minimizes the risk of unauthorized access to sensitive information, such as user credentials or payment details, which could lead to severe consequences like identity theft or financial loss.
By selecting a host with a proven history of safeguarding against breaches, you significantly reduce the likelihood of your website becoming compromised or exploited by cybercriminals. To ensure the integrity of your chosen host, it’s advisable to research and stay informed about any news or reports regarding hacking incidents or data breaches associated with the provider, empowering you to make an informed decision that prioritizes the security and trustworthiness of your website’s hosting environment.
Hosting Providers with Data Centers near the Philippines
- Hostinger.ph
- Green Geeks
- Chemicloud
- Exabyte.sg
- A2 Hosting
- GoDaddy
- WP Engine