Apr

Choosing A Hosting Company

webhostlogos Hosting Companies are like diets. Ask 10 people and you will get 10 different recommendations, leaving you back where you were…or even further confused.
The reason is simple. We are not all looking for the same services. So let’s figure out a few things that will move you in the right direction toward finding a company that will work for YOU.
As always, Google is your friend, so be sure to do your own research.
Here are a few pointers:

Don’t make PRICE the sole issue. When you are a Newbie, service can save you both time and mistakes.

There are way too many reliable “Brand Name” Companies to try an unproven newcomer to the market when you are a beginner yourself. So save your testing for a later date.

Don’t choose a Hosting Company who owns your URL’s. Seems like a small issue when you and the host are enamored with each other, but one day, you may decide that your needs have changed and you want to move on. If they own the URL’s, they have you completely at their mercy.

What is their Initial Annual Fee per URL? What is the cost of Renewals?
What type of Customer Service do they offer? Online Only…Live…What are their Hours?
Can they Handle Your E-mail Needs? At what cost?
Do they Provide Hosting and Backup? Is it the service you need?
Do they have standard Plug-Ins Included? For Wordpress, Joomla, Drupal or whatever software you plan to use.
What type of Control Panel? Standard or C-Panel?
Do they support PHP and MySQL Databases?
These questions will get you started, but be sure to make your own list of needs that you are concerned about. Write or call and ask your questions. If they don’t answer right away. Well, that tells you the answer to the 2nd question. Go to the next company on your list.

Categories : Internet Marketing, Internet Tools, Kathi Minsky

3 Comments

Elise
April 25th, 2009 at 7:03 am

Thanks for the good, solid information. So easy to make mistakes when entering new waters!

Lela M
April 27th, 2009 at 12:38 am

Kathi, Great information. As a recent “Newbie” to URLs, blogs and all, this is greatly appreciated. After putting in a lot work as many have, knowing that we can depend on the company we have chosen as our provider
is such a relief. Keep the good information coming.