So your new web site is finished and ready to be hosted, now it is time to choose web hosting provider. How do you find a reliable web host that is also affordable for your new web site? Below are some of the pitfalls to look out for when choosing your next web host.

Downtime
Problems occur, it is inevitable that there will be some downtime caused by server maintenance alone, a reliable web host will not only maintain your server will but also find problems with your server and fix them quickly, a web host that is not as reliable and one you will want to avoid is a host that has poor downtime, downtimes measured in days are unacceptable.

Poor Support
Reliable web hosts will answer support questions timely fashion (within hours) and appropriately, the last thing a customer wants to hear from support when there is a problem with their hosting is “that there is no problem”. If support takes days to answer support questions, they are definitely not worthy of your business and you should consider another web hosting provider.

Broken Features
If your site relies on a feature such as mail to perform daily duties and it is down, it can cost your business a loss in revenue or a loss in time, problems with databases is another feature to be aware of, reliability of databases is paramount in this day and age for any business.

Billing Issues
Be careful of hosting providers with billing problems, things to look out for when evaluating a web host are reports of overcharging, hosts not honouring money back guarantees, and hosts not cancelling automatic billing after you have cancelled your hosting account.

How to Research Web Hosting Providers
Finding web hosting providers is all too easy these days, enter in “web hosting” into your favourite search engine and you will given a list of millions of web hosts, but after you have trimmed down your list to the features you rquire and the price, how do you find which web hosts are reliable?

Read Reviews of Web Hosts
Look at how web hosts are rated against other web hosts on review sites, if you see a trend across review sites saying a particlar host is better than another, there is a good chance that this is the case.

Company Backgorund
Check the “About Us” or “Company History” page at the web site, look for how long the host has been in business, a host that has been in operation for more than a few years is a good indicator that the host will be around for a long time to come.

Servers
Where are the companies servers housed, do they run their own in house hosting, or is it housed elsewhere where it is being run by a 3rd party? What are the uptime statistics, a good web host should publish a link to an uptime monitor, or should give you a link to one if asked.

Send Pre-Sales Questions
The answers to your pre-sales questions can tell you a lot about a prospective host, firstly you will see how long the company takes to reply, and once you recieve the reply, how well they commuinicate. You should ask questions related to the points above and also ask questions that relate to your specific needs.

A dedicated server that is managed by a hosting company generally surpasses a web server that is shared amongst often thousands of other websites in terms of speed and dependability. In addition to that there are fewer, if any, restrictions as to what you are able to run on it.

A Managed Server vs An Unmanaged Server

If you are searching a dedicated web server it is essential that you acknowledge the deviation between a managed server and an unmanaged server. With the unmanaged web server you acquire the web server hardware, OS, and net connection. The remainder is up to you. You’re accountable for preserving the web server and setting up any patches and upgrades that become available.

With a managed dedicated web server, the web host company attends to all of those particulars for you so that you are able to focus on establishing and updating your sites. Whilst managed dedicated web servers are less affordable, they generally make a lot of good sense from a commercial enterprise viewpoint.

Selecting a Managed Server

Because managed web servers are less affordable than that of shared web hosting, you will want to be especially aware when plucking one out from the many that are available. You had better ascertain what it costs for extra memory if you require it once you get established and realise you don’t have enough. Enquire as to how they estimate bandwidth and how much extra it is going cost you if you where to go over your boundary. Ascertain how many IP addresses you receive and how much it the cost for addition IP addresses if you are going to need them. And ascertain if they ensure uptime or offer a repayment for any period of down time.

Dependability and buyer support are of extreme importance. One thing you need to remember is that if that web server suffers any down time you will cease making any revenue. If the hosting company does not offer phone support you should consider looking elsewhere although it is not essential that they have it just an advantage. And do not accept their word that everything is perfect. Ascertain from their existing clients to ascertain how they genuinely feel about the web hosting company.