It should guarantee uptime as close to 100%, as possible. As a golden rule, don’t even consider a host that claims less than 99% uptime.
It should offer various pricing tiers and limits for storage space and resources. One of the pricing tiers should have the ideal set of specifications for your needs. If not, there should be an option to order a customized plan.
It should have no limits on traffic. This will ensure that your website keeps accommodating visitors, even if it’s under severe load.
It should take security very seriously. Ideally, it should provide features like SSL certificates, incremental, automated backups, regular patching and malware scans, and preconfigured firewalls etc.
It should offer customer support 24/7/365, via various options like chat, email, or phone calls. Not only that, the staff should be friendly, responsive, and technically trained.
It should give you the flexibility to scale at will. E.g. if your customer base is rapidly growing, and you want more resources, you should be able to upgrade your plan seamlessly.