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What To Do When They All Say the Same Thing: Splitting Hairs Between Web Hosts

Let's get right down to it…

What does a Web Host Really Do?
A Web host provides an avenue for you to launch and manage your Website. There is a broad range of service levels available, some help with many functions of your online business and others leave you on your own and feeling frustrated.

Several years ago I contracted with a Web host for an intranet site for a new medical practice. The marketing Website for the host was slick and it appeared as if they offered loads of online support options. When the site stopped authenticating users and the users lost access to their calendaring system and shared documents (many of which were necessary medical documents for treating cardiac patients), I spent several maddening hours simply trying to find someone who would pick up the phone at the Web hosting company. Once I managed to get a real person, she was unable to do more than take my issue, give me a ticket number, and leave a message for a higher tiered support person. As a Web developer, this made me look bad to my client, the medical practice. As for my client, I immediately moved them to a more reliable and responsive Web host. I had bid for the project based on the low cost Web host, so the change ate into my profit. I learned a valuable lesson about believing everything a low cost web host might bellow in their sales pitch.

The next point to consider is the reliability and stability of the Web host’s servers. Windows is far less secure than Linux, in both mine and my Web developer friend’s opinions. Windows is a widely used operating system for home PC's, but Linux is not. Even so, Linux has its vulnerabilities. One cannot forget the large numbers of successful hack attempts that have been made on Linux boxes over the years. But regardless of the type of Web hosting server you choose, the security of the servers usually depends upon the competency of the system administrators. If you’re security-minded and/or security is important to the viability of your Website, then you’ll choose the best and most secure hosting company leaving the actual type of server almost a secondary consideration.
As far as performance goes, there isn’t much difference between the two. Linux is sometimes a bit faster than Windows since Linux is loaded with extendable implementation. Windows attempts to provide an “'all in one” package which can occasionally gets in the way a bit. In terms of performance, your code and size of your webpage is going to make a much bigger difference to the end user.

Other ways to differentiate:
There are three overarching areas of service to consider and review carefully when deciding on a Web host: its feature set, customer service, and control panel ease of use.

Feature set – The unique attributes that the company uses to describe their service is the feature set. All Web hosting services offer different features. When looking for a service, look for a service that provides as much memory, domains and sub domains and as many email addresses as you need. If you need Web page development assistance, a shopping cart or credit card services, look for a service that will provide these. At this point you’ll want to decide whether a Unix, Linux or Windows platform is preferred.

Customer Service – A good web hosting service offers customer support 24 hours a day, seven days a week and includes email and chat support. If financial services are used, then toll-free billing and sales support should also be available, assessable and helpful. This may be the time to consider offshore Web hosts. I have had experience lately with three: IXWebhosting, HostGator and SimpleHost. Of these three, the one I prefer for customer service is HostGator. This hosting company is located in Florida, USA. Many Web hosts in the United States offer 24/7 support and comparably low cost hosting. Many opt for this shared hosting in which the host takes care of the day-to-day processes involving security as well as hardware/software needs, this requires a high level of quality customer service.

Control Panel Ease of Use – The website content and statistics are viewed and managed through the control panel. The features should be easy to find, use and arrange in a logical manner. Again, I like HostGator for their “no frills, but robust and reliable” control panel. One of my friends told me a horror story about how a proprietary content management system which their webhost (which shall remain nameless) offered “broke” (stopped working) in November last year when viewed in Internet Explorer 7. It still isn’t working and there is no estimated time for it to be rectified. With a host such as HostGator, you don’t have to worry as much about browser compatibility issues because the control panel is built on common code.

How to tell if the Web host is right for you
Regardless of our best intentions in this article, finding a service that meets all of your Web hosting needs can be a difficult search for the novice Web builder. I’ve been in this business since 1995 when I performed most of my work for the government. Today I handle clients in all segments of the Internet: from the medical practice to the quilt maker, from the church to the small private college, and their decisions almost always boil down to these. I simply cannot stress to you how important it is to think about exactly what services you need, what level of customer care you need, how much you want to pay and how much room you need to grow.

If you need it now or ever believe that you will need it in the future of your online business, you’ll consider a compatible Web host to:

Provide for financial services - Services that would support an eCommerce site. Offer a shopping cart, credit card processing, customer management, merchant accounts, SSL Certificates (from Verisign or elsewhere), and other security devices.

Offer Marketing Services - Services that help you market your product or message. Including, affiliate programs, traffic, statistics and click reports. Offer Reseller/Referral programs, free/ paid submission, to popular search engines, and even seo (search engine optimisation) assistance

Offer Website Creation Services - Tools that help you build your Website. Some offer: Website wizards or other easy-to-use tools to build Websites, store front templates or design assistance.

Offer Email Services- Such as custom email accounts. Services differ, but should include: tens to thousands of POP3 email accounts, outgoing SMTP relay, autoresponders, Webmail, backup mail relays, Spam/ Virus filters, Email aliases, and fax email options.

All levels of Website hosting are available, so whether you need a site to host your intranet server, online business, or to publish pictures of your weekend away in the Blue Mountains, there is a service out there to meet all of your hosting needs.