How to pick a Web Host and avoid disastrous problems later

You may ask why we put a page up like this. Well it’s simple: Every day we have people call here with some sort of problem caused by their hosting company.

We can't stress this point enough, even if you choose another hosting company you need to know the answers to these questions.

Here’s the scoop; maybe you can recognise some of these problems – they may have happened to you already or to someone you know. We've seen domains registered all wrong. Domain customers weren't provided a username and password. We've seen some whose files have just mysteriously disappeared. We've seen companies that have just mysteriously disappeared. Others have been down for weeks. And, there are some that are taken off-line for billing errors that are the fault of the hosting company. On and on and on goes the list of how hosting companies don't give their customers all of the information needed and, frankly, we are tired of seeing it happen. So even if you don't choose us you can find yourself a service that is decent and maybe you won't have these problems.

Now we aren't trying to scare you. We just want you to be aware and to make an informed decision.

So here are a few rules:

Rule 1: Every web host is not created Equal.

Know what you're buying and don't just find the cheapest service out there. If I had a dollar for everyone who has ever said "…hosting is all the same thing why should I pay more...?"

Well to tell the truth it’s not all the same thing. If you generate revenue off your site how much does down time cost you? If you think there is a problem with your website wouldn't it be nice if someone answered the phone? And if you are getting all this extra, what are you not getting? Is there a fee every time you call? Is your name being sold to marketing lists to generate extra revenue? Sure everyone wants the best deal but if you pay for a Daewoo there is no room to complain when it doesn't perform like a Mercedes. So ask yourself this: How important is this major investment in your business to you? How much is peace of mind worth to you? How much is reliability and having someone care that your site is up and running worth to you? How important is it to have a dependable website that your potential customers will be interacting with 24 hours a day 7 days a week – can you afford any sort of hiccup?

Yes competition has forced hosting companies to offer large spaces and huge amounts of bandwidth. But in doing so are they also limiting how fast your site can go, how many people can visit, and in effect, limiting the growth and success of your site? Remember it's all give and take.

Rule 2: Size doesn't matter.

What matters is reputation. In fact the bigger the company the more they forget the meaning of customer service.

Rule 3: Know and understand everything about your domain and domain registration.

And know how to get into your account. Treat your domain name and the registration/ownership of it like the keys to your house or the title to your vehicle. It's that serious! Imagine building your business only to find out you don't own the name or don't have any authority to change the information?

Rule 4: Don't believe everything you read.

Recently we found a site that professed that they were objective with regards to hosting companies, worked in the industry, and had no affiliation with any hosting company. Guess what? It was an affiliate site and they were being paid for every customer they referred to the hosting firm. Spend some time researching the company and find out how old the domain is. If it was registered last week be very suspicious that it is just a front for another company. Find out who those people are before you do business with them and before you give them anything. Look for testimonials and contact information and see if these are real live websites or just words typed in and attributed to "Bob Smith" or "Bill Jones". Even do this to large computer companies that offer hosting. Make sure it's not someone who has just purchased someone else's domain name and is selling under the reputable brand already established. Resellers of less than stellar companies are all over the internet. Don't get sucked in.

Rule 5: Don't sign up just because your webmaster says so.

Again this goes back to knowing who you are doing business with. We have many sites that webmasters have signed up and then suddenly without a word or notice the webmaster vanishes. *Poof*. They register the web hosting account to themselves instead of the true owner. So they own the domain and the website account and Bam!, they drop off the face of planet. Then your domain name is nowhere to be found giving you no legal rights to a website already bought and paid for. Make sure you know who is hosting your domain. Make sure your name is on the account with the host and on the domain registration. This rule has no exception!

We have prepared a checklist for you to use as you do research on web/hosting companies. The internet is truly a buyer beware arena. Yes there are some very good companies out there big and small. If you don't like what we have on offer do your due-diligence to find a reputable company and steer clear of the internet cowboys.

We can't stress this point enough, even if you choose another hosting company you NEED to know the answers to these questions.