There are a few easy steps to help narrow the field of web hosting companies down. By following these simple steps, a user will be able to dwindle down the amount of hosting companies to a select few that can accomplish what a site or business needs. The old saying comes in very handy with this process, “You get what you pay for”. So remember not to jump on the best deal found. Just because it seems like a good deal, doesn’t always mean it is.
The Selection
First we must look at the type of web hosting company a site or business may need. Determining this will help narrow the amount of hosting companies down and in turn make our search much easier and faster. There are many different types of hosting out there today. We’ll look at the most common and give a little information about each one. This will help a user determine which solution is the correct one for their site or business. Remember to over estimate the amount of resources that my be needed, this will insure over charges do not accrue.
Virtual Hosting
Virtual hosting is probable the most common type of hosting solution today. Basically a hosting company will take one dedicated server and house up to 200 or more different web sites and/or domain names. This type of hosting is normally very inexpensive and is very economical for most small business and personal web sites.
This type of hosting is very easy to learn and to utilize. There are many
different things that can be done with a virtual hosting account. Most of
which small business and personal web sites will never utilize. So if a
company or personal web site is; small, doesn’t require many resources, and
basically needs an online presence, virtual hosting is the way to go and also
the most economical.
Semi-Dedicated & VP (Virtual Private) Servers
Semi-Dedicated hosting, also known as VPS or Virtual Private Servers are the next step up from Virtual Hosting. This type of hosting is for growing web sites and business that need more server resources or require specific software to make a site function correctly.
VP servers are a great step up, allowing a user more control and versatility in the type of software and resources utilized on a server. Each VP server is allocated a specific amount of server resources. This will insure that enough server resources are available for a site to run properly and efficiently. This type of hosting is also useful for fast growing sites, as it has plenty of room to grow with any site or business.
Dedicated Servers
Dedicated servers are the next step in the hosting line-up. Many large sites and business need specific hardware and software to run their sites properly and efficiently. A dedicated server is the next step to achieving that. These servers allow many resources to be accessed and utilized for any given site on the server. For most this is all they’ll need to run an efficient web site or business.
Dedicated servers are a leased option, for most users it is the best and most economical way to achieve the type of web hosting service they need or desire. Many of these servers, even the smallest of servers, can handle hundreds of sites at the same time. For users that own more then 5 sites, this is the best answer to space and bandwidth issues.
Co-Location or Collocation
Collocation is basically the same thing as a dedicated server, but the user actually owns the server instead of leasing the server. This allows the owner to install any hardware that may be needed, or specific software before it is shipped off to be housed within a datacenter. Many collocation users live near the data center in which their server is housed, so they can have direct access to their server. This allows for hardware changes and upgrades, along with software upgrades. Most of which can only be done if the server is physically present.
Collocation is for very large and diverse web sites or businesses that require top notch hardware and software that only they can provide. In most cases the user can find better deals and build a server to their likings much cheaper then a pre-built leased server. More information about collocation can be found here: Collocation Explained
Weed Out the Rest, Keeping Only the Best
There are quite a few things to take a look at when weeding through the mass of hosting companies. We’ve taken the amount down tremendously when deciding which type of web hosting we actually need. Now we just need to weed through the rest to leave only the best and from there we can then pick who has the best deals and/or offers.
Remember to be picky in this process. Moving to a new host is hard to do once a site has been established. So we want to make sure the host that is chosen is the one we’re going to stick with for awhile. Knowing that, we must consider how long the company has been in business and how long they plan on being in business. Finding out how long the company has been in business and how long they plan on being in business is easier then one would expect.
Whois
Gathering WHOIS or “Who is” information on a domain name and web hosting company is one of the most important aspects of our search. From the WHOIS information we can find out which companies have been established the longest, and also which plan to be in business for awhile. Looking at the registration date and expiration date, we can find this information out. By doing a simple WHOIS query, this type of information can be gathered a good start would be ezWHOIS.net
The registration is normally when the company was established. Be sure to do as much research about a domain name before considering the registration date to be true. Allot of small web hosting companies tend to sell out to others. So the registration date may not be 100% accurate.
The expiration date is when the owner of the domain name and normally the company plans on their business to be closing. Now this isn’t always the case. Most companies will only register a domain name for a year or two in advance to see where they go in that amount of time. It doesn’t always mean they plan on their business to be closed at that time. If a company has their domain name registered for years and years, then it’s a safe assumption they plan on being in business for that amount of time.
This process shouldn’t take to much time and this should help weed a good amount of companies out. Remember to only go with established companies with at least a years worth of experience. Less then that and they my not be able to provide the type of support needed. This isn’t always true, so don’t rule a good looking company out just yet. There are other ways to do this.
Technical Support & Assistance
Technical support and assistance is by far the most important aspect to look at with any hosting company. No matter the type of hosting received, if support isn’t good it’s not worth it. There are a few simple steps to take to find out if a hosting company has good support and service.
First step to take would be to find out what type of support they offer whether by phone, email, or trouble ticket. Also find out when support is available. Most companies will claim to have a 24 hour response time or better. In most cases this is true and there wouldn’t be anything to worry about. So to test to see if they are correct in their claims, we’ll conduct a small test.
Email Response
First test their email response time. In most cases email address will be attached to a trouble ticket system, so this will help test both if that’s the case. Email the company and ask something small and easy. Remember to mark the time the email was sent, and then wait for a response. Try this at least 3 – 4 times within a weeks span and remember to send the emails at different times of the day. This will insure there is someone to answer questions at all times.
Phone Response
The next step is to test their phone support. This can be done in the exact same matter. Call asking the same questions that we’re just emailed, and find out how quickly they can respond to your questions. Be sure to let them know you’re a potential customer as they will work faster and harder in most cases to answer your questions. If this isn’t the case, they will more then likely act the same why once you’ve become a customer and shouldn’t be considered. Remember that the customer is first, and should be treated the same no matter if they are a potential customers, or an existing customer.
End Result
Now that we’ve found out which hosts provide the best support and assistance, we can now look at other aspects of the company. This should have narrowed down the playing field tremendously and provided a nice little list of existing web hosting companies. These are the ones we’ll be looking at next and from this small list; we should be able to choose the best company for our needs.
The Bells and Whistles
We now have a nice little list of potential web hosting companies to choose from. These are our winners and have been pushed into the final round. Out of these few hosting companies we’ll choose the winner and our new web hosting company. Continue to be picky on the subject, you’re paying for this and getting the best service, support, and resources are your #1 goal.
Now we need to look at the different types of resources that each company offer. We first need to find out how much space, bandwidth and any other special services that may be needed. Then we can choose a plan from each company that we might be interested in. Once a plan has been chosen, we can then find out which company offers the best plan for the best price. Yes now is the time to consider price. We know these companies are worth going with and now the price can become an issue. At this point only one hosting company should be standing and this should be the one you’d like to use for hosting your web site or business.
Conclusion
Choosing the best web hosting company is a long process but well worth it in the long run. Remember that changing web hosting companies is a pain for established sites. Most users stick with the same web hosting company for years and years. So being picky about which is chosen is always the best route to take. By following these simple steps it can help when selecting that perfect web hosting company.
Remember there are many other things to consider when searching for a web hosting company. These are just the basics and should help anyone find a good reliable web hosting company.
