|
Web hosting articles
Five Things to Look
For When Choosing a
Web Host
A simple
Google
search
using
the term
“web
hosting”
will
give
several
million
hits.
How can
any
user,
especially
one that
is
inexperienced,
choose a
web
hosting
company?
These
five
things
to look
for
should
at least
allow
the user
to
narrow
the
field.
The most
important
item on
the list
is
support.
Top-notch
technical
support
should
be the
first
thing to
look
for,
especially
if the
user is
relatively
inexperienced.
Don’t
look
just for
email
support
either;
make
sure
that
there is
a
telephone
number
for
urgent
issues.
Make
sure too
that
support
is
available
24 hours
a day,
7 days a
week –
technical
problems
could
occur
any
time.
Try to
get a
feel for
how
responsive
the
support
is by
sending
them an
email
and
seeing
how
quickly
they
respond.
Make a
phone
call
late at
night –
make
sure
that
they
really
do have
someone
available
at all
hours.
The next
thing to
take a
look at
is their
reputation
– what
other
users
feel
about
their
web
hosting
experiences
with
that
company.
Some web
hosting
companies
will
give out
a list
of users
that can
be
contacted
for
their
opinions.
This is
good,
but only
to a
point –
when I
was a
salesman
I knew
which of
my
clients
I could
rely on
to give
a good
report!
Check
out
message
boards
and
forums
around
the
Internet
and see
what
comments
are
being
made
about
particular
companies.
Take
these
with a
pinch of
salt –
don’t
let one
negative
comment
outweigh
many
good
comments.
Also
find
out, if
possible,
how long
the
company
has been
in
existence.
It’s not
a
sure-fire
guarantee
of
longevity,
but in
general
companies
that
have
been in
business
for some
time
tend to
be more
stable.
Make
sure
that the
web
hosting
company
can
supply
all of
the
services
you
need, or
those
you are
planning
to add
shortly.
You may
not need
ASP or
PHP
support
at
first,
for
example,
but if
it is
something
you
intend
to add
once the
site is
up and
running
then
make
sure
that you
will be
able to
do this.
It can
be a
time-consuming
business
moving
from one
hosting
service
to
another,
and some
forethought
here
will
save
time and
money
later.
Pricing
is
important
too. If
one
particular
web
hosting
company
is
offering
a
pricing
plan way
below
the rest
of the
market,
you may
want to
think
twice
about
opening
an
account
there.
It’s not
necessarily
bad; the
company
may be
new to
the
business,
and the
cheap
prices
just a
way of
increasing
business.
However,
it could
also be
a sign
of
extensive
overselling,
which
may
cause
web
sites on
that
company’s
servers
to be
slower
than
they
should.
The last
thing to
consider
is
rather
more
subjective.
How do
you feel
about
the web
hosting
company?
Take a
look at
their
web site
– does
it look
neat and
professional?
Disorganized?
Talk to
their
staff,
both
sales
and
technical
support
– are
they
knowledgeable
and
helpful?
Or maybe
they try
to brush
you off
with
stock
answers,
or are
less
than
polite.
Remember
that
your
future
income
will be
dependant
on this
company
being
able to
host
your
site. If
you are
not
comfortable
with
that
thought,
then
keep
looking. |
