Internet
Hosting
Guide to Select A Web Hosting Provider
by SY Ho Are you confused, perplexed
and undecided? These are the major "symptoms" for those
who have already designed their website but don't know
which web hosting provider to choose from. Clearly,
with all the attractive packages offered by the hosting
company, no one would blame you for having such headaches
if you were not an IT-savvy person. Even if you are
an IT-savvy person, I'm sure you might face with some
difficulties choosing the ideal hosting provider since
there are so many different type of prices in set by
different web hosting provider. Well, talking about
IDEAL, do you believe there is IDEAL web hosting provider
for everyone?
Of course, there is no such thing as ideal web hosting
provider for everyone. Please bear in mind that different
people see things differently. One may say company A
is very very good and reliable, then the next person
may think that company B is better. So, in terms of
viewing an ideal provider, it differs from person to
person. Therefore, when a question such as "list the
top 5 web hosting company" is asked, everyone will have
different answer.
Briefly, web hosting provider will host your web site
and make sure it can be accessed by everyone 24 hours
a day. So, it is vital to select a reliable one to make
sure your website is always accessible particularly
if your website is an important means of communication
for you to reach your end users. Therefore, we have
written some hosting tips for those who need to choose a web
hosting provider. There are as follows:
Types of Web Hosting Provider and What Do You Expect
from Them
Freebies Never expect too much from freebies. If you
need a professional looking web site to get running on
the Internet, I don't think you should rely on freebies.
They may not be able to provide you the features and
support you need.
Paid Ones I would personally opt for this if I were
to set up an online business or start any professional
looking web-site. As the term implies, paid hosting provider
will definitely serve you better and you can select
those who offer the features that you want.
The Criteria to Select Web Hosting Provider
Support Yes, support is undoubtedly the most important
thing. Not only support that you need, but make sure
it's a Professional Technical support and it's advisable
to choose those company that provide 24x7x365 support.
Who knows if your website suddenly has problem in the
middle of the night. Without round the clock support,
who will be able to help you? A simple advice here,
before you choose a web hosting provider, try emailing
them and see how fast is their response. Whether it's
a technical question or question to their customer service
department, it doesn't matter. But, since you are interested
in their plans, I would suggest you email their customer
service department first. If they have prompt reply,
give them a tick in your criteria list. So, remember
this essential point.
Price
When it comes to money, people will think twice. Yes,
so do I. People will compare the price from one company
to another. In order to make a wise decision, make sure
the pricing you choose is unbeatable and reasonable.
However, do take note that cheaper provider does not
necessarily mean better service. I'm sure you will have
doubt when you see that Company A offers so cheap plan
compared to Company B. Have no fear. Just do some other
surveys or join forums to ask for other people's opinion
on the particular company's review. Of course, until
the end of the day, you will also have to decide and
take some risks to trust the company that you will choose.
Hence, the next criterion is also equally important
when you take your risk to trust a company.
Money Back Guarantee
Make sure you find a web hosting company who has money
back guarantee policy. The most common one is 30-days
money back guarantee. Only a handful will offer 60-days
money back guarantee. So, with this guarantee, you do
not have to worry when you start venturing into the
cyber world and letting the whole world view your proudly
developed website.
Platforms and Applications
Available In a more technical sense, it means the different
type of platforms available. Nowadays, web hosting company
will offer mostly Linux or Windows platform in their
server. So, if your website is based on .ASP technology,
no doubt you will have to go for Windows platform. Check
also on the features offered for you, whether the features
is supported by your website back-end technology or
not. If you are unsure, don't be hesitate to ask them.
That's why as mentioned earlier, support is very important.
You can email them to ask or even call them if they
are your local hosting providers.
Salability, Reliability and Security
How good a web hosting provider is also depends on
how salable; reliable in terms of backbone connection
and website uptime; and secured in terms of virus and
SPAM filtering. Remember that all these criteria are
needed to make sure your website is running well. It
will be great if the provider allows simple and easy
upgrade for any hosting plans. Some also provide customization
for you. So, this depends on your decision ultimately.
Please remember to choose provider that allows you to
easily add bandwidth, web space or email accounts as
your traffic grows.
Do also check on the reliability of the web hosting
company on their uptime guarantee as well as asking
them on where is their server located and their backbone
connection. You can always email to ask them this. And
I suppose a reliable web hosting company will provide
this content on their website for you to see. So, in
case if they do provide live chat, ask them instantly.
A proven uptime guarantee will at least ensure that
your website can be safely viewed by your intended users
from anywhere and at anytime of the day.
Security is what everyone needs. Therefore, it's best
to choose provider that has stated clearly on their
policy that they have SPAM and virus filtering feature
already installed. As there is one saying that goes
like this, "prevention is better than cure". So, be
prepared before you are attacked by virus or malicious
email attachments.
All in all, I hope this guide can more or less help
you in selecting a web hosting company. At least it
gives you a rough idea of what to look for.
reprint permission from goarticles.com
& SY Ho is an Online Marketing Executive for http://www.exabytes.com
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