Top 10 Questions to Ask Your Web Hosting Provider NOW!
So are you looking to build a website or are you so fed up with your current web host that you are desperate to transfer your site elsewhere? You may not even be aware of your current host's vulnerabilities in an industry where there is news every week about a host going down for one reason or another. Your first problem is narrowing down the thousands of options to a few that you can investigate further. Visit one of the many web hosting forums, ask members for advice, or search for threads from those who have asked before you. Once you've located a few hosts to investigate, the ten questions below will go a long way toward making an informed decision. You may be able to find many of the answers to these questions on the hosts' websites, but you can always call the host and ask about their operations. The quality of responses and the degree of professionalism you get from a potential host often carries over to the type of support you will receive once you become a customer. Without further ado, the ten questions to ask your web host:
- How long has the web host been up and running?
- Does the web server own your data center?
- How many upstream ISPs does the web server have?
- Does the web host monitor its clients' sites around the clock? How?
- Does the web host provide 24/7 email and phone support?
- What levels of redundancy does the web server architecture provide?
- Does the web server automatically back up customer websites in the event of data loss? How often?
- What is the billing policy of the web host?
- Does the web host provide the features you need for your website?
- Does the web host have the products and services to handle your growth?
1. How long has the web host been up and running?
How long a host has been in business may be related to their ability to provide a quality, reliable product. If your host can satisfy their customers, those customers are likely to stick with the host's service. So stay in business. Of course, there are situations where this is not applicable or it gets a bit confusing. Be sure to also ask if a host has recently been involved in a merger, acquired what was once a well-known brand, or launched a new brand. If any of these apply, delve into the story behind what happened and determine if quality resources are still in the company.
• Complete a “whois” domain name search on the web server: http://www.internic.net/whois.html. Enter the domain name of the web host and determine in what year the domain was registered. If you only signed up in the recent past, ask the host. If the domain name was recently registered, this is not necessarily a red flag. Just ask the host about it.
• Type the host's name into a search engine and check the results you get in addition to the host's own. You may come across reviews, interviews, or industry articles about the host.
2. Does the web server own your data center?
A data center is the foundation on which all products and services are based. If your host owns its own data center, they are likely pretty entrenched in the hosting business. They also have an experienced staff and a knowledge base from which to build on supporting their website and creating new products. In other words, if a host owns its own facilities, then it controls more variables that can make or break its presence on the web.
3. How many upstream ISPs does the web server have?
Your website performance is not just a measure of your web server speed. The ability of your web host to route traffic through the cleanest internet connections is also of great importance. It is essential that your provider has multiple Internet connections. Accidental fiber outages in construction or telecommunications jobs and data center equipment failure can cause your site to crash.
connect for a long time. This can be avoided if your web host has other internet connections that will divert traffic that would normally have been carried over the failed circuit. Yes, this means that your host must also have additional capacity available to handle normal traffic levels when a connection is lost; which is another area where a host can try to cut costs. This is much like when you drive your car, there are several streets you can take to get to your desired destination. Sometimes you will come across a construction or accident that will force you to take an alternate road. Well, the Internet works the same way. Your host should be able to choose the cleanest or most efficient route to your website visitor. In fact, your host should be able to continually co-tune these routes to find the best path to your visitors. Another way to do this is by minimizing the number of different networks that traffic will pass through before reaching its destination. It is extremely important that your host has direct connections to networks that have many eyes. In other words, your website will be better served if your web host uses connections to networks that facilitate Internet access for high volumes of subscribers.
4. Does the web host monitor its clients' sites around the clock? How?
Does the host have its own data center? If not, they are physically removed from your servers and likely paying a co-location company to monitor them. When another company controls the environmental systems that provide the home to the host, it can be argued that it has created another potential point of failure; which is the communication of a problem from the data center to the web server. That point of failure can increase the latency between an issue and its resolution, increasing your website downtime. Second, if your web host has a problem with its own infrastructure, then there may be travel time associated with your engineers coming to the data center to solve it or, once again, increased latency when try to solve a problem remotely.
5. Does the web host provide telephone and email support 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year?
You might be surprised at the number of web servers that don't provide 24/7/365 support. Industry hosts span the gamut from email only support to providing 24/7 email and phone support. The best way to eliminate not having support when you need it is to choose a host who can assist you when you need it. When an idea wakes you from a dream at 3 a.m., it's nice to have your host on the other end of the phone to discuss it. When your site isn't working properly due to a scheduling problem the night before your store opens, it's wonderful to have your web host on the phone to figure out the problem with you. When your cat accidentally deletes some important files, know that your host is there to help you get them back. Also make sure your host is supportive during major holidays. Many web servers will shut down their support center, reduce their support to email only, or send their support team home with a pager to call you in an emergency. All of these drops can lead to latency if your website goes offline. And the holidays are often days when people spend time on the Internet after they have completed all their social plans. In fact, word of mouth is one of the most effective means of acquiring customers.
6. What levels of redundancy does the web server provide?
Crashes can occur that cause your site to lose connection. Therefore, it is crucial to find a provider whose hosting architecture offers the least risk of failure. Redundancy is necessary. Single points of failure are very bad, but many hosts try to cut costs by risking single points of failure. Ask your web host about its redundancy in server architecture (web, email, and DNS servers), load balancing, and file storage.
A web server is the combination of hardware and software that serves the requested web pages, files, or other information. The servers respond to requests from web browsers to provide input.
website, email and database formation. Load balancing splits the amount of work a server has to do between multiple servers, which also adds redundancy, so that more work gets done in the same amount of time and generally all website requests within network services are served faster. Load balancers stay in constant contact with servers to determine how busy they are and / or if any of them have failed. It may seem like a no-brainer, but having your site connected to the internet is the only reason to have a website, and a redundant, load-balanced network is vital to that effort.
Has your email server ever been down? A Domain Name System (DNS) server translates requests to locate a website. For file storage, look for a host that uses a reliable storage solution with multiple hot-swap and auto-switch drives to ensure continuous delivery of your website.
7. Does the web server automatically back up customer websites in the event of data loss? How often?
Backing up websites should be a routine part of your web host's operation. Backup is the activity of copying files or databases to be preserved in the event of computer failure or any other catastrophe.
8. What is the billing policy of the web host?
Look for a web host that provides Money Back Guarantee. This will allow you to test the host's service. If you find the service to be poor in site performance, reliability, or lacking in the features you are looking for, the ability to request your money back, within the parameters of the warranty, is priceless and can save you trouble later. It's always a good idea to ask about the web host's cancellation procedures. There are many that require you to email them or make a phone call to cancel, which can extend the time period until cancellation. A host who relies on your service will have a cancellation form or online track within their control panel. Now, they likely have a retention program as well, so don't be surprised when they call or email you to ask why you're leaving. After all, your comments help them evaluate your service.
9. Does the web host provide the features you need for your website?
Sometimes people choose a host because it has the exact set of functions they need, but then they find that the set of functions means nothing when access to those functions is unreliable. Make sure a host has the desired characteristics and is also reliable. To ensure that the host you are evaluating has everything you need, use the following list:
- A domain name
- A large number of versatile email accounts, including web-based, POP3, and IMAP
- Spam filtering and virus protection are a must these days, unless you provide it yourself.
- Enough disk space to meet the needs of your site.
- Monthly bandwidth allotments that will cover your traffic and the ability to increase that allotment based on the success of your site.
- Site building tools, such as extensions for FrontPage or other online / downloadable site building programs
- Ease of uploading to your site via FTP or other means
- Access to a robust traffic analysis program or raw logs for you to process yourself.
- Programming languages, including CGI, PHP, MIVA (if necessary)
- Alternatives to the e-commerce shopping cart
- Database capacity, depending on your application preference
10. Does the web host have the products and services to handle your growth?
You might be surprised how many sites that were once started for fun or as a hobby have become some of the most popular sites on the Internet. So you never know when you will leave your current product or service behind and have to move up the ladder to the next rung. Make sure your alo