How to Choose the Right Web Hosting? Complete Selection Guide

Choosing web hosting can be overwhelming. Dozens of providers, hundreds of packages, and technical terms that mean nothing to you. In this guide, we explain step by step how to make the right choice.

The 7 Most Important Factors

1. Type of Website

What you're going to build largely determines what you need:

2. Traffic and Visitors

How many visitors do you expect?

• < 1,000/month: Any shared hosting package will do
• 1,000-10,000/month: Mid-range shared hosting (€5-10/mo)
• 10,000-50,000/month: Premium shared or managed hosting
• > 50,000/month: Consider VPS or cloud hosting

Tip: Always start small. Upgrading is easier than downgrading.

3. Storage and Bandwidth

Storage is the space for your files:

• Simple website: 1-5 GB is enough
• Website with many images: 10-25 GB
• Webshop with products: 25-100 GB
• Media-rich site: 100+ GB

Bandwidth is the data transfer to visitors. Most Dutch providers offer "unlimited" traffic, which in practice is sufficient for normal websites.

4. Email

How many business email addresses do you need?

• Personal: 1-5 addresses
• Small business: 10-25 addresses
• Medium business: 50-100 addresses

Note: some providers charge extra for email, others have it included.

5. Technical Requirements

CMS choice:

• WordPress: Choose a provider with one-click install and PHP 8+
• Magento/PrestaShop: You need more resources, look at VPS
• Custom code: Check PHP versions, databases, and SSH access

Specific needs:

• Node.js or Python? Not every provider supports this
• SSH access? Important for developers
• Git deployment? Only with more advanced providers

6. Support and Language

For Dutch users, Dutch support is convenient:

• Can you call or only email?
• What are the opening hours?
• Is there a knowledge base?
• How fast is the response time?

7. Budget

Be realistic about your budget:

Step-by-Step Selection Process

Step 1: Determine Your Needs

Answer these questions:

• What kind of website am I building?
• How many visitors do I expect?
• Which CMS will I use?
• Do I need email addresses?
• What is my budget?

Step 2: Make a Shortlist

Based on your needs, select 2-4 providers that fit. Use our comparison tool to put them side by side.

Step 3: Check Reviews and Uptime

Look for:

• Uptime guarantees (99.9% or higher)
• Recent reviews from real users
• Known problems or issues

Step 4: Test the Support

Ask a question to support before becoming a customer. How quickly and helpfully do they respond?

Step 5: Start with a Shorter Period

Start with a monthly or annual subscription. Don't sign up for 3 years right away, even if it's cheaper.

Common Pitfalls

❌ Only looking at price

The cheapest option is not always the best. Look at the total value.

❌ Buying too much

You don't need 500 GB storage for a blog. Start small.

❌ Ignoring renewal costs

Check what you pay after the first year. Some providers have high renewal prices.

❌ No backup strategy

Choose a provider with automatic backups, and make backups yourself.

❌ Forgetting SSL

Free SSL is standard. If a provider charges extra for this, look elsewhere.

Recommendations per Situation

For Beginners

• Vimexx (€0.45/mo) - Cheap and simple
• mijn.host (€1.99/mo) - A few more features, still affordable

For Small Businesses

• Antagonist (€2.49/mo) - Excellent price-quality
• TransIP (€3.99/mo) - Professional and reliable

For WordPress Sites

• Antagonist - LiteSpeed makes WordPress fast
• Theory7 - LiteSpeed + good price

For Webshops

• Hostnet (€9.99/mo) - Reliable for e-commerce
• Combell (€5.99/mo) - Belgian, strong in webshops

For Developers

• TransIP - SSH, Git, staging environments
• Antagonist - Node.js, Python, modern stack

Conclusion

Choosing the right hosting doesn't have to be difficult:

1. Be honest about your needs
2. Don't start too big
3. Choose a provider with good support
4. Don't pay too much for features you won't use
5. Read the fine print about renewal

Still doubting? Use our comparison tool to put providers side by side, or check our top recommendations for beginners.

This guide is regularly updated with the latest information about Dutch hosting providers.