First thing I would like to discuss is that price is not everything! Doesn’t matter if your paying .99c for hosting and your site is completely unreliable because in the end, you’ll lose money over these problems. When you buy a hosting account for your website to make money online, it is important to choose the right hosting company so you will not lose money with downtimes in your sites. Let’s go through the considerations that you need to ponder in order to ensure that you get what you need. You want to choose the web host that is going to provide your needs as they stand now as well as where they lead to in the future. Here we go:
1. Understand the differing types of hosts: shared hosting, collocated, unmanaged dedicated, and managed dedicated. Is your site brand new with little traffic? In the event your site is a newer domain, you won’t need the raw power of a dedicated server unless your site is resource intensive which can include: streaming, video’s, proxies and even linking to videos as well can cause a high load on Apache and the CPU(s).
2. Go for stability, not just size. Just because the host if offering you unmetered and unlimited space, doesn’t mean you should soley base your decision on that. What good is that account to you when your site is down or the server is overloaded? Research how long the hosting business has been in operation. See if they have recently changed ownership, and if they show positive cash flow.
3. The possession of fully redundant data centers. If you are considering doing business with a smaller hosting vendor, ensure that they have adequate power and connectivity capabilities. Inquire as to the number of lines the facility has. Do they possess an on-site generator? Does the generator receive regular checks and maintenance? What is the average utilization of the connections available?
4. How skilled is their staff? When you need customer service of a technical nature, you need it immediately, right? Find out the availability of their systems administrators. Send them a support ticket and see how fast they respond.
5. Other customer’s reviews of the hosting services. Same as any business, the hosting vendor should be able to provide good references.
6. Is the potential host flexible? In the future, your needs may change. Can you upgrade services should the need arise?
7. This step of course, is optional. Make sure that the host does not have blacklisted IPs. The host that you want to do business with would not be one that promotes illegal sites, spammers, or other security issues. You are considering associating your business with this host. You could always ask them what web server they plan to put you on.
8. Begin with and maintain a clear and written understanding of all services and all charges for them. If questions still remain or some terms are unclear it is strongly advised that you ask for clarification before signing up for anything.
If you do your research before beginning business, you will find a better avenue to the successful hosting, and thereby promotion, of your online business. Take your time in making this important decision.
Top 10 Questions Before Choosing A Web Host
When you are searching for a web hosting company it can be a daunting task with so many web hosting companies out in the web universe today. Here are the top 10 questions ask before choosing a web hosting company.
- 1. Space – How much disk space will you require/need?
- 2. Bandwidth – Cover your needs and allow for expansion if needed.
- 3. Budget – Set a realistic budget for yourself. How much are you willing to spend? lowest price too highest. Being a little flexible on your price will give more hosting choices.
- 4. Support – Do they provide at least 24/7 Support Desk? Support is very important, this is a must. You should have access to support 24 hours a day. Test the support desk. Choose anytime of the day or night and contact the support desk to test response times, ask any questions you might have. Do you need phone support or live chat support. ask these questions before you sign up with a web host.
- 5. Don’t forget to read the web hosting company TOS & privacy policy.
- 6. Features – Ask yourself what features you would like to have. Do you want one-click-scripts installers like fantastico or installatron? Do you want a website builder? Do you require a money-back guarantee? What kind of uptime does the web host provide? Anything above 98% is considered pretty well.
- 7. Control Panels – Do you want Cpanel, DirectAdmin, or Plesk?
- 8. Are there any setup charges, account migration charges or any hidden charges?
- 9. Try to get test download file so as to crosscheck their network speed.
- 10. Do they offer any coupons or special deals?
