Begin with the application
A presentation website, an online shop and a custom business platform have different operational needs. List the runtime, data storage, integrations, expected traffic and availability requirements before comparing providers.
Compare responsibility, not just price
Understand who handles software updates, deployment, backups, monitoring and recovery. A lower monthly bill does not describe the full cost if your team must take on substantial operational work.
Test the delivery workflow
Check how changes are previewed, deployed and rolled back. Confirm how configuration and secrets are managed and how you would restore the service after a failed release. Practice those steps before relying on them.
Leave room to change
Keep source code and deployment instructions accessible to the people responsible for the product. Review data export and migration options. Choose enough capability for the actual requirements rather than adding infrastructure because it sounds sophisticated.