Choosing A Reliable Web Hosting Company
Choosing a domain name may seem hard, but finding a good Web hosting company may be even harder.
There are many companies to choose from. Each one has a different pricing structure and varying features. Trying to understand all of the offerings a company has may seem overwhelming.
There are a few simple aspects that determine a good Web hosting company.
1. Reliability
There are several good places to find reviews of Web hosting companies. The BBB and CNET are both good sources for reliable information. Never rely on reviews posted directly on a company’s official site. The following questions should be asked to sort out the good companies:
- Does the company have effective backup provisions to prevent loss of data?
- Does the host shut down often to perform maintenance?
- What is the company’s backup allowance and disaster recovery plan like?
- How many hours or minutes of uptime are guaranteed each year?
To find out how many hours or minutes of uptime are allowed, read the company’s service level agreements. In the agreements, the hosting company’s redundancy arrangements may also be listed. Most Web hosting companies have server farms. This means that there are several backup servers that can step up if one server dies.
2. Customer Service
Good customer support is especially important for small business owners. Having to pay for the damage after it is done instead of preventing it is a headache that many business owners experience. However, a hosting company with excellent customer service will not put customers through such dilemmas. A good company will offer customer service 24 hours every day. Technical problems do not take breaks for weekends or holidays, so customer service representatives should be available around the clock. The best way to determine whether a company has good customer service is to test them. Call or email the hosts to see how long the response times are. If they take longer than 24 hours, keep looking for a hosting company. In most cases, legal questions are the ones that need immediate responses, so it is imperative to work with a communicative company.
3. Disk Space
If a company has an excellent customer service base and a good reputation, the last step is to look at their hosting specs. Every person’s site has different needs, so there are no exact specs that everyone should look for. However, it is important to consider the future growth of the site. Think about what kind of specs may be needed in the future and in the present. The amount of data and content that can be stored on a host’s server is called disk space. People who plan sites with elaborate photos, designs and animations should pay close attention to what is offered. A simple page usually uses 40KB of space. Sites with intense graphics and downloadable files will need larger amounts of disk space.
If computer terms seem too foreign, it may be beneficial to enlist the help of a professional site builder. There are plenty of reputable and creative Web site builders. They can be found with a simple Web search. However, it is important to ask for references or read reviews before agreeing to hire an individual.
About Author:
John Deschamp is a network administrator and freelance blogger for highspeedinternet.net, a site he often recommends to those looking to learn more about various high speed internet deals that are available.