8 Steps to Choosing the Right Web Host

rllunzmann · 02-23-2008, 12:52 PM

Hello V7N Members!

First thing I would like to discuss is that price is not everything! Doesn't matter if your paying .99c for hosting and your site is completely unreliable because in the end, you'll lose money over these problems. Let's go through the considerations that you need to ponder in order to ensure that you get what you need. You want to choose the web host that is going to provide your needs as they stand now as well as where they lead to in the future. Here we go:

1. Understand the differing types of hosts: shared, collocated, unmanaged dedicated, and managed dedicated. Is your site brand new with little traffic? In the event your site is a newer domain, you won't need the raw power of a dedicated server unless your site is resource intensive which can include: streaming, video's, proxies and even linking to videos as well can cause a high load on Apache and the CPU(s).

2. Go for stability, not just size. Just because the host if offering you unmetered and unlimited space, doesn't mean you should soley base your decision on that. What good is that account to you when your site is down or the server is overloaded? Research how long the hosting business has been in operation. See if they have recently changed ownership, and if they show positive cash flow.

3. The possession of fully redundant data centers. If you are considering doing business with a smaller hosting vendor, ensure that they have adequate power and connectivity capabilities. Inquire as to the number of lines the facility has. Do they possess an on-site generator? Does the generator receive regular checks and maintenance? What is the average utilization of the connections available?

4. How skilled is their staff? When you need customer service of a technical nature, you need it immediately, right? Find out the availability of their systems administrators. Send them a support ticket and see how fast they respond.

5. Other customer's reviews of the hosting services. Same as any business, the hosting vendor should be able to provide good references.

6. Is the potential host flexible? In the future, your needs may change. Can you upgrade services should the need arise?

7. This step of course, is optional. Make sure that the host does not have blacklisted IPs. The host that you want to do business with would not be one that promotes illegal sites, spammers, or other security issues. You are considering associating your business with this host. You could always ask them what web server they plan to put you on.

8. Begin with and maintain a clear and written understanding of all services and all charges for them. If questions still remain or some terms are unclear it is strongly advised that you ask for clarification before signing up for anything.

If you do your research before beginning business, you will find a better avenue to the successful hosting, and thereby promotion, of your online business. Take your time in making this important decision.

Author Bio:
Ryan Lunzmann is part-owner and administrator of eMonsterhost, Inc. A provider serving the web hosting industry since 2002 located in northeast Wisconsin.

ryukenden · 03-15-2008, 03:39 AM

I think reliability including uptime, customer support, and other customers' reviews are vital important in choosing a web hosting company.

Take your time before signing up with a hosting provider, read the company's news, reviews and also test the websites hosted by the hosting company to see whether the hosting speed is slow or not.

Choose a company which has been reliable throughout past few years.

Never buy hosting from ebay!!

gobeyond · 03-15-2008, 09:59 AM

Thanks for the summary! Some of things mentioned are hard to consumers to find out themselves, like how many datacenters and how much redundancy the host has. I have tried over 10 hosting companies. I have to say that the best way to evaluate a host is to try it first. Give it sometime and see how everything goes.

Uptime is one of the most important factors. You can sign up a web site uptime monitoring program that automatically checks if your site is online. This is extremely important.

From my experience, size does matter. I'd rather go with a big name-brand host than a smaller host. Bigger names often mean stability. A small host can do very well with a 2 year period, but you never know if the company can survive in the long run.

ryukenden · 03-16-2008, 11:47 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by gobeyond

Thanks for the summary! Some of things mentioned are hard to consumers to find out themselves, like how many datacenters and how much redundancy the host has. I have tried over 10 hosting companies. I have to say that the best way to evaluate a host is to try it first. Give it sometime and see how everything goes.

...

It might be expensive to try all the hosts yourself. They are feedbacks and reviews about particular web hosting providers and you could learn from other people's mistakes.

~ServerPoint~ · 03-18-2008, 03:28 AM

That is good list. Some can take it and add something for himself and it will be good reasearch desk

Hahh · 03-21-2008, 09:45 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ryukenden

It might be expensive to try all the hosts yourself. They are feedbacks and reviews about particular web hosting providers and you could learn from other people's mistakes.

Yes, I agree generally, but there are free trial periods that some companies offer.

ryukenden · 03-21-2008, 12:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Hahh

Yes, I agree generally, but there are free trial periods that some companies offer.

Yes, some even offers 45 days gurantee period. You can try and if you don't like cancel before the period over and you will get money back.

zeekstern · 04-08-2009, 11:13 AM

Nice info. Have a quick question.

"Make sure that the host does not have blacklisted IPs" - how does the average Joe go about this? You obviously can't ask the hosting company and expect an honest reply

)

Thanks,
Zeek

Bud · 05-24-2009, 07:16 PM

I compared capabilities but you identified several things that I didn't consider at the time I picked a host, e.g. shared IP, and skill of personnel. I'm not sure how you determine the skill of their personnel or if the host has black listed IPs. As for feedback from users, i.e. customer reviews, It appears to me that more people submit a review if they had a problem than if everything is going well.

Web Peak · 06-11-2009, 02:54 PM

Good List! You made a good job.

Brande · 07-02-2009, 09:44 PM

Just brilliant suggestions. I cannot say more because you have given the best tips.

[REMOVED]

constantinumjoh · 07-03-2009, 04:41 AM

hi,
thats a fantastic post and missed on a few points.. i too used most of the afore mentioned checklist.. i currently use[Link Removed] to host my sites

SyfonicHosting · 07-31-2009, 09:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ~ServerPoint~

That is good list. Some can take it and add something for himself and it will be good reasearch desk

Agreed. And you did a good job of spreading this information throughout various forums. This is like the third place I have seen that article!

rllunzmann · 07-31-2009, 10:24 PM

Thanks for the kind words. Yeah, I mostly participate in digitalpoint, webhostingtalk and webmaster-talk. Thanks again,

SyfonicHosting · 08-01-2009, 12:40 PM

Same here, I mainly post here and WHT!

louis87 · 08-04-2009, 11:33 AM

thank you for sharing this posts

SyfonicHosting · 08-04-2009, 05:13 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by louis87

thank you for sharing this posts

Here are 12 more steps for you I found on another website

Figure out what you want in a webhost first. Do you just want one to play around with and have one for your friends and family or do you want one for your local business or to create a way of making money online? Free web hosts will be fine to play around on but you will need something more if you want it for a business or making money online.
Do they have an easy site builder system if you don't know any programming or anything about making websites? Most do these days.
Do they have cPanel hosting with a system called Fantastico that will let you set up your own blog or forum with a few clicks? (cPanel hosting is just a system that lets users access the files and website without knowing how to use ftp -file transfer protocol.)
If you don't know anything about creating a website will they teach you what you need to know to get the site found and achieve the goal you have for the site?
Get e-mail through the domain name of your website. It's best to go with a host that provides unlimited autoresponders, pop mailboxes, email aliases etc. These services are needed to stay in touch with your visitors, potential customers and indeed your past customers in the hope of back end sales. Using your_name@your_website_name.com also looks more professional and official.
Investigate the uploading method. Using an online manager takes a lot longer when transferring large amounts of data. FTP provides more flexibility when managing your website. For the non-techies, always look out for a host that provides a good online manager, too.
Track your website's progress with logs. If you are a serious netpreneur, pay close attention to these. All good hosts will provide you with the ability to access your website logs via download.
Leave room for growth with enough space. The amount of space good web hosts provide would matter if your website grows bigger than allowed. Always look for a host with at least 25GB of space available with the option to buy more space if need be. Moving hosts can be a pain. Avoid this with a little foresight and planning.
Test the speed of a host's network to your location by clicking start > run > type in "command" enter, and then type "ping hostdomainname.com" wait for it to finish and look for the average ping. The lower the number the better, and chances are the faster your site will load. Any number averaging around an 80 would be good. Anything over 100 is very bad except, of course, if the host is based in another country.
Seek good customer service with lots of help pages and FAQ pages, 24/7 telephone support preferably toll free, 24-48 hours reply email support or chat is vital. Avoid a host that has a reputation for poor quality customer service. Check out their average response time and their true uptime guarantee. See the Tips below.
Enable interactive features with access to your own cgi-bin directory. This is the directory from where scripts are carried out. CGI scripts are the backbone of all the functionality of the web. Every time you fill out a form, buy a product, use a forum or engage in a chat room conversation, you're running a script of one type or another. This feature is very important if you want your website to be interactive in any way.
Make transactions with a secure server with https:// capability because your potential customers will expect it. Security is of paramount importance to your customer. Visitors who are concerned about the insecurity to their plastic will never become customers.