Computers > Web Design
Here are some ideas for how to find a good web hosting company.
To find a good Web hosting company for your business it's always advisable to first understand your technology needs. You will want to outline what basic technologies or attributes will be required to specifically match your online business objectives. For example, if your website will be hosting lots of multimedia content or if you expect extremely high volumes of continuous website traffic, you will want to look for hosts that have better deals in regard to bandwidth usage. If on the other hand your site is merely a business card oriented website, then bandwidth is usually not much to be concerned about.
If you have a programmer already in mind for developing your website ask them what technologies they are most familiar with, what technologies they will use, and what hosts they recommend that are best suited for the work they will be doing. For example a Windows server is commonly ASP enabled but if your programmer likes Linux servers and using PHP then you want to find a hosting package that provides these technologies. Most large and reputable hosting companies offer an array of plans that cover all the needed technologies for developing an effective website.
Evaluate Web Hosting Companies
Be careful of sites that claim to provide reviews on Web hosting companies. Frequently the reviews are biased, setup by the hosting company but under a different name, and/or a site that puts the highest paying advertisements in the top results regardless of how good their servcices are. It's sometimes better to simply ask other people, associates, and friends with websites about what hosts they use and what they think of the host’s service and price. Good referrals go a long way! Also look for publicly traded companies that have been around a while, or look for companies that have written reviews from legitimate magazines or websites. Again, be careful of review websites setup primarily to only review hosting companies. There's a good chance they will lead you down the wrong path.
Overall customer service and response time to inquiries are all-important factors to evaluate. Once you narrow-down a few hosts try calling them to see how fast they answer the phone. Ask to talk to technical support and see how long it takes for someone to respond. Try this at various times of the day. Some hosts that claim 24/7 technical assistance do not really live up to this claim. Test them before you sign-up. Chances are that if you get consistent timely responses at different times of the day you might have a potentially good hosting company. The thing to remember is that a good hosting company is an "attentive" company. If they are generally attentive to your phone calls then chances are they are paying attention in other areas like keeping the servers up and running and addressing technical issues as they emerge. It's not guaranteed but it's sometimes a good indicator. You don't want to wait days to find out why your site is offline.
Find a Good Web Hosting Company
Here are some ideas for how to find a good web hosting company.
To find a good Web hosting company for your business it's always advisable to first understand your technology needs. You will want to outline what basic technologies or attributes will be required to specifically match your online business objectives. For example, if your website will be hosting lots of multimedia content or if you expect extremely high volumes of continuous website traffic, you will want to look for hosts that have better deals in regard to bandwidth usage. If on the other hand your site is merely a business card oriented website, then bandwidth is usually not much to be concerned about.
If you have a programmer already in mind for developing your website ask them what technologies they are most familiar with, what technologies they will use, and what hosts they recommend that are best suited for the work they will be doing. For example a Windows server is commonly ASP enabled but if your programmer likes Linux servers and using PHP then you want to find a hosting package that provides these technologies. Most large and reputable hosting companies offer an array of plans that cover all the needed technologies for developing an effective website.
Be careful of sites that claim to provide reviews on Web hosting companies. Frequently the reviews are biased, setup by the hosting company but under a different name, and/or a site that puts the highest paying advertisements in the top results regardless of how good their servcices are. It's sometimes better to simply ask other people, associates, and friends with websites about what hosts they use and what they think of the host’s service and price. Good referrals go a long way! Also look for publicly traded companies that have been around a while, or look for companies that have written reviews from legitimate magazines or websites. Again, be careful of review websites setup primarily to only review hosting companies. There's a good chance they will lead you down the wrong path.
Overall customer service and response time to inquiries are all-important factors to evaluate. Once you narrow-down a few hosts try calling them to see how fast they answer the phone. Ask to talk to technical support and see how long it takes for someone to respond. Try this at various times of the day. Some hosts that claim 24/7 technical assistance do not really live up to this claim. Test them before you sign-up. Chances are that if you get consistent timely responses at different times of the day you might have a potentially good hosting company. The thing to remember is that a good hosting company is an "attentive" company. If they are generally attentive to your phone calls then chances are they are paying attention in other areas like keeping the servers up and running and addressing technical issues as they emerge. It's not guaranteed but it's sometimes a good indicator. You don't want to wait days to find out why your site is offline.