Choosing A Web Hosting Company

Ten Things They Didn't Tell You When You Signed Up

When you are in the process of choosing a web hosting company for your website, there may be some variables that you do not understand upfront. Before you decide to go with a specific web hosting company, take a look at the top 10 things web hosting companies don’t tell you when you sign up.

#1– Limited Customer Service
Many of the larger hosting companies provide service 24 hours a day, seven days a week. This is one of the first things you should ask a about. Find out how often they are available for customer service, and identify what kind of steps a customer will need to take in order to receive the right level of service and technical assistance.

#2 - Services Not Provided
Web hosting companies will often neglect to tell you how you are charged for the service. A "deluxe" package doesn't necessarily offer what you need. The company may ask for other charges for what should have been standard issue. You may find that you are not getting what you pay for, so make sure you know what services you’re getting charged for upfront.

#3 - Extra Fees
Often, hosting companies set up the billing structure to include just the basics. If you want extra pages, search engine optimisation or other 'extras', you can pay a premium for them. Also look out for extra administration and billing fees snuck into your account.

#4 - Problems Changing Domain Name Server
Make sure you find out how to change your domain name server. Also, ask the hosting company what kind of measures they have in store in the event the server crashes, as some may have none.

#5 - Problems Ending Contracts
Many web hosting companies make it difficult for you to cancel your services. They will often repeatedly bill you even after you cancel the service. Make sure you stay on top of your billing, even after you’ve moved on to another hosting provider.

#6 - Lax Security
You will want to know what kind of security measures a web hosting company will have to protect you from identity theft. Some may have nothing in place. Always look at the fine print as well.

#7 – Bandwidth and Capacity Limits
Web hosting companies often neglect to tell you what kind of additional charges you could expect if you exceed your bandwidth. This is an extremely important question to ask. If your website is your sole means of income, you really cannot ask enough questions. It is your lifeline and your income and it needs to be protected. You will want to know if they can give you additional bandwidth quickly and the costs associated with it.

#8 – Content Requirements
If you are running a site with questionable/adult content, you will want to know if they support those kinds of sites so your site just doesn't disappear one day.

#9 – Registration Requirements
If you have recently started a new website, you want to make sure it is properly registered for your business. Many hosting sites boast that they can help make you ready for business in a breeze, but they often fail to tell you about all of the registration requirements you need to take care of.

#10 – Their Own Bad Reputations
Lastly do a quick Internet search for the web hosting company you are considering and see if there are other folks out there using them and if they have any complaints. The company is definitely not going to tell you if they have had any complaints against them. This will be up to you to find out.

Mrs Joanna Maria has been in the web industry from quite some time and has been part of web hosting search for the last couple of years.

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