Learn More about the Web Hosting Company

While features are important, there are other issues that can make you choose one web hosting company over another. Here are some other things that you will want to learn about the web hosting company that you are considering:

• Uptime:  Many companies will advertise a 99.9% uptime. This means that the server rarely, if ever goes down. Now, before you get excited about that prospect, note that no server can really promise – without a doubt – that there will never be any downtime.

A well maintained server will have down time, but will make that down time very limited because they are keeping up to date with upgrades and always ensuring that things are running smoothly – immediately dealing with problems that could interfere with the overall uptime of the service.

Most companies will state that they have 99.9% uptime, but this doesn’t mean that they actually do. The bigger question is if the uptime is guaranteed. Few web hosting companies will guarantee uptime, so you usually have to settle with the 99.9% claim.

• Money Back Guarantee: A reputable company will offer anywhere from a thirty to 90 day guarantee on their service. This means that if, within that time frame, you are unhappy with the service, you can request a refund and cancel the web hosting service.

Make sure that you read the conditions and stipulations of that guarantee. In most cases, the guarantee will only apply if you are moving the domain name to another service, and this is verified. This prevents scammers from using the service temporarily, essentially for free, just to run a limited time promotion or things such as this.

• How You Are Billed: Some web hosting companies will bill monthly, while others will bill quarterly or yearly. Some will give you a choice, while others will not. Many will make it cheaper for you if you pay by the year or quarter, as opposed to paying monthly. Will you be billed automatically or sent an invoice? Do you have an option? Find these things out, and make sure that the web host that you want to use allows for the way that you prefer to be billed. 

• Set Up Fees: Many web hosts these days do away with set up fees. Others will waive the set up fee if you purchase a bigger web hosting package, or when they are running specials. Still others will charge a one time, non-refundable set up fee regardless. How much is that fee, how should it be paid, and what does it entail? Is it a one-time fee?

• Contracts: Some web hosting companies will require you to sign a contract, agreeing to use their service for a specified period of time. This is common when using a dedicated server of any type, but less common for shared servers. Are you fully prepared to meet the terms of the contract? If you aren’t, don’t sign it. If you do sign it, and you break the contract, you are still legally responsible for all of the fees that you would have owed under the terms of that contract, including monthly hosting fees.

• Stability of the Company: Remember that we discussed companies that disappear into the night. That really does happen. Find out how long the web hosting company has been in business. Look for signs that the company isn’t doing well (this can be researched in any search engine). Better known companies, such as GoDaddy and HostGator have been around for a long time, and aren’t likely to disappear.

• Installation Services: There may come a point in time when you need certain scripts or software installed for you. If so, will they install these things for you free of charge? If there is a fee, how much is it? Is that fee billed to you or paid upfront? These are very important things to know – especially if you already know that you don’t have the technical skills to install such scripts of software yourself.

• Price: Finally, we are coming to the point where you can start considering the price, although you will probably want to consider customer and technical support first, which we cover next. But as far as price goes, how does the web hosting company compare to other companies that offer the same features and the same level of service?

Is it possible that you can slightly alter your requirements in order to get a much lower price? In many cases it is, and you will be amazed at how much a few adjustments to your requirements or expectations can change the overall price of the service. Of course, in many cases, you won’t be willing or able to sacrifice some features or service levels in an attempt to lower the price of the overall service. There is no set price that one could tell you that you should pay for your service. The cost of your service will depend on too many factors to say specifically that you ‘shouldn’t pay more than x number of dollars for web hosting service.’ Again, consider what it is that you are seeking, and then compare prices.

There may be other things that you consider as well which are not listed here, that are more specific to your own personal situation. Now, what about customer and technical support?