How Well Do You Know Your Hosting Company?

Posted by on Feb 14, 2013 in Web Design | 6 comments

Know Your Hosting

Do you know who hosts your website? Many small business owners aren’t sure, or find that it’s resting on a server in your friend’s basement closet. Your business is your baby, and you put your heart, soul, time, and resources into keeping the wheels spinning. If you aren’t sure where your website is, does that voice in your head keep asking you, “What if something happens to those servers? Do I have the knowledge and resources to keep my site up?”

There are plenty of hosting companies out there that remove that headache and take care of everything for you. These companies offer multiple back-ups in case of fire or flood. Not to mention it doesn’t have to be the worst that happens–what if you get hacked or the files become corrupt? How’s that friend’s basement looking now? Are you covered? The fact is, for just a small amount of money, these hosting companies not only host your site, but have a support team available to help fix even the tiniest of issues. Add it all together and you can reduce the gray in your hair in no time.

Once you’re ready to move your site to a hosting company, great. We still have a problem, though. With so many different companies, how do you know which one is right for you? There really isn’t just one straight answer. It would be like asking which car would be best for you, a Ford, Chevy, Chrysler, etc. While they may have slightly different configurations, they all basically do the same thing. Take a look at this quick and simple guide to see what some big hosting companies have to offer:

 
Godaddy
Network Soultions
Hostmonster
Bluehost
1&1
Host Gator
Reg Price/On Sale Price5.99/1.9912.95/5.996.95/4.956..95/4.954.99/0.993.96
Available Disk Space100GB300GBUnlimitedUnlimited50 GBUnlimited
Email Accounts1001000UnlimitedUnlimited250Unlimited
Google Adwords CreditN/AN/A$100$100N/A$100
Free DomainYesYesYesYesNoNo

All have their advantages and disadvantages, and many have excellent support as well in case you break down. If you have more questions, then contact the Roundpeg team, and we will gladly help you make the right decision.

photo credit: getButterfly via photopin cc

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  • http://www.facebook.com/ChetCromer Chet Cromer

    Good stuff here, although I think what’s missing is the personal touch these hosts bring to the table. I won’t name names, but I’ve had 2 of the above mentioned hosts simply SHUT OFF a site because it got too popular (i.e. too much bandwidth, even though they said there was no limit). No warning, just an email stating something to the effect of “You’re shut off, and oh, by the way, you should probably move to a dedicated server, and that is going to cost you $X.”

    I’ve also been surprisingly impressed by two others listed here, and I don’t mind naming names – GoDaddy and Host Gator. I’m not a fan of GoDaddy’s marketing efforts, but they do provide what I consider reliable hosting, and have never given me problems with bandwidth-intensive sites. They’ve had their moments (they’re a big target for hackers), and I still consider them PRIMARILY a domain registrar rather than an excellent hosting company, but you can’t beat their pricing. I’ve also been impressed with the tech-know-how of their staff, who seem able to both handle and/or escalate any issue I’ve had quickly, whether it’s a tech or a billing problem.

    As a web developer and host myself, my company has made large investments in our own set of servers that are housed in an underground bunker somewhere deep in the Great Plains. It requires a bit more management on my side, but my clients know who to call if they have a problem, and I know my server is taken care of by some of the best in the business, with personal care and attention scattered all around.

  • http://twitter.com/wbrown85 Whitney Brown

    Chet, thanks for sharing your experiences. It’s all about finding a balance between personal service and uptime. Luckily there are lots of great choices out there.

  • Sean Shepard

    Those companies do a pretty good job for the market segment they serve – although I ripped a deal right out Hostgator’s facility last year over shared server performance problems. Dedicated (virtual server) platforms aren’t as expensive as a lot of people think I don’t believe. For people with higher end needs I’ve always wondered how well equipped those companies are to act as guides/consultants.

    Can’t believe someone would just shot off somebody’s web presence without at least a courtesy phone call ahead of time to discuss alternatives. But, know that it happens.

    Sometimes using a more local provider and having that personal relationship yields other business benefits too.

  • Mark Sharkey

    Whitney – thanks for pointing out the value in seeking a professional hosting company.

    As with any successful business, it is how you differentiate yourself from your competitors that brings in the repeat business. However, many hosting companies try to differentiate by making unrealistic promises. I stay away from companies that throw around the word ‘unlimited’ or are grossly over-allocating resources. I think it speaks to the integrity of their business when they misrepresent themselves in this manner. It is impossible to offer unlimited disk space, email accounts, bandwidth, etc. Work with companies that differentiate themselves on something that is real and tangible instead!

  • Admin

    As a company’s needs grow and they want to do more with their web site such as special applications, or hosting a large data base the choice of the hosting company becomes more critical.

  • Admin

    Mark,
    Thanks for adding your comments to the post. From your perspective, what are the most important questions for a business owner to ask before selecting a hosting company?