If you have a product to sell, you may be considering purchasing space to host a website. You’ll definitely need a shopping cart which can process online payments. Keep in mind that not every web hosting company will give you this ability. What other features may you need to take into account?
The majority of web page hosting providers offer a variety of service packages and features, which may differ significantly from one server to another. When you are analyzing the different providers, compare the different levels of service so you know you are getting the right features you require. You might like the price of one host, but then discover that the features you need require further funds to acquire.
Start looking for a new hosting site the second you detect there might be a problem with your current one. You can then make the change to another web hosting service with more ease and less disruption, if your current service proves to be too unreliable or completely crashes.
Make a list of priorities prior to choosing a web host. Know what features you need for your site, and see whether each provider can provide these features. This will help you make a decision based on a variety of factors, rather than a single factor at the potential expense of others.
Web page hosting services often charge you based on the type of traffic you receive. Find out how web traffic changes your bill. Some hosts charge a flat fee but raise the fee if you get a certain amount of traffic, while others charge you monthly based on the number of visitors your site received.
Consider using a free host to help you save money. This does mean, however, that ads will be appearing on your site, and also your storage space will be limited too. If you want a better site, steer clear of free hosts.
Does the company offer a portion of your money back if you want to end your contract early? A reputable company will give you a refund if you aren’t satisfied with your service in the first 30 days. Some hosting services may exaggerate their quality in their advertisements.
Customer Service
If you are new in web design, choose web hosts that gives good customer service as opposed to someone that has more features than you currently need. Being new, you will have a lot of questions concerning the features of the website hosting package you choose. The technical support that you will receive from a company with great customer service will be much more beneficial to you than a package of features you may never use.
Find a way, such as message boards or forums, to discuss a potential web host with its current customers. When you can ask questions and talk about any concerns, you will be able to quickly figure out which companies will not be able to meet the needs that you have. After reading the discussions you find in these places, you will most likely find your confidence towards a company is much higher. Customers who currently use the hosting service will usually give you the best information.
An excellent tip for choosing a web host, is to select one with a lot of hosting awards. The awards will give you an idea of their support services and reliability. Although stuff like this can easily be faked, a lot of sites garner their awards on the up-and-up through people who have used their service and then cast a vote. Any site with many awards that were voted on by fans is someone you definitely want to consider going with.
Email Addresses
Ask any host you are researching how many email addresses you can have with the plan you were considering. The most common option is POP 3, so choose a host which offers that. The email addresses share your site’s domain name and you can usually access the mail accounts from any web browsers using the host’s tools.
It’s important to focus on quality communication skills in your search for a new host. Your web host should give you ample warning about updates, maintenance, and planned downtime. They should want to interact with you. Of course, you will want to know that they are accessible when you have issues or problems.
Make sure you look at a website hosting company’s site very carefully before you sign up with their hosting plan. You should find tutorials or demos that will show what resources they offer to help with your site. Find out if you will have access to more resources and perhaps tutorials once you become a client.
Goes Offline
A web host should have several back up connections in case their primary one goes offline. Make sure the web hosts you are looking at have this. If your host only has a single connection to the Internet, you might be at risk because if it goes offline, so does your site. Verify that there are redundant connections, and make sure that each of the connections are capable of providing a sufficient amount of bandwidth for your website.
When in doubt, simply review the tips above to see if the hosting provider you are looking at offers the right features that make sense for your business website or website for other purposes. You should never pay too much for features that you simply don’t need. On the flip side, you shouldn’t be cheap when it comes to features that you need.
