Share what you know with millions of people
Focus is the best place to turn what you know into remarkable content
0
How can I tell if a business web hosting service is reputable?
With all the options available, it's hard to tell the good web hosting companies from the bad. What are the red flags that I should watch out for when looking for a business web hosting service?
Events
- Dos and Don'ts of Small Business Marketing May 29 @ 11 am PT
- Lead Nurturing 202: The Next Generation May 31 @ 11 am PT
- The Tricks to Paid Media June 6 @ 11 am PT
- Display Advertising for Brand Awareness June 20 @ 11 am PT
Related Activity
5 Answers
One of the first things I would suggest is to find out who the real company is behind the company. Many small hosting companies have a myriad of operating names. Sometimes simply looking up who the domain name is registered to will give you this. As an alternative, some of the financial sites (like Hoovers) may have this information (obviously depnending on how small and obscure they are).
This may be a bit of common sense, but foremost I would look at how they deal with their existing customers. If you can talk to one or two, that would be great (even if they are supplied references). Search on the web for issues too (put in the hoster's name and key words like issue, complaint or problem). Of course, keep an open mind in reading the issues as even with good companies there will be some complaints.
Things to look for as red flag issues would be: frequent or prolonged outages, difficult customer service (particularly during setup), bandwidth issues (which would be caused by overburdened servers or connections) or pricing issues. The last can be caused by hidden add-ons for storage or excess traffic.
After doing the research, I would choose a provider who has been in business a while (3-5 years), has a good reputation with clients, has a reasonable (but not the cheapest) price, includes most everything you need in the base price and offers a short term contract. The last point allows you to make a move if things don't work out.
Hope this helps.
Bill Broadbent
Let me recommend Liquid Web. I've used them for years and every time I send in a support request, or a phone call, I get an immediate answer.
Other than being a customer, I have no connection. I'm a customer and a fan.
Bill Broadbent
http://www.AppPublishing.com
Tools for the Mobile World
Excellent advice from Paul. Before looking too deeply, make a list of criteria for your website so you are clear on your requirements. Will you need static pages only, or will you need additional features such as shopping cart, blog, secure customer/employee/vendor sign in section? Some of the less expensive places cannot accomodate the extras and some will with an additional fee. Also, in cases where you need these features and need training on how to set them up, what kind of support will they provide to you?
Don't go for a hosting companies based on price. I can assure that the cheaper the crappier.
Don't fo for a web-hosting company simply becaus they are offering unlimited Hosting. That's not to say that there's anything wrong with going with those host companies. Afterall most host companies are guilty of this.
Run away from any host that has not form of support. Live chat is my all time favourite. There's also ticket system and forum. if they don't hav any of these it means they are crappier as thye come.
To read reviews of web hosting companies visit http://www.besthostlead.com
Lest i forget, don't forget to read their terms of service.
Paul has laid out how to research providers very well. To add to his post I personally recommend Bluehost. I have used them for over 6 years and have had fantastic service. Their tech support is extremely knowledgeable and answer the phone usually within 1-2 seconds. Their plans include everything and are normally between 6.95 and 7.95 depending on the length of sign-up. But right now they are running a special for $3.95 per month.
Here is a link to learn more about them: http://www.bluehost.com/track/kfawcett/tellmemore?page=tell_me_more.html
Answer This Question