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Tips on How to Choose a Web Hosting Company – Helpful Things You Need to Know
If you want to build your home in the Internet, you’ll want to engage the services of a Web host. They will give you the space and the connectivity you need to get your site up and running in the World Wide Web. While there are free web hosting services available, paid hosting services are infinitely better and are the preferred choice for those who need more “power” and stability for their online presence.
Before finding a Web host, make sure you know what your requirements are. This is because the fee you pay generally depends on the amount of disk space and bandwith you need. Knowing what you need first gives you the chance to be specific with your Web host so you don’t have to pay for extraneous services you don’t need.
Web hosts offering different sorts of Web hosting services and plans flood the Internet. Weeding out the bad from the good and choosing the best over who’s simply better takes a little bit of patience and lots of research. Here are some traits that you should look for in a Web host:
1. Integrity. This is the first trait of any good Web host. Whether this provider is an individual or a company, your background check should reveal a reputation of professionalism, honesty and stellar service. Moreover, they should tell you all the costs up front. Some Web hosts offer attractively low package rates that have a lot of hidden charges should you decide on an upgrade later on.
2. Redundancy. No, this does not mean that they have to keep repeating themselves over and over. In Web-speak, redundancy refers to the number of connections they have on the Net. Ideally, a T3 connection is best, although T1 suits most small businesses.
3. Supportive. This is exactly what it says. Good Web hosts give you the necessary technical support when you need it. Do they offer 24/7 support? As some web hosts work from a different time zone, you’d want to have this kind of service so you’re assured that no matter what time in the day or night, you’ll have all the support you need in case of any glitch. How do they provide support? Will they be able to communicate through all means possible- email, chat, video conferencing or the phone? You have to be assured that they can be reached during critical situations.
4. Security. The Web host you choose should be able to guard your site against malware or hackers. With the rise of cyber crimes, you should have a web host that guarantees full security and protection for your website, especially if it’s a commercial site where customers share credit card information with you when they make a purchase.
5. Flexibility. You might start out with a simple web site, but over time, you might see the need to expand it. The Web host you choose should be able to accommodate your needs and upgrade your service plan without penalty. Moreover, they should also be flexible in terms of their platform features, templates and other areas that meet the needs of the people who patronize your website.
Should You Take Notice of Web Hosting Comments?
There is a temptation to look at web hosting comments, see a few negative items relating to a particular host and dismiss them but this can be a mistake. When reading web hosting comments it is useful to bear in mind the following:
* The services provided by hosting companies do differ. There is no point in complaining about lack of support for a particular technology if this was never promised in the first place.
* Users will generally complain more readily than they will praise so it would be surprising if there were no negative web hosting comments about a host.
* The bigger the hosting company the more negative comments you would expect to see.
* Many negative web hosting comments would not have been necessary if users had read the Terms of Service (although some hosts could make the key terms clearer on their web sites).
When looking at web hosting comments about the major hosting companies I was struck by how many are about financial, contractual and support issues rather than technical issues. These can be:
Cancellations: Sometimes there is a procedure to follow which is set-out in the TOS. Not following this results in delays.
Domain Names (and cancellations): When a domain name is included in the package it has to be paid for if you cancel, even under a money back guarantee. This is spelt out in the TOS but the website may only say that the money back guarantee relates to hosting costs and the implication of this is lost on some users. Failure to get a full refund generates some of the more angry web hosting comments.
Renewals: Most hosts issue coupons/offer discounts but these apply to new customers only. Renewals are charged at the host’s standard rates, some websites do not make this clear.
Definition of “Unlimited”: Most hosts offer unlimited bandwidth, storage, databases etc. but whilst it clearly cannot be taken literally, definitions of “Unlimited” are vague. The use of unlimited does keep things simple and hosting companies know that most users will only use a small amount of resources. However we are talking about shared hosting so if a site does get busy it cannot be allowed to take resources to the detriment of other users. At this point you have to rely on the hosting company to deal with this reasonably. Of course users in this position will see the host as unreasonable and will probably post negative web hosting comments.
Backups: Hosting companies usually state that backups are the responsibility of the user. Whilst they do generally backup their shared servers periodically they do not accept any liability for lost data (not unreasonable given the low costs of hosting). Clearly anyone can suffer a hardware failure so you could be unlucky with any host.
To make sure you do not end up writing negative web hosting comments I suggest reading the TOS of your host thoroughly and taking your own regular backups.
Should You Take Notice of Web Hosting Comments?
There is a temptation to look at web hosting comments, see a few negative items relating to a particular host and dismiss them but this can be a mistake. When reading web hosting comments it is useful to bear in mind the following:
* The services provided by hosting companies do differ. There is no point in complaining about lack of support for a particular technology if this was never promised in the first place.
* Users will generally complain more readily than they will praise so it would be surprising if there were no negative web hosting comments about a host.
* The bigger the hosting company the more negative comments you would expect to see.
* Many negative web hosting comments would not have been necessary if users had read the Terms of Service (although some hosts could make the key terms clearer on their web sites).
When looking at web hosting comments about the major hosting companies I was struck by how many are about financial, contractual and support issues rather than technical issues. These can be:
Cancellations: Sometimes there is a procedure to follow which is set-out in the TOS. Not following this results in delays.
Domain Names (and cancellations): When a domain name is included in the package it has to be paid for if you cancel, even under a money back guarantee. This is spelt out in the TOS but the website may only say that the money back guarantee relates to hosting costs and the implication of this is lost on some users. Failure to get a full refund generates some of the more angry web hosting comments.
Renewals: Most hosts issue coupons/offer discounts but these apply to new customers only. Renewals are charged at the host’s standard rates, some websites do not make this clear.
Definition of “Unlimited”: Most hosts offer unlimited bandwidth, storage, databases etc. but whilst it clearly cannot be taken literally, definitions of “Unlimited” are vague. The use of unlimited does keep things simple and hosting companies know that most users will only use a small amount of resources. However we are talking about shared hosting so if a site does get busy it cannot be allowed to take resources to the detriment of other users. At this point you have to rely on the hosting company to deal with this reasonably. Of course users in this position will see the host as unreasonable and will probably post negative web hosting comments.
Backups: Hosting companies usually state that backups are the responsibility of the user. Whilst they do generally backup their shared servers periodically they do not accept any liability for lost data (not unreasonable given the low costs of hosting). Clearly anyone can suffer a hardware failure so you could be unlucky with any host.
To make sure you do not end up writing negative web hosting comments I suggest reading the TOS of your host thoroughly and taking your own regular backups.