Continuing on from last time…

Before you jump in head first, look into some things before you make a final decision on a web hosting provider. Ask questions, and see what kind of answers you’re getting.

1.  Does the co-location center have physical security such as locked servers and password protected access?
2.  How many lines are running to each server?
3.  What kind of cooling procedures do they have in place to help prevent overheating?
4.  Is the generator tested often, and what kind of back up power is in place?
5.  What about fire suppression methods?

All of these things are extremely important factors that a lot of newbies don’t think about when looking for a web hosting provider, but they can mean the difference between a working, smooth website and one that “crashes” often or has security issues.

Most of those questions are not going to be answered by simply looking at the hosting company’s website, you are going to have to pick up the phone and call them. Be sure you speak to someone who has been working with the hosting company for a while and knows what they are speaking of.

Make sure the web hosting company has experienced, helpful support staff that is easily accessible when you need to make contact. Be sure you can call someone and get a real, live person if you need help or have questions. Otherwise, you could get left in the dark without any help if something goes wrong. Check out some referrals and see if you can get customer reviews, so you have better insight as to how they treat their other webmasters. Check into extra hidden fees as well. Some providers may try to hit you with usage fees and other miscellaneous charges after you’ve already signed up.

When looking for disk space, try to get as much as possible for your money. Even if you think your site won’t use even close to that, it’s good to have it as a backup so you can expand your website in the future without worrying about running out of space. A typical graphic or picture usually takes up about 150-200KB, so multiply that times however many graphics you’ll have, and you can quickly see how much this adds up. A video clip uses around 1-4MB, so keep this in mind when determining what kind of space you’ll need.

Bandwidth is also essential to a successful website. In fact, this determines how many visitors, or hits, your website can support. Some web hosting providers charge people fees if they go over their allotted bandwidth, so look into this as well. Many newer companies are now offering unlimited bandwidth as part of a package deal, so try to find this feature to avoid problems later on down the road. The possibilities and available web hosting companies out there seem endless, so make a checklist with the features you need, price range you’re looking for, and feedback that others have given. This will help to serve as a guide in making a decision.

Speed is another very important issue when it comes to web hosting services. You want your visitors to be able to see the website almost immediately. A good server will provide this without any problems. Lost time is lost business, so speed is very important. You can ping your website to get a better idea of how fast it’s moving. When you ping a website, information hits the server and then refracts it back. The speed shows you how much time has gone by before the data comes back to you after going to and from the server.

So there you have it…some important considerations and questions to ask when looking into a webhosting company.

Check back soon as I will be going into the dynamics of cPanel.

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