In this day and age, agood website is one of the most powerful assets of any business or organization.
Once the site is fully designed and developed, you will need to find a home for it in the form of a professional hosting service. This allows you to have it up and running.
The market is swamped with hundreds of different companies to choose from and each one offers its own variety offeatures, services,and plans.
For newbies, choosing a bad hosting provider can be a nerve-wracking experience that can quickly deteriorate into a complete nightmareof a scenario.
As you might suspect, not all hosts are created equal: some are good, some are bad, and many are something in between.
There are a lot of things that can go wrong and have an immediate effect on your online presence: downtime, lost data, cyber-attacks or poor customer service, just to name a few.
In order to avoid potential pitfalls, here are a few basic questions that need to be answered before signing a contract and making the commitment to a specificwebhost.
How Long Has The Host Been in Business?
Just like in any other business sector, companies come and go quite frequently and new services in this industry are the most likely to fail.
It’s important to look for an established, reputable and reliable company that has a long and positive track record in this highly competitive business.
Researching the web and reading honest third-party reviews can help you to acquire a better understanding of whether a certain candidate is good or whether they have an endless trail of complaints from unhappy customers.
Is Tech Support Available 24/7?
Websites need to be accessible around the clock (including weekends and holidays) and so does technical support.
When something happens, you need to have an experienced, knowledgeable, and responsive professional by your side who will be able to solve your problem or issue as quickly as possible.
In addition, even if the provider offers continuous support, be sure to understand how it is delivered: by phone, ticket support system, live chat, email or in a different way, perhaps.
Reaching out to get help should be extremely easy and convenient, with simple access to multiple customer service options.
Do They Provide The Features You Need?
In order to ensure optimal performance, be sure to verify that the provider you are considering offers the technological features that your specific website requires.
Almost all webhosts provide basic features, such asdisk space, bandwidth, backups, and much more.
However, some features are not supported by all providers (or require extra payment), so be sure to confirmthat you’re getting everything you need.
What Payment Methods Are Supported?
As in most other industries, the default payment method is credit or debit cards, although some clients prefer alternative options for their own unique reasons.
Some website owners will look for hosts that accept PayPal, checks, money orders, bank wires, or other preferred methods.
Does the Company Offer a Decent Money-Back Guarantee?
Promises are great…. and almost all hosts promise the highest levels of uptime, speed,and security.
Nonetheless,what happenswhen these promises are not kept?You need to have a viable insurance plan or a practicalexit option in case you wish to end the relationship with your provider and move elsewhere.
It’s important to have the ability to get a complete refund in case you are dissatisfied with theservice after testing it for a while, without getting into an ‘ugly divorce’ situation.
