9 Things to Check Carefully for Web Hosting Service
Before purchasing a certain product, consumers nowadays consult the Internet for reviews, recommendations, price, and product specifications. In particular, people looking to purchase new laptops or all in one computers often compare different models online, before going to a store to test out the ones they are most interested in. Seeing the actual products in use often makes a big difference – especially for newer technologies like all in one computers. Yet, even after choosing their favorite model in store, many people return home and make their tech purchases online. This situation is where having a business website and a good web hosting service is essential.
Whether you own a computer retailer or are simply running a family-inherited bakeshop, developing an online presence these days is a must. As a matter of fact, most businesses can’t afford downtime, when consumers can’t view their site. Choosing the right web hosting service is one of the most important decisions that you will make for your business. The host manages your servers on which your business site will run, and therefore has total control of your organization’s connection to its customers. Be an informed consumer; don’t be drawn in by cheap packages, or other freebies. Check out these tips to help you choose the most reliable web hosting company for you.
Customer support
Make sure your web hosting company offers adequate support. When your website goes down or encounters an email issue, you need to have someone who can help you fix the glitch. It is best to go for hosting providers that provide 24/7 phone support, with representatives that can speak and understand your language..
Backup
Find a company that offers adequate backup. The next time you accidentally delete a blog directory for your business, you don’t have to panic. All you need to do is call your host to retrieve a backup copy, and reload your content back online. It is also wise to ask about your hosting company’s disaster contingency plan, to ensure that they are also backing up these files.
Parking service
Determine if you can park your organization’s other domain names with their servers. A lot of firms purchase .net, .com, .org, and even hyphenated versions of their domain name, service names, misspellings, and many more. It is more convenient and efficient for brand management to have all these names in a single control panel without losing traffic.
Guaranteed uptime
You don’t want your clients to experience a blank screen when they go to their URL. Look for a web hosting service with a proven reputation for uptime and redundancy. Choose a company with a 99 percent uptime guarantee or more. Make sure your company has multiple locations or mirrored servers, so that when server goes down, they will have another one ready to go.
Blog-ability
Having a company blog is a staple aspect in your online marketing campaign. But even if you don’t want to start a blog yet, make sure your hosting company meets the requirements for WordPress, the world’s biggest blogging platform.
Accessibility
Find a host that gives you access to the server, so that you can make email accounts, modify server settings, and more. You will need access to your email online, not just through Outlook. Choose a company that lets you login to your company email, even when you are away from your desktop, just in case Outlook crashes.
Add on Features
Before being mesmerized by the quotes that you get from these web hosting firms, make sure you know what you are paying for. There are companies out there who will offer you a low start up rate, but a basic package without additional features. Do you want an email address? That’ll mean extra purchase. Thinking about a getting a blog? That’s another expense. You get the idea.
Scalability
For now, you might be thinking that your business is only a small business, but when choosing a web hosting service, work with a company that can scale as your business grows. As your retailing business takes off, you need a hosting plan that can be upgraded, too.
Shared hosting or dedicated hosting
A good way to save money is have your website under a shared hosting plan. This means that your business site is hosted together with other people’s sites for as low as $6 monthly. But shared hosting services often suffer hitches and glitches – a problem on one site can undermine and slow the others. Bear in mind too that a quick website response time is important for impatient web users and web crawlers. Think then about getting a virtual private server that gives you faster performance and better quality service overall.