Sep
30
Written by:
Project Complete
9/30/2009 4:32 PM
Last week we talked about whether you have to get a new domain name if you switch web hosting companies, and we said that, no, you don't. Many times, the company who holds the domain name can also be the web hosting company. A lot of people seem to be very happy with a popular web hosting company in the Valley that offers very reasonable rates, and while the bottom line is extremely important, we wanted to make you aware of some other considerations when selecting a hosting company for your website.
Packaging plays a huge part in marketing for all companies, and web hosting companies will offer some very attractive packages too. To the average computer user, some of the terms they use in the packages don't mean a whole lot, but, hey, the price is right, so why not? If you read, 10 GB Space / 300 GB Transfer; 100 Email Accounts; and 10 MySQL Databases for only a little over $4 a month, you'd probably go "Woo-hoo! Who could ever need all of that? What a deal! I'll take it!" But wait! There's more you need to know before committing to one package or one company over another, and it's a good idea to check with your web designer first to see what you actually need.
Some websites have specific requirements for the web host company, and if the web hosting company can't meet those needs, a web designer needs to find a company that can fill the bill. In the case of a content management based web site, there are specific database needs to consider. Also, sometimes a web host company will give you way more website disk space than most people would ever need, but you find you have to bump up to the next level because the first level doesn't offer enough email disk space, which is separate from website disk space.
More importantly, you must take service into consideration. Time is money, and if your website is frequently down, not only can your customers not access your site, you're sitting on the phone trying to reach support through a phone maze, and getting a crink in your neck as you hear for the umpteenth time, "Your call is important to us."
So consider your web hosting company wisely, preferably with the advice of your web designer. You'll be glad you did.