Reseller Web Hosting: Frequently Asked Questions - How do I know if my web host is a reseller?
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The best and easiest way to find out is to ask him. Most reseller web hosts will be up front about this. Some will clearly specify their upstream provider on their own website. Indeed, if the company is evasive about this, you should probably think twice about dealing with them.
Are there special considerations if I choose to have a reseller host my website?
You should find out who your host’s upstream provider is. Is your host strictly a reseller, or does the company rent dedicated servers at a data center facility? Does your host’s provider rent dedicated servers, or are they one of the “big daddies” with their own data center? Remember, your host is depending on his provider to deliver the goods, and so are you.
With that in mind, you want to research both the reseller hosting company you choose to do business with and their provider. Find out if their provider has an uptime guarantee, and what it is. You might also want to know what services the upstream provider offers. Taking a look at their price structure might give you some idea of what kind of profit the reseller is making (if you are getting the service you want, profit is not a bad thing – it keeps a business going). You can also find out the upstream provider’s terms of service/service level agreement, which the reseller must abide by.
You should be comfortable with your reseller’s upstream provider, in the sense of believing they will offer the security, uptime, and performance you need. When your site goes down, or you have any problems or issues, you must contact your reseller, who will then contact his upstream provider to sort out the issue. To this end, you can track down web hosting forums online to get a picture of a web hosting company’s performance.
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