The single most important factor when choosing a web host is reliability. This is confirmed over and over again in surveys of webmasters and online entrepreneurs.
It is not easy to describe all of the components of reliability. Except in glaringly obvious exceptions, most web hosting companies know what they are doing, have the newest equipment to do it, and charge around the same to do it for you. The main difference between them, then becomes how they deal with you, and how good their customer service is.
In other words, what you really want to know is, "When there is a problem with my website, can I get speedy no-nonsense solutions?" But with web hosts the "no-nonsense" thing can be a problem.
If you have ever talked to a web host technical support person you get the impression they are handling three or four calls all at the same time. That's because they have thousands of clients, and often the problems come in waves. And that can lead to frustrating conversations with your tech person.
A good technical support person will use a helpful tone of voice and offer solutions. They will assume that you are basically competent and not automatically assume that you have somehow caused the problem at your end. After all, they are most qualified to check out problems at their end.
It is not difficult to sympathize with this approach. In many cases the problem really is at the user end. But often enough it is not, and there is nothing more maddening than spending several hours trying to trouble shoot your website and then finding out that a simple reboot of the server at the host end fixed the problem.
Historically, it has been very inconvenient to change web hosts. Therefore, web hosting tech support people have had little incentive to provide high quality customer service. Too often, they seem to consider themselves employing their clients and not the other way around. No surprise, their customer service has been inferior.
Thankfully this is changing. There is enough step-by-step information available to help you change hosts without too much difficulty, and many hosts will actually help you transfer your domain to their system.
Unfortunately there is no completely fool-proof way to know in advance where you are likely to get good, reliable, customer-friendly service.
It is hard to find honest reviews or comparisons on the various web hosts. Most of the comparison sites are not reliable because they are trying to promote their own site and may even doctor "reviews" to be favorable to them. Public opinions that are posted may also be may be fictitious and praise the site they are posted on and criticize their competitors.
Web hosting forums provide a convenient place to read comments and recommendations. However, remember that web hosting forums are also open to the type of manipulation discussed above. Also, comments quickly become outdated due to the changing nature of the web hosting business. Nevertheless, comments and recommendations may be helpful and are generally reliable.
It is a good idea to look at the host's website. A very complicated site full of technical descriptions shows a lack of communication between the host and clients. This can be a bad sign. The technical support may be difficult to access, and the support staff may not answer your question in a way you can understand.
You can tell if a company is customer focused by their website. You are looking for a simple layout and products designed for the customer, combined with a support system that is easy to work with. Contact customer service before you have a problem, and see if they are willing to work with you.
A quick but thorough check of recommendations by actual web hosting clients would prove helpful if they include their names and website addresses. To be more proactive, try writing or calling these users yourself.
Considering how competitive the business of web-hosting is, finding an easy to follow, customer driven host is definitely what you should be looking for.
It is not easy to describe all of the components of reliability. Except in glaringly obvious exceptions, most web hosting companies know what they are doing, have the newest equipment to do it, and charge around the same to do it for you. The main difference between them, then becomes how they deal with you, and how good their customer service is.
In other words, what you really want to know is, "When there is a problem with my website, can I get speedy no-nonsense solutions?" But with web hosts the "no-nonsense" thing can be a problem.
If you have ever talked to a web host technical support person you get the impression they are handling three or four calls all at the same time. That's because they have thousands of clients, and often the problems come in waves. And that can lead to frustrating conversations with your tech person.
A good technical support person will use a helpful tone of voice and offer solutions. They will assume that you are basically competent and not automatically assume that you have somehow caused the problem at your end. After all, they are most qualified to check out problems at their end.
It is not difficult to sympathize with this approach. In many cases the problem really is at the user end. But often enough it is not, and there is nothing more maddening than spending several hours trying to trouble shoot your website and then finding out that a simple reboot of the server at the host end fixed the problem.
Historically, it has been very inconvenient to change web hosts. Therefore, web hosting tech support people have had little incentive to provide high quality customer service. Too often, they seem to consider themselves employing their clients and not the other way around. No surprise, their customer service has been inferior.
Thankfully this is changing. There is enough step-by-step information available to help you change hosts without too much difficulty, and many hosts will actually help you transfer your domain to their system.
Unfortunately there is no completely fool-proof way to know in advance where you are likely to get good, reliable, customer-friendly service.
It is hard to find honest reviews or comparisons on the various web hosts. Most of the comparison sites are not reliable because they are trying to promote their own site and may even doctor "reviews" to be favorable to them. Public opinions that are posted may also be may be fictitious and praise the site they are posted on and criticize their competitors.
Web hosting forums provide a convenient place to read comments and recommendations. However, remember that web hosting forums are also open to the type of manipulation discussed above. Also, comments quickly become outdated due to the changing nature of the web hosting business. Nevertheless, comments and recommendations may be helpful and are generally reliable.
It is a good idea to look at the host's website. A very complicated site full of technical descriptions shows a lack of communication between the host and clients. This can be a bad sign. The technical support may be difficult to access, and the support staff may not answer your question in a way you can understand.
You can tell if a company is customer focused by their website. You are looking for a simple layout and products designed for the customer, combined with a support system that is easy to work with. Contact customer service before you have a problem, and see if they are willing to work with you.
A quick but thorough check of recommendations by actual web hosting clients would prove helpful if they include their names and website addresses. To be more proactive, try writing or calling these users yourself.
Considering how competitive the business of web-hosting is, finding an easy to follow, customer driven host is definitely what you should be looking for.