What would happen if you had your websites go down for five or 10 minutes? No big deal, if it happens one time. If you buy hosting for your sites from an unreliable provider, however, site outages could become an ongoing problem. This means lost revenue and readers for you, and a time to look for a new web hosting service. Start by reading the following tips that can help smooth the process for you.
Beware web hosting companies with frequent outages. Companies that have many outages, but make excuses for each outage are not reliable, as they have obviously not made any plans to prevent or shorten lengthy outages. Web hosts that experience frequent outages cannot provide you with top-quality service, and you should not commit to any contracts with these types of companies.
When looking for a web host, choose a service that is in the country that your target audience is in. For instance, if your site primarily targets people who live in the UK, the data center of your web host should be located there, as well.
Make sure you, and not your web host, controls your domain name. If you let your host control your domain name, you may be stuck with that host if you don’t want to change domains. Some unscrupulous hosts won’t release the domain info if you leave on bad terms. If you control the domain, you can point it at another host’s nameservers and start fresh.
Make certain to read reviews to determine whether your potential web host has frequent periods of downtime. If your website is often inaccessible to visitors, there can be drastically negative consequences. For example, if you are running an online business, downtime directly translates into lost business because potential customers will not be able to access your website. Customers may also feel uncomfortable conducting transactions on your website because they might believe your website to be unreliable. Choose a web host that does not have a history of being offline frequently.
Make a priority list before shopping for a web host. If you know what your wants are in advance, you can check off whether the prospective host offers what you need. Using a priority list will prevent you from choosing a provider based on a single factor, like price, instead of shopping around for a host that meets more of your needs.
If at all possible, choose a web host that has 24-hour customer service via telephone. The larger hosting services often provide this valuable service. You do not want to be working late at night and find that are experiencing technical difficulties. Call them before you sign up, and test the level of expertise of the agents, and whether or not they can give simple instructions that are easy to understand.
That’s really all there is to it. Reliable web hosting is a critical element of your online business plan, so don’t be afraid of switching around if necessary, to find a more reliable web hosting service that provides quality service 24/7. Follow the information in this article and you will surely find a web hosting provider that fits all of your needs.