Choosing your Web Hosting Provider for Business

1. Go Free.

If you have a personal Web site, then you might get lucky with free Web hosts.  However, if you are planning a Web site for your business and would want to be able to accept e-commerce transactions on your site, then you definitely shouldn’t opt for a free Web hosting service.  Why?  One word: freedom.

Free Web hosts can be very restrictive when it comes to the things you can do on your own site.  You would have a certain cap for Web space, like you can only have 5 megabytes for your Web pages.  Some hosts do not allow you to use FTP to upload your pages, insisting that you use their own page building tools.  Some hosting services even put a limit on the size and types of files you upload on their servers.

What’s more, you get what you pay for.  So if the Web host is cheap and not reliable, or is very intermittent in terms of connection and speed, then your site suffers as well.  Your Web site will also be littered with advertising from companies and services that have nothing to do with your site, and if you are unlucky, your Web site could feature a competitor's ad.

2. Not taking time to visit other companies on the same Web host.

Almost all commercial Web hosting providers promise the same thing: faster speed, reliable connection, technical support, customer service and everything that you need to get your site up and running 24/7.  But definitely, that is not what really happens.

Try to get a list of customers from your potential Web host, and monitor their sites.  If you could, call them up and ask for their input.  There is nothing like a good sleuthing for you to uncover which Web host delivers on their promises.

3. Not paying attention to technical support.

Your Web site needs to be accessible at all hours of the day, all days of the week.  No ifs and buts about that.  If your site is down, or if pages on your site cannot be accessed, then you have just lost a potential customer and possible sales.  While you may have a technical team responsible of your Web site, the problem might be on the part of your Web host.  This is why it is important that the Web host you choose has a very responsive technical support team that you can contact any time and any day, including weekends and holidays.

4. Not paying attention to what you could do on your site.

You are paying for your Web space, so you should be able to put up all the back end programming, utilities, software, scripts and applications that you need to make your Web site work the way you want it to.  Avoid commercial Web hosts that do not allow you to install PHP or PERL scripts without first getting their approval.  Or those that do not allow you to have telnet or SSH access.  Lobby for a greater degree of freedom and creativity, because you are paying for it!

5. Not planning ahead.

You have your site in mind, and you have determined that you only need up to this certain amount of resources.  You do not really need to have e-commerce up on your site.  So you go for the cheapest Web host you can find off a list.

Remember that your Web site should evolve according to what your company needs.  In the future, you might decide that you need to be able to accept e-commerce transactions on your Web site.  However, guess what, your chosen hosting provider did not have SSL capabilities, nor do they provide shopping cart systems.  It is either you throw your e-commerce dreams out the window, or begins the painful and expensive process of transporting your current Web site pages to another hosting provider that provides a secure server needed to make your e-commerce initiatives a reality. So make sure your host can accommodate any potential growth.

6. Going for the cheapest available.

Sadly, cheapest does not translate to the best service in Web hosting.  Price is what most people look at when they decide on a provider.  Make sure that you have everything you need first, and then compare prices based on the services, technical support and technology you require.