Reliable web hosting is highly sought after as more people are making use of the internet. How important is it? Just think about it – how would you feel if every other site you came across took significant time to load or worse, was inaccessible because the server went down? If you are trying to run a business, such instances could send your company plummeting to the ground. The best way to assure that your visitors stick around is to invest in reliable web hosting.

Features are great, a low price is even better but equally important is reliability. While there are several types of hosting able to provide this quality service, you certainly will not find it with a free web host. Free hosting sounds great on the surface yet is a far cry away from reliable hosting. In most cases, this type of service is very restricted, offering limited features, support and security. Sure, you might be able to integrate a shopping cart but what happens when the server goes down and there is no one to contact? More than likely, such an instance will place a negative stamp on your business.

If reliability is something you seek, free hosting definitely is not the way to go. That doesn’t mean that all paid hosts are created equal and can be depended on. Although there are certain factors that will largely depend on the requirements of your site, a reliable company should offer all the basics so that you can host in confidence. Below is a short checklist of what a provider needs to establish your trust:

Security – This is critical whether you intend to run a business or not. The fact that hosting is web-based business makes a server and all the data it contains susceptible to various threats. To keep your personal and business information secure, a provider should be equipped with numerous mechanisms to defend against malicious software, computer crackers and DDoS attacks. Additionally, there should be support for security features such as SSL encryption to protect any transactions that are made on your site.

Support – Though often overlooked, support is one of the most essential aspects of web hosting and ultimately what determines a reliable company. This is especially important if this is your first website. A provider should offer various means for contacting them, preferably a combination of phone, email and live chat support. It would also be nice to find something that provides resources that allow you to help yourself, such as a knowledge base, FAQ page or tutorials. A professional, friendly support team can make your web hosting experience much easier.

Respectable Uptime – When it comes to hosting, nothing speaks reliability like uptime. Uptime refers to the amount of time your website is up and accessible on the web. A number of different variables affect uptime including the server, the number of sites hosted on the server, technical issues and more. Although a good provider will openly display its uptime guarantee, you may want to do some investigating to make sure the claim holds true. If there is one way to diminish credibility, it’s downtime.

See Hosting Comparison Chart

See Top 10 Web Hosting

Related Articles

Be Sociable, Share!

•