Choosing a Web Hosting Company
by Veronica Stone on September 11th, 2007
When choosing a web hosting company for your online business, what are the important factors to consider? Here are 5 things to look for when shopping around for a company to host your website:
First of all, take into consideration the speed and reliability of the provider. Minimum uptime guaranteed should be 99%. Many web experts actually suggest that you look for an uptime that is even higher than 99%, however, and only consider companies who promise 99.5% and higher. Uptime simply refers to the amount of time that your site is guaranteed to be online and available to customers. This is why it is so important. Also look for a host that offers a refund if something goes wrong and you get less uptime.
Next, consider the amount of data transfer being offered. The first important point to realize is that even though many providers advertise unlimited bandwidth, this does not really exist in reality. If you use up too much bandwidth, the service provider will have to take on the cost and probably won’t let you get away with using such large amounts. Read the fine print and make sure you know exactly how much bandwidth you get each month for the price you are paying. It’s usually a good idea to stay away from companies that advertise unlimited bandwidth, just to be safe. Also check the policy you are considering for overages – this simply refers to charges that may be levied for every gigabyte you go over the allowed bandwidth. Some companies actually insist that you prepay for a potential overage. Stay away from these companies altogether.
Disk space is another important factor to consider. Again, look out for companies that advertise unlimited disk space because this may not benefit you in the end. Usually a website only needs about 5MB of web space, so an offer promising 200 or 500MB of space shouldn’t really significantly affect your final decision. Most companies just use this as a tactic to bring in new customers who think they are getting a good deal.
Hands down, technical support should be the number one factor you consider when making that final decision. Look for technical support that is available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This should include all holidays – meaning the company should be available to help you 365 days a year. If your site goes down on an important holiday weekend, when you are expecting to make a lot of sales, you will realize how important it is to have access to high quality technical support all year round. A great way to test the company on your shortlist is to contact their technical support at odd hours of the day and night. Send them an e-mail at midnight or on a Saturday. Make sure they respond quickly and efficiently with a good answer to your question. Make sure you ask technical questions as well, to make sure they are not only fast, but also knowledgeable.
Finally, for ecommerce sites you may want to consider a host that provides shopping cart software. You may have to pay more money or be subject to extra fees, but sometimes it is worth it in the end, especially if you get a good package deal. A secure server (SSL) is also a must-have for shopping cart sites because it provides a certain level of security.
