|
|
|
| |
|
|
How To Find The Perfect
Web Host Provider
Tips to help you choose a web hosting company.
by Alyice Edrich
All materials copyrighted
|
|
Ad Disclaimer
Renting web space from a web host is one of the best things you can do for your business. Not only will you get rid of annoying
advertising banners, pop ups, pop unders, and confusingly long web addresses associated with free hosting plans, but renting space on the
Internet gives your business a sense of success while giving you more control over your online presence.
But which web host should you rent space from? That depends on the needs of your business, the reliability of the web host, and your
pocket book.
When searching for an affordable web host it’s important to understand the needs of your business so you know what you’re looking for in
terms of a hosting package.
- Will you want live chat for instant communication with your customers?
- Do you need a secure shopping cart?
- Will you have a member’s only section?
- Will you want access to a forum or chat room?
- Do you want to host several websites on one account?
Once you have an idea of what you need for your business website, it’s time to look for a web host. The first place to start is by
asking colleagues who they use. But don’t stop there, ask what they really like about their web hosts and what they hate about them, then
make a list of pros and cons. After looking over your list, pick the web hosts that look inviting, and visit their websites to make sure
what they offer meets your needs.
Look for answers to the following questions:
- How reliable is the web host?
What percentage does your web host guarantee your website will be up during the day, month, or
year? How many times, in the past, as the web host’s clients experienced times when their websites were not accessible to clients and
web searchers? Reliability is vital to the success of your online presence because if your website is down too much you’ll not only lose
revenue but it will have a negative impact on your business.
- How much disk space will you receive?
It’s important to understand how much space your website will take up before determining
how much disk space to purchase. There’s no reason to purchase large amounts of disk space if you’re never going to use them, and you
can always purchase more disk space as you need it.
- How much transfer bandwith (data transfer) with you receive?
Transfer bandwidth is crucial because it determines how many page
loads your website receives before your visitors can no longer access your website. If you plan on doing a heavy marketing campaign to
drive traffic to your website, you’ll need a fairly decent amount of transfer bandwidth.
- What happens when you exceed, or go over, your transfer bandwidth?
If you exceed your transfer bandwidth, will your web host
temporarily take your website down until your next billing cycle or buy more bandwidth, tack on outrageous fees for exceeding your
bandwidth, or contact you immediately to resolve the situation?
- How often does your web host provider back up its servers?
While you shouldn’t rely on your provider as the sole back up of
your website, it’s important that your provider has a routine back up system in place.
- How can you communicate to your web host provider?
Communication is vital. If your website experiences technical difficulties,
you’ll need to a direct line of communication with your web host provider. If your provider takes days to return your emails, or never
returns your phone calls, it could cost your business money. You’ll also want a web host provider who cares about keeping you as a
customer enough to have staff available 24 hours per day to answer your questions and address your hosting issues and actually listens to
what you have to say instead of scanning your question and sending a form letter response that has nothing to do with what you asked or
provides very little help.
- How does your web host provider deal with complaints against your company?
Illegitimate complaints against your company for
content theft or spam could cause your website to be shut down. If your web host provider doesn’t take the time to investigate and closes
down your website without first discussing the issue with you, it’s not a provider you want to work with.
- How does your web host provider accept payments?
Paying your web host provider shouldn’t be an inconvenience. And you shouldn’t
be required to pay for a year of service just to receive a better deal. After all, what happens if the provider goes out of business,
gets bought out, or turns out to be a lousy provider? Most often, you’ll lose out on those fees.
- What happens if your credit card is declined?
Will your web host contact you to provide an updated credit card or will it close down your website without notice?
- What types of features come with your web hosting package?
The features in your package should coincide with the needs of your website. Things to look for are:
- Operating system
- CGI-Bins
- Database accessibility: MySQYL, PHP, ASP
- Secure servers: SSL
- Personal IP addresses
- Microsoft® Frontpage Extensions and/or FTP access
- Mail servers and email accounts
- Script capabilities
- Private side directories/folders: .htaccess
- What does it take to update your web hosting package in the future?
In the beginning, you may only need limited features and space, but as your business grows, so will your web hosting needs. Changing
or upgrading your web hosting package shouldn’t be a hassle.
About The Author:
Alyice Edrich is the author of several highly praised e-books designed to help you work from home. To discover how you can
earn $50 in two hours or up to $10K in your spare time visit her store:
http://thedabblingmum.com/ebookstore
* This article is available for your publication, for a F-E-E.
This article may NOT be reprinted without monetary compensation and written permission from the author.
For reprint rights or comments/questions about this article, please contact the author.
|
|
|
|
