Choosing a Web Hosting Company
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Having a quality, reliable web host working for you should be the first step in setting up a successful internet
business or establishing your presence online. This is because web hosts are in charge of displaying your site
whenever your web address is typed into a browser. In other words, although the content is all yours, issues of
the site's speed, size and maintenance will be largely determined by you in conjunction with a web host. As such,
it is worth assessing the sort of package you need, paying particular attention to the following three areas:
Size and bandwidth
First of all, consider the size of the site you require by working out your rate of growth and including any
future expansion plans. If you already have a web page, review its web space usage and bandwidth (data transfer)
volumes. The most common error in choosing a web host is underestimating the amount of web space and bandwidth
you need. Ask the web host about the tariff for exceeding the limit and whether youll be notified when you
approach it, so that you can take measures to reduce usage or budget for the projected over-usage.
And what of this projected over-usage? The web host will have facilities for purchasing extra disk space and
bandwidth, but do these accord with your needs? For example, your web site might only need an extra 2 GB of
bandwidth, but extra bandwidth is only available in 5 GB blocks. Also determine that the charges for this extra
bandwidth accord with the rate you are paying for your current bandwidth.
Maintenance and support
The worst possible scenario of having a web site is suffering persistent and lengthy periods of downtime. Among
the greatest benefits of having your business online is that the internet is open 24/7 and readily accessible to
people both at home and in the workplace. However the marketing opportunities of this will be lost if a client
or customer visits your site and takes their business to a competitor because it is temporarily unavailable or
not working properly. Not to mention the cost this will have on your reputation.
The best way to ensure this never happens is to be very careful about the level of support the web hosting
company gives you. Ask how regularly they make thorough checks to ensure that everything is in good working
order and how often your information is backed up on an external database. Check whether they offer 24/7 phone
support and whether their technical support is given in a language you understand and is specific to the issue
at hand and not full of abstract generalities.
Also look at the measures they take to prevent such crashes from occurring and what the procedure is when they
do occur. Will the various services you are offering be available on a substitute site and what is the longest
period that the site could be down? Does the web host have the necessary anti-spam and anti-virus filters in
place to secure the site from being vulnerable to external attacks?
Choosing the right Web Hosting Service Plan for your needs >>
