Ask Your Prospective Web Host the Right Questions
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Ask the right questions when you are choosing a web host, and you can avoid a lot of pain in the future. This article explains some of the things you need to know.
Many website owners have received unpleasant surprises after signing up with a web host they thought could do the job. Some of these could not be helped, but many other problems could have been prevented, or at least foreseen, if the website owner had done his or her research beforehand. Choosing a host for your website is an important decision; it calls for thoroughness before you make a commitment.
You should start your thorough research with your own website. Figure out in detail what you are going to need to get it up and keep it running smoothly. For your own reference at least, write down what is non-negotiable and what you might be able to work around. Note that this list will probably change as your website changes.
For example, if you are a podcaster and you start becoming popular, your bandwidth needs are going to increase. If you sell a few items off your website through PayPal and you see this business beginning to take off, you might start thinking about accepting credit card payments directly. That would change the security needs of your site. I’m sure you can think of other examples. Be realistic, however; you don’t want to end up paying for features you will never use.
Once you have figured out your own needs, it’s time to research web hosts. Most web hosts offer several different packages, so you should be able to find a variety that at least come close to meeting all your needs. For the half dozen or so that come closest, keep track of what they offer. You’re going to send a long list of questions to their customer service departments, which I’ll explain in the rest of this article.
One thing you want to keep in mind when you compose this list is that you do not want to ask questions that are already answered on the web host’s website. The host will think you either can’t or won’t read the information that’s right in front of you, and that translates to a headache of a customer. If you really want to ask about something mentioned on the host’s website, preface your question with “I see by your website that…” That’s a good way to try to confirm whether something is still correct (for example, that a particular service is still being offered) or to ask for more detail about something mentioned only in passing.
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