Does Magento Hosting Matter?

Magento Hosting is a very well-liked e-commerce solution, so it’s perfectly understandable that folks want hosting packages that are optimized accordingly. The same way how specialized Joomla hosting companies, vBulleting hostings companies and others have managed to produce subniches so far as hosting is concerned, “Magento hosting” will be a term an increasing number of people will be using.

You will find many cPanel hosting companies, for instance, with web hosting plans which have been optimized for Magento and if that’s true, you will likely discover a descriptive sales page on their website which does all of the explaining. If the web hosting company doesn’t have a hyperlink with a Magento hosting package on its homepage, it is easy to still determine if it could represent a Magento hosting solution by:

Looking Up the Magento System Requirements

First of all, you should grab a Linux box, this much is definite. Magento commerce supports Apache 1.3.x, Apache 2.0.x along with Apache 2.2.x, so most web hosts would meet the criteria from this perspective. Now so far as PHP is concerned, there are particular things that you need to hold in mind.

Magento is compatible with PHP 5.2 (make sure you have a memory limit of 128 Mb at the minimum) but remember to ensure that the php function safe_mode is off. In addition there are certain necessary extensions which you may want to remember about: iconv, SOAP, GD, simplexml, PDO_MySQL, DOM mcrypt, has and cURL.

Your server needs to have the ability to run cron jobs and it also needs to be able to override options so far as the .htaccess file is concerned. And eventually, on the subject of SSL, it’s good to know that it doesn’t support self-signed certificates.

Which Web Hosts Meet the Criteria?

Most companies which provide Linux hosting (i.e. cpanel web hosting, reseller web hosting, linux vps hosting , etc.) solutions can cater to your needs, however it’s extremely vital that you ensure that your package supports Magento before making the payment. When you’re not 100% sure, contact the sales department of each web host and ask them.

A great deal of companies employ a live online support interface, which means you’ll be capable of finding someone who can answer this question instantly and without even picking up the phone. If an online support interface is not available, you can simply email them or (if you would like a response ASAP) give them a call. Most good cpanel reseller hosting companies and even unlimited domain hosting companies offer 24×7  support, so getting in touch with someone should not be complicated at all.

It’s extremely important to choose only companies with whom you’re 100% comfortable. On one hand, it can be true that cheap website hosting packages will always be tempting, but with regards to Magento hosting, going with providers that have proven themselves time and time again is certainly the most effective long-term solution.

After all, would you rather save a couple of dollars here and there but face the risk of the store being offline a whole lot? The results are a lot more than obvious: less traffic, ultimately fewer sales, you’d probably end up losing considerably more money than you’ve managed to save by going with the cheapest option. Better to spend a little more money but know that you’re working with true professionals.

Magento Hosting Errors?

Unfortunately, there are several mistakes related to Magento hosting which could cost you. Leaving the previously mentioned mistake aside (always going with the cheaper options), there are many other things which could cause problems.

First of all, not monitoring your site daily is certainly not a recommended practice. You never know what could fail, so keeping track of things will definitely not hurt. Maybe your hosting companies will upgrade one thing or another and that will interfere with Magento, you simply never know. As soon as you notice problems, contact your web host ASAP and don’t forget to mention you’re running Magento. An excellent Magento Hosting support representative will be able to determine the reason for the situation quickly and can make the required changes within moments.

Don’t forget to be aware when installing other applications in your server. You will find instances where certain scripts or applications can interfere with Magento. It’s not uncommon to switch your settings in order to be able to run a specific application, only to find the new settings caused problems with Magento after the changes. Anyone makes mistakes and, once again, that’s why always monitoring things is recommended. If you follow these simple guidelines, finding a great Magento Web hosting company and running a profitable Magento website is going to be a piece of cake.