If you plan to launch a website, you`re going to need a web hosting package and if you will search for a good web hosting, you will probably get more confused. Like everyone else, after so many years I`ve bought different packages at different companies and I think I can add some valuable information here.
Web hosting: what do I need ? Speed, uptime, security, great support and there is more ? Yes it is, but that`s not everything. I`ve actually made a list with them:
History of the web hosting provider: That would be the first thing to look.
- how many years do they have in this business ?
- how many clients, registered domains and active clients that runs their websites on their platform ?
How is their customer support ? If I have a problem in the middle of the night, can I talk with someone capable to solve my problems as fast as possible ?
- how fast they respond and more important what is the training level of their employees ?
- if I am an US citizen and I am calling or using the chat do I actually talk with someone else from USA ? It`s very important to talk with someone that can talk very well in english language not to mention their competency.
How is the speed of their servers. Sure, if you plan to launch a website, like everyone else, 99 % you`re going to buy an inexpensive hosting package which is going to use only a fraction from a powerful server.
- it seems that the search engines are going to love the websites that are loading fast, for example Google, so you need a decent fast loading speed.
- do they oversell ? if they do that, you`re not going to obtain the desired speed.
What money plans do they offer ? Do I need to pay a monthly fee, quaterly or yearly ? If I want to leave tomorrow to another web hosting provider, is this going to be an easy step ?
- I used to pay yearly until a web hosting provider made me feel like an idiot since their services became horrible and when I wanted to move I lost the money as it was normal.
- from experience I could say that it`s best to pay for web hosting services on a monthly basis ( I am not talking about domain registrations as it`s always to buy them for a longer period ) so that you can move to another provider if things gets ugly.
What others have to say ? It`s not something that will help you very much because you could read some bad reviews created by a competitor.
- if you read opinions on free websites, blogs or any other unknown forums well you should probably investigate and see if any other authoritive sources will have the same reviews.
- most web hosting providers, especially the big ones allows users to post different questions on their own forums and you should monitor/read them for a couple of days or even weeks and in the end to draw a line about the general impression of their own customers.
Unlimited space, unlimited bandwidth and everything else is unlimited* ! I have found this, what do you think ?
- what is wrong with you guys ? there is no SUCH THING AS UNLIMITED, this word doesn`t exist.
- a lot of small, medium and big web hosting companies will offer unlimited things but the truth is that somewhere on their website it says that unlimited actually means maximum X and Y so make sure that the ``unlimited`` offer will suit your needs.
Compare web hosting, reviews of 10 first web hosting providers and so on...most of them = another Internet commercial.
- I am not saying that you can`t find a true and honest website that offers good and clear tips for finding the best webhosting experience but most of them uses a reseller account so the jackpot is your money and not your satisfaction.
My website will use all technologies, asp, flash, php, mysql and so on
- always ask before you buy, ask if their servers are compatible with one or more technology, give them as more details as possible.
- make sure to ask about how much CPU resources you`re going to be allowed to use / day / week / month. How much bandwidth, space and so on.
Any web hosting demo ?
- most of web hosting providers will offer a demo username and a password which will allow you to test their services so make sure that you`re going to test this maybe you notice something that you don`t like or they don`t have the option that you`re looking for.
Web hosting providers, large or medium ?
- big web hosting providers have their advantages such as a better stability, good security and sometimes good support.
- a medium company could be a better hosting provider since they have a better interest in growing their business and this can be achieved by making their customers happy
Conclusion: Ask, ask, read and investigate before buying a web hosting package. I`ve made a lot of mistakes and I would like to mention here only one. I purchased a package for one year at a web hosting company and everything went well. Next year I did the same and I was a happy customer. The third year, again I`ve paid for one year but after 1 month, my great ( medium ) company was sold to a bigger one who re-located their customer support in a country that ( I apologize ) but their new staff always started their conversation with ``Sir`` which would make the queen of England quite envious. Back to my story, so their servers were ``upgraded`` to only one huge server in order to combine all platforms and technologies. From that moment, I`ve tried to be patient when my website didn`t worked at all. It worked for years but not after that upgrade which in the end, forced me to find another hosting provider. Even if you will find a good web hosting provider ( I hope you do! ) make sure to keep a local copy of your website in a safe place. It helped me a lot when I decided to move and don`t trust the ``automated backups`` phrase. Good luck in your search !
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