If you've decided to take your business online, one of the first things you'll need to do is choose a web hosting company that can give you the best possible digital experience. Choosing the right web hosting company isn't always easy - particularly since there are so many different options out there to choose from, and each claim to be the best around.

Fortunately, if you know which factors you need to consider before you get started, you can reduce the confusion involved in selecting your web hosting service. Here are 8 points to keep in mind.

1. Your Budget/ Price

The price of hosting is one of the first things that most people will look at when choosing the right hosting provider. However, while it's important to know your budget, remember that price is only one element you should be looking at. Ultimately, you need a web hosting company who can offer you the services and support you need for a price that fits your bank account. Remember not to ignore the features in favour of focusing on price.

2. Add-Ons and Features

Once you've taken a quick glance at the price, you can really start to get into the good stuff. Examine what features the hosting company can offer you, and what it is that makes them special. Does this hosting provider offer any special benefits that makes it particularly appealing to you? For instance, they might have multiple data centres across the region that helps to improve the resiliency of your website.

3. Tech Specifications

Next, think about the kind of website that you want to build, and how you're going to create your online presence. If you're hoping to run an eCommerce site with a rich blog and video content, then you shouldn't necessarily go with the cheapest hosting package available. You're going to need a provider that can give you the right amount of disk space and ram to give your customers the best experience possible.

4. Consider the Control Panel

Even if you plan on paying someone else to manage the technical side of your website for you, it's worth thinking about the control panel and how simple it might be to use. There are plenty of things that you should be able to do online today, like setting up an email account, without having to call your hosting company for extra assistance. Find out what kind of user interface the hosting provider offers, and whether you feel comfortable with it.

5. Customer Support

This is a pretty big factor in deciding which hosting provider you should go with. After all, there's always a chance that something will go wrong with your website, no matter how carefully you build it. If something does happen, then it's good to know that you have a host provider who's willing to give you the guidance you need to get your site back up and running in no time. Find out what kind of support is available, from 24/7 web chat to email service.

6. Check for Customer Satisfaction

One of the best things about our socially-connected and highly digital world today is that there are plenty of ways for you to find out more information about your intended hosting provider. A quick search online should be enough to help you find plenty of reviews and testimonials from people who have used the same service before. Read up on what people are saying about the provider before you commit to anything.

7. Hardware

Even if you're not a particularly tech-savvy person, it's worth reading up on the hardware that your service provider offers before you sign on the dotted line. Find out what kind of machines the hosting company uses, and whether they're top-of-the-line, and generally out of date. If the hosting company doesn't provide information about their servers, you can always ask about them. Hardware can affect the performance of your site.

8. Scalability

Just because your site is small now doesn't mean it's going to stay that way forever. Find out whether your hosting company fits into the plans you have for the future and can offer the scalability you need. Do they offer VPS solutions or dedicated servers if your company starts to grow particularly large? How easy is it to upgrade or expand your account? If you can't find any details about scaling on the hosting website, consider reaching out to the company before you sign up to their service.