The internet is one of the most powerful tools in 21st century marketing. Businesses that just a couple of years ago hadn’t even thought about building a website are now enthusiastic promoters of the need to have an internet presence. But no matter how good your site may be, the company hosting it can be a critical factor in its success.
Once built, a website must be hosted by a specialist company with direct links to the internet. Unfortunately not all hosting companies are reliable providers of their services – some are downright terrible.
This is only a brief introduction to choosing a host for your firm’s website but it should give you enough information to begin your selection or to start the process of replacing an unsatisfactory supplier.
To begin with, not all web hosts have the same structure. Some are basically ISPs (Internet Service Providers) that provide access to the internet for customers and do web hosting as a sideline. While some companies can perform both jobs satisfactorily it’s not the ideal arrangement for many businesses.
Another source of hosting is the website developers. They create the site for you and as an extra service host it as well. It can be an expensive solution but at least you’re dealing with somebody you know and who knows how your site is supposed to work.
Finally there are the specialist web-hosting firms that provide only the one service, usually for businesses rather than private customers. These broad categories contain businesses of many different sizes and capabilities. Finding the right one for your requirements takes a bit of research but it’s worth every bit of effort in the long run.
There are literally thousands of sad stories from businesses that have chosen a web host that turned out to be inadequate for the job. Sales lost because the server was down, customers alienated by functions that didn’t work, an inability to access the business’ emails – all of these have happened and a lot more.
The first, and many say most important way to identify a suitable web host is to find someone who’s really happy with theirs. Either ask the proprietors of other firms, perhaps in an industry association or local chamber of commerce, or simply ask business owners with websites for their opinions.
Incidentally, your website can be hosted thousands of miles away from your firm if you want. The information era enables us to easily cross boundaries such as state borders, and even cross oceans if required. But there are website hosts in almost every city and town and if you want some person-to-person contact with your provider you can usually have it.
Remember that technical glitches can happen to even the biggest and the best web hosts. A good test of a hosting company is its ability to fix problems with a minimum of downtime. Some are a lot better than others at restoring services after a problem.
You may discover some web host rating services – websites with lists of hosting companies and lots of glowing prose about how good they are. Be warned that this kind of website can be simply a marketing arm for businesses to promote themselves. A personal recommendation from a satisfied customer is always best.
Web hosting companies are connected to the internet by what is sometimes called a ‘pipeline’ – a channel through which information comes and goes. When comparing hosts look at the capacity of their connection in megabytes per second. The bigger the pipeline the more traffic it can carry. Keep asking questions until you have enough information to compare one host with another; you’ll learn lots as you go.
Another desirable feature is virtual hosting – the ability to have your address read www.yourfirmname.com rather than incorporating the name of the host as part of the address. Most hosting companies now offer this anyway, but it’s just something to watch for.
You also want an adequate number of email addresses so that different parts of your firm can receive emails directly. For example, your accounts department can be accounts@yourfirmname.com and your sales department can be sales@yourfirmname.com.
You may want 24 hour technical support, website ‘hit’ counters, firewall protection, as well as anti-virus and anti-spam functions too. If so you’ll probably be able to have the whole list but it will most likely cost more than just a ‘basic’ service.
Costs vary in a pretty broad range so it all comes back to shopping around. You’re after the right price, but that’s not necessarily the cheapest. Some web hosts will quote you a low cost but give you poor service. Others will tie you to a long-term contract with a big up-front payment.
There are lots of companies out there that can host your website. Costs are competitive and service offerings improve all the time. But just as with any other purchase you have to shop around and buy wisely or you risk having a website plagued by problems that are truly beyond your control.
Copyright 2003, RAN ONE Inc. All rights reserved. Reprinted with permission from www.ranone.com.
Chris’ combination of academic credentials, career experience and temperament ideally suit his calling as a business development advisor. Clients say he has a mind for business and a heart for service.