Choosing a Reliable Web Host
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.
You may have gotten the impression that when calling web technical support, the representative is handling multiple calls at a time. They have thousands of clients, and many calls coming in come in waves. This can lead to your tech person and yourself becoming frustrated.
Many times the technical support person at the other end of the conversation will just automatically assume the probelm is at your end. You will get the standard response, “Have you tried this, have you tried that…” all of which imply that the problem is at your 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.
Unfortunately many web hosting tech support people just do not understand the importance of customer service. They often consider themselves superior to their clients. And they have been able to get away with shoddy, unfriendly service because it is just too inconvenient for clients to change hosts.
This is thankfully changing for the better. There’s enough information out there now to change hosts without much trouble and some will even assist transferring your domain to their systems.
There will always be some risk involved; there is no absolute predictor of whether you are likely to get dependable, helpful customer service.
To compare web hosts, you can examine web host review sites, but many of these sites are unreliable. Since most such sites exist to resell hosting services, the reviews tend to be biased. Sites that allow reviews and comments by outsiders can be easily manipulated. Many hosts will post their own reviews, containing fulsome praise for their own sites and harsh criticism of 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.
A good indicator of a host’s support system is the host’s website itself. If you find the host’s website confusing and overly technical, this is an indication of potential trouble. It is a strong indication that you may have trouble using the host’s support system. Further, it indicates that the host may not be good at communicating with clients in plain and simple language.
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.
Naturally, there is no absolute guarantee in this. The web hosting business is extremely competitive, however, and, all things considered, you will probably be most successful if you find a web host with a simple, up front, customer-focused approach.
When looking for reliable, affordable web hosting see 2mhost.com where high quality hosting starts at only $2.75 per month. Get the lowest cost web hosting available. Howard Brule does article marketing that gets results.
- Howard Brule
