Tag Archives: package
Considerations for Your Website as Your Business Grows (Page 1 of 2)
It is the dream of most business owners and entrepreneurs that their business will grow over time and become a success. In the growth process, your business and web hosting needs may change. These changes can be a challenge to manage. Often expanding operations or venturing into new avenues of business is a matter of taking advantage of opportunities. Sometimes you can plan carefully and structure the timing; however, more often business find themselves thrown headlong into a situation where they suddenly have a rush of business and have to figure out a way of handling it. Planning the structure of your website and hosting package can help you cope with the changes as they happen.
Start with the Basics
As a start-up business, one of your priorities is keeping efficiency up and costs low. Your best option is to select a shared hosting package with a reputable service provider. Do an online search for different hosting providers. Read the customer reviews and find out what type of products they have to offer. It is not recommended that you select a free hosting package. Often these have limited customer service and support and they don’t allow you upgrade when needed. A good hosting provider should have entry-level packages as well as more advanced packages that you can migrate to when needed.
Key Things to Look for in a Hosting Package
One of the most important aspects of a hosting package is the customer support that is offered. A quick phone call to the support desk will quickly show how knowledgeable the support staff are. They should be able to provide you with technical information and advice regarding your web hosting package. You should then consider upgrade options. How easy is it for you to migrate from a basic starter package to a more advanced hosting option? Are there penalties involved? Are there different hosting requirements that you will need to incorporate into the design of your website? Do you have to use specific scripts? The last consideration is website security. Even on a basic hosting package, you will want to know that a level of security is maintained on the server.
When Do You Consider Upgrading?
One of the factors that determines what type of hosting package you choose is the amount of data or bandwidth that you require. Starting out, your website will probably be quite small. Unless you are going straight into e-commerce, it will probably be just a corporate or marketing-type website that profiles your company. As your business grows, you may want to add features such as a blog, forum, chat facility or various article posts. These features usually add quite significantly to the data requirements of your website. You may then need to upgrade to a larger package that can accommodate these features. If you decide to launch a full scale e-commerce site, you will probably have specific hosting requirements. Many web hosting providers have detailed e-commerce hosting packages available for businesses. If your business gets to the size where you want to have a dedicated server then you want to be with a hosting provider that can facilitate the transition without there being too much disruption to the uptime of your website. You may consider a dedicated server when you have specific hosting requirements. When you want greater control over your website and server or want to use specific scripts, a dedicated server is a good choice. You may also decide that you want improved security for your website that you can only get from a dedicated server. You can then upgrade your hosting package as needed.
Considerations for Your Website as Your Business Grows (Page 1 of 2)
It is the dream of most business owners and entrepreneurs that their business will grow over time and become a success. In the growth process, your business and web hosting needs may change. These changes can be a challenge to manage. Often expanding operations or venturing into new avenues of business is a matter of taking advantage of opportunities. Sometimes you can plan carefully and structure the timing; however, more often business find themselves thrown headlong into a situation where they suddenly have a rush of business and have to figure out a way of handling it. Planning the structure of your website and hosting package can help you cope with the changes as they happen.
Start with the Basics
As a start-up business, one of your priorities is keeping efficiency up and costs low. Your best option is to select a shared hosting package with a reputable service provider. Do an online search for different hosting providers. Read the customer reviews and find out what type of products they have to offer. It is not recommended that you select a free hosting package. Often these have limited customer service and support and they don’t allow you upgrade when needed. A good hosting provider should have entry-level packages as well as more advanced packages that you can migrate to when needed.
Key Things to Look for in a Hosting Package
One of the most important aspects of a hosting package is the customer support that is offered. A quick phone call to the support desk will quickly show how knowledgeable the support staff are. They should be able to provide you with technical information and advice regarding your web hosting package. You should then consider upgrade options. How easy is it for you to migrate from a basic starter package to a more advanced hosting option? Are there penalties involved? Are there different hosting requirements that you will need to incorporate into the design of your website? Do you have to use specific scripts? The last consideration is website security. Even on a basic hosting package, you will want to know that a level of security is maintained on the server.
When Do You Consider Upgrading?
One of the factors that determines what type of hosting package you choose is the amount of data or bandwidth that you require. Starting out, your website will probably be quite small. Unless you are going straight into e-commerce, it will probably be just a corporate or marketing-type website that profiles your company. As your business grows, you may want to add features such as a blog, forum, chat facility or various article posts. These features usually add quite significantly to the data requirements of your website. You may then need to upgrade to a larger package that can accommodate these features. If you decide to launch a full scale e-commerce site, you will probably have specific hosting requirements. Many web hosting providers have detailed e-commerce hosting packages available for businesses. If your business gets to the size where you want to have a dedicated server then you want to be with a hosting provider that can facilitate the transition without there being too much disruption to the uptime of your website. You may consider a dedicated server when you have specific hosting requirements. When you want greater control over your website and server or want to use specific scripts, a dedicated server is a good choice. You may also decide that you want improved security for your website that you can only get from a dedicated server. You can then upgrade your hosting package as needed.
5 Top Questions to Ask When Choosing a Web Host
Choosing a web host is probably one of the most important decisions you will make a business owner. Today, a website reflects so much on an individual business and hosting is an important part of that. You want to have a website that is accessible all the time and one that mirrors the values you promote as a business. You therefore need to have a web host that is reliable and takes their role and responsibility seriously. If you are new to the process of choosing a web host and setting up a website then the task can seem quite daunting. There are many technical terms and figuring out what is important can be confusing. Here are a few questions to ask your web host so you can make sure they are a reliable and efficient company for you to work with.
What Hosting Options Do They Offer?
Some hosting companies specialize only in one type of hosting. This could be either shared or dedicated hosting. Ask the web host if this is the case or if they offer both options. It is preferable to work with a company that has a wider range of services. The reason for this is that over time your business may grow and your hosting needs may change. A company that can offer you more than one type of hosting solution will be the better company to work with in the long run.
Can You Migrate Between Hosting Packages?
It is unlikely that your web hosting needs will stay the same over time. Having to change your web host simply because you need a larger hosting package can be time consuming and frustrating. It will also affect the design and operation of your website. Most reputable web hosts will give you the option to upgrade your web hosting package. The process should be relatively affordable and free of hassles. The web host should be able to assist you with an easy migration to your new package. They should also be able to make recommendations as to what type of package you should upgrade to.
What Servers Do They Use and When Were They Last Upgraded?
A reputable web host will be diligent about keeping up with technology. At the pace at which technology advances, web hosts should be upgrading their servers every year or two. If they leave it longer than that then it is possible that the technology they are using will become outdated. This can in turn affect the functionality of your website. They should also be able to give you specifics on the capacity of the servers. If they give you the names of the particular servers, you can quickly and easily read online reviews of the servers. This will allow you to establish if they are reliable machines.
Is There a Support Desk and When Are They Available?
A support desk is probably one of the most important aspects of web hosting. Even a business owner that has some technical knowledge will not have the same level of expertise as people who work in the industry on a daily basis. In addition, the help desk will have access to the server and is able to do diagnostics should any problems arise. Having access to an efficient helpdesk will help you maintain a professional website. Their hours of operation are important because your website will be online 24/7. If the support desk only operates during office hours, it may mean that problems with your website lie unattended for a period of time. Any time that your website is not operational reflects badly on your business. You therefore want to ensure that if there are any problems, you can get them quickly and easily resolved.
What Anti-Virus and Security Measures Do They Have in Place?
It is vital to have good security on your website, especially if you are being hosted on a shared server. Remember that your website is the face of your business. You want it therefore to be as professional as you are. You don’t want your clients logging into your website and then being concerned about the security of their personal details. You also do not want your website unknowingly spreading a virus. The web host should perform regular virus scans and take analytics of the server to make sure that it is clean and the risk of infection is minimized.