Web
Hosting Companies
With thousands of web hosting companies in the
market it can be difficult if not impossible to know which web
site hosting companies truly provide an excellent hosting
solution at an excellent price. When you have an established
domain name with a good web hosting company, you can get
reports on your traffic and which of your pages your customers
are visiting most often, as well as many other
statistics.
Your web host will charge you a fee for monthly service that
ranges from $10 or $20 to the more expensive $50.00 per month.
Plan to pay between $300 and $500 per year to your web
host.
Always avoid free or very inexpensive web hosting services,
because you may experience bouts of server downtimes and you
are likely to have significant limitations in storage, number
of email addresses, FTP upload etc.
Be sure your web host can accommodate e-commerce and
storefronts, wireless capability, bogs, forums, chats, online
interactive helps and anything else you want to add onto your
site.
Estimate what your growth needs are and ensure that this web
host can serve you as you grow. The last thing you want to do
is change host mid way unless you absolutely have to do
so.
Check your bandwidth capability to be sure that, if your
website traffic grows rapidly, your customers will not have to
wait to download or view information. Three things to look for
in a web hosting company are:
1. Excellent Customer
Support: Your hosting provider should be there for you 24/7
and give you instant access to the technicians you need to
solve your problem. Ask them how long it takes for them to
typically respond to your problem. A good test is to call them
in the mid night to check if you get to a live, level 3
support.
2. A Sound
Infrastructure: Check whether they offer a multi-homed
network powered by multiple bandwidth providers to ensure
redundancy. Some offer a 100% guarantee on its network
availability or network uptime.
3.
Financial
Stability: If you're running very critical operations,
you can't afford to be with a hosting company that may not
be in business in a few months.
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