Which
Web Host Should I Choose To Host My Business Site?
by Jonathan Caputo
This article focuses
on the differences between various business hosting
services, and helps the reader identify some important
criteria in choosing a hosting provider for their
business for instance, do you require a dedicated
server, a managed server, or a shared server). A
business web site could range anywhere from a simple
ecommerce site which sells one product, to a very
complex pay per click engine with real time statistics
and payment functionality.
Even with all
of the consolidation going on in the web hosting
industry, there are still thousands upon thousands
of hosting companies to choose from. If you visit
some of their sites, you will see that each of them
tout some features you may or may not of even heard
of before (Miva Scripting, Co-Location services,
Virtual Private Servers, Redundant backbone connections,
etc). The very first question you must ask yourself
is not which hosting company to choose but rather,
WHY do you need a hosting company?
Your particular
needs are crucial in determining the kind of hosting
you need. Web Hosting comes in many different flavors
and sizes, (not to mention prices!) so its key that
you shop for only the services you require or you
will be paying for a lot of services that you don't
need. When trying to decide which hosting company
will best suit your needs be sure to ask yourself
a few questions first. Here are some important ones:
1. What kind of
functionality will you require (ie Database, secure
server for processing credit cards, etc.) 2. What
will your traffic needs require (do you anticipate
your site having small, moderate, or significant
traffic) 3. How important are load times (if a majority
of your visitors are global you might want to consider
a hosting company that has a presence overseas as
well as the U.S. - also you may want to consider
a dedicated server as opposed to sharing a server
with several other businesses)
A business site
can range in price anywhere from the low end of
$40-$50.00 all the way up into the thousands of
dollars per month. Features that usually catapult
the price range are things like dedicated servers
(especially if they are on the high end hardware
wise), and bandwidth capacity.
Choosing a web
host for your business needs is absolutely one of
the most important decisions you can make. If your
site is down, your business is down, end of story.
Below is a list of some of the important questions
you will want to make sure you ask any prospective
hosting company before signing on the dotted line.
1. Do they offer
a money back, no questions asked guarantee? 2. Do
they offer an uptime guarantee? (as in, if there
is a outage, are you compensated?) 3. What types
of backups do they offer (tape back ups, CD rom
storage) 4. Do they have redundant backbone connections
to the internet (are they connected to the internet
by more than one provider, and are those providers
major backbone providers) 5. Do they offer 24-7
technical support (including phone support, or is
it only via email) 6. How long have they been in
business for and can they provide some business
references of other sites that they currently host?
7. Can you pay month to month or do they require
an annual contract? 8. Is it easy for you to upgrade/downgrade
services you may or may not require as time passes?
About the author:
Jonathan Caputo
is the CEO of itsALLnet, Inc. He created the Internets
first web host directory called Web Host List and
founded the Internets first Web Host Consortium
called the Web Host Guild. As a result he appeared
in the NY Times, People Magazine, Wall Street Journal,
on CNN, and CNBC as well as various other TV and
print mediums.
Source:
itsALLnet, Inc. http://www.itsallnet.com
