1. How strong is their technical support division? What do they provide? When are they available? Does tech support cost extra?
2. How secure is the site? What type of protection do they offer? How can they insure that unauthorized users will not compromise the integrity of your Web site?
3. How much storage do they offer? A typical Web site uses between 20-30 MB. Do they offer enough extra megabytes to for your business to grow into? 100MB is a good starting point.
4. Will they register your Domain name? How long will it take? Is there any extra cost to you?
5. Do they have a builder that you can manage easily? What type of computer background do you need to design your site? Do you have internal control over content and updates?
6. How many email aliases comes with your package? Will they have your domain name in them for a more professional appearance? What is the cost to add extra emails? Are there any additional costs?
7. Are search engine submissions included in your package? How does it work? Do you have internal control over content and updates?
8. What are the costs involved? What are the initial setup fees and what do you get exactly? What are the monthly maintenance fees are what do they cover? Are there any additional charges? If so, what are they and why?
9. Am I locked into a contract? May I cancel at anytime? Are there any penalty fees for switching or closing my account? What happens to my content?
10. What makes them better than their competition? Do they offer extra features, storage space, better technical support or better pricing? What exactly sets them apart?
At the end I just want to make sure you follow those questions, so you will not feel traped in the long run.
About the Author
Brett Slansky: Providing Small Business Owners An Opportunity To Increase In Customers And Sales, While Lowering Advertising Cost With The Help Of Internet.
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There are a lot of Web Hosting Company. First you should choose Good and Reputable company, then you should Filter that to the Best. Here is the criteria to pick the best Web Hosting Company.
Back End/Network Operations CentersThis is where your accounts are actually housed. Sometimes a hosting provider will lease a part of a larger network and sometimes a hosting provider will develop their own. It is important to find out what kinds and how many fiber optic connections the NOC has. Make sure there is plenty of redundancy built in. Make sure the NOC is managed 24/7, even on holidays. Make sure there are fire suppression systems in place. Last but not least, ask about security. Make sure there are plenty of security measure in place.
Customer Service
Technical SupportHow long does it take to get questions answered and tasks performed. Send a test support message and gauge the response times. See if they offer 800 toll free support.
Ticketing Systems
Do they have a ticketing system that tracks performance times. This is key. If a hosting company has this, they are serious about improving internally.
Do they offer domain name sales? This can help to consolidate your vendor costs. See about getting a discount on domains if you are buying in bulk on a monthly basis.
Does the hosting provider offer branded support? As you grow, you will need to expand and see if the hosting provider will set you up with your own technician in your company name. Do they offer branded control panels and name servers? You need these tools to grow. Find out how easy it is to set these features up for your own account.
Scalable Discounts
If you are growing at a rapid rate, ask for better pricing and discounts. It is ok to ask. It’s even better when you get it and will
reduce your overhead.
Financial Overview
Is that particular company in the red of black? Do they have a good cash flow? How fast is the host growing and can they handle the growth? What are they doing to grow and maintain the customer service level you expect. Are they near a buy out or planning.
2. Every host has had some problems, but that doesn’t make them bad.
3. If you find a host that’s too good to be true, it probably is. Just remember this, you get what you pay for.
4. There’s no such thing as unlimited bandwidth and storage space, so don’t waste your time with hosts that offer this.
5. Once you find a host ask questions to see if they fit your needs, and see how long it takes for them to respond.
6. Go with a host that has a 30 day money back gaurantee.
7. I have nothing agains’t one year hosting payments up front, but if you’re starting out it’s better to pay monthly.
4. A minimum of 20MB – 50MB of server space
5. Unlimited true POP email accounts – name@yourdomain.com
other HTML editing software
utilizing FrontPage
17. Unlimited free access to your server via FTP/Telnet
Linux
Linux, a version of UNIX, is a very versatile platform that serves a number of functions well. It is particularly suitable for meeting your Internet requirements, such as mailing, streaming, Web serving, and fileserving. Linux is a very cost-effective choice it uses hardware efficiently, and allows for more web sites per server, thereby lowering the cost of hosting per account. Linux servers are compatible with certain Microsoft extensions and applications, for example, MS SQL (a database program) or Microsoft Front Page (a web authoring tool). Many engineers prefer the flexibility, security, and control of Linux servers. Linux is Open Source (free) software and a host of free programs are available to users of Linux.
Microsoft Windows NT/2000
Window’s 2000 graphical user interface makes it user-friendly and provides a familiar interface for most IT teams to work with. It integrates well with other Microsoft applications and there are a wealth of commercial applications available for this platform. Particularly attractive is the integration with Microsoft Application Server (ASP) which allows the creation of dynamic web pages linked to SQL databases, and other Legacy back office systems.
Sun Solaris
Sun Solaris servers offer the highest level of resources and power – these are the most robust servers! Sun has a proven track record and is deployed in many large Fortune 500 corporations. It is a mature platform and there are a large number of applications and development tools available. Because of Sun’s capacity and stability it is ideal for high-traffic functions, such as database servers, high-traffic Web servers and mission-critical servers.
Cobalt RaQ
The RaQ was designed for virtual (shared) hosting of multiple Web sites. It’s simple administration makes it a great first Web server. Its flexible administration interface also allows you to share administration responsibilities among your staff.
FreeBSD
FreeBSD is a version of BSD that was designed for the X86 processor. FreeBSD is a very stable open source operating system, and a good alternative to Linux. It is an extremely well-integrated and tested system, and is inexpensive. There are a large number of free applications available for use with it
