Questions To Ask a Hosting Company Before You Start

There are several types of hosting. Among them are:

Free hosting
Free sites are for people who's sites are small and do not expect much traffic. Personal sites about your family or hobbies are perfect for free web site hosts. I do not recommend this for any business, promoting or selling a product, or expect a lot of traffic. Usually you cannot use a domain name for your site. You must use a domain and site path provided by the company.

Virtual (or shared) hosting
A web server which shares its resources with multiple users. It's another way of saying that multiple web sites share the resources of one server. If you do not need your own web server (i.e. your own server class computer), you will use a virtual server to host your web site.

Dedicated hosting
A more expensive type of account in which the web hosting company provides you with an entire hosting setup including your own server hardware that only you can use. This usually means a much faster loading time for your site because the entire computer is "dedicated" to running the server software. This is different from most other hosting accounts in which your web site will share space on a server with many other web sites, called a virtual server. A dedicated server makes sense for web sites that require higher availability and higher data transfer rates.

Collocation hosting
Collocation hosting offers the same benefits as dedicated hosting, except you provide the server. I only recommend this plan if you can gain physical access to the server, or have special server requirements. If you are located in New York and the server is in Seattle, it would be difficult, and expensive, for you to replace a hard drive. You can have the hosting provider repair problems, but at a premium cost.

Questions To Ask a Hosting Company Before You Start

1. How long have you been in business? Are you incorporated? Do you have your own Merchant Account?

Varies These are questions geared at stability and long term continuation of web hosting service. These questions are important as you don't want to sign up for a web host who will disappear in one day.

2. How many customers do you serve per server?

Depending on the Web hosting plan or the Web hosting company the server that your hosted on might be a little more packed than you might think. A responsible Web hosting company will not overstuff the servers they own or collocate. Most of the time, sharing a server with several different companies is not a bad thing though. However, you do need to ask your Web hosting company about the numbers. If you are shopping around for Web hosting, you need to ask each company about the client per server ratio. Go with the company that fits your other needs, and has the least amount of clients per Web hosting server.

3. Do you allow SMTP POP3 email to be sent and received from mydomain.com?

You should get the answer: Yes

Some hosting companies force you to send SMTP POP3 email from isp.yourdomain.com rather than yourdomain.com. They do this because they claim 1) it keeps the servers fast. However, a dedicated SMTP POP3 server won't have any problems 2) it minimizes spam (however, spammers can still use technical tools for spamming from their account - so it really doesn't minimize spam). The biggest problem is that some Internet Service Providers won't allow the use of isp.yourdomain.com. It probably wouldn't make for a good day if you discover you had to change ISPs just to send email via your domain.

4. If I go over the monthly allotted bandwidth, what are the charges for each gig?

You should get the answer: $0 to $2 a gig

Watch this one as we have seen hosts indicate "purchase additional bandwidth for $0.1 per MB." That translates into $100 per gig.

5. Do you have any upgrades for each account, and if so, what are the costs?

Varies Most web hosts publish this information along with each hosting plan. It's good to ask if you can't find this information.

Other issues

1. The lame web host companies usually lack professional "look and feel" in their emails, some even taking days to respond. Worse yet, you may find some that won't reply, forcing you to have to send another email. It pays to find out any problems in advance

2. The established web host companies reply to your email within 12 hours, if not by then, you should have at least received a courtesy email to let you know they are reviewing your questions.

3. Keep in mind that there's much more to hosting than gigabytes and HTML, as without the professional support you need, your online business will suffer the consequences.

4. Look for an established Privacy Statement and Terms of Service. A web host without a Privacy Statement or Terms of Service is usually a red flag for you since it is very important for all web sites to establish this information to their visitors. While it can be boring to read this material, you may be in for a surprise to later find out extra charges that your site could unexpectedly incur. Know what to expect. When in doubt, ask.

5 Ask for names of two to three similar users and check with them regarding their experience.

You can find Recommended Hosting Companies at www.RichTrack.com.

Written by Helen Peshkova, RichTrack.com.

http://www.RichTrack.com is one of the first business oriented education portals. It's the leading online business information network for millionaires. The goal of RichTrack.com is to present business content in a professional, helpful and practical format that helps you getting rich.

In The News:

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shows your how to enjoy watching television shows and movies by connecting your wireless headphones to your TV.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you to keep track of those important texts that you may want to keep track of for both iPhone and Android users.

As technology advances cybercrimes grow more worrisome, tech expert Kim Komando shares important tips to protect your devices from hackers.

Google has announced their new generative AI tool for Google Workspace. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains the new features and how to boost your productivity.

The best ways to increase the efficiency of your Wi-Fi signal at your home are to use a power line adapter or WiFi extender, but it depends on your home's setup.

Kurt "The CyberGuy" Knutsson explains what the Affordable Connectivity Program is and how you can know whether you qualify, so that you can get high-speed internet access at a discounted rate.

Kurt "The CyberGuy" Knutsson has tips on how to make your life feel more safe while having accounts and information online.

Kurt "The CyberGuy" Knutsson shares in-depth steps you can take to protect yourself from social media scammers on Facebook and Instagram.

Are you a book lover? Well, Kurt "The CyberGuy" Knutsson shares a different way of how you can enjoy reading, recommending 7 top audiobooks to listen to.

Kurt "The CyberGuy" Knutsson dives into the U.S.'s decision to ban Huawei in 2019 and shares how China's latest smartphone creates a challenge for Apple.

Accidentally deleting your data is a mistake that is all too easy to make. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shows you how to recover your lost information.

Have you ever wanted to know what your dog is trying to tell you? Scientists say they are on the brink of understanding what they are saying using AI.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson lists all the new features of the new iPhone iOS 17 upgrade and explains how they work for your Apple devices.

Austin, Texas-based startup Apptronik, robots, which are listed at 5 feet 8 inches tall and 160 pounds can lift and carry up to 55 pounds, can help retail and manufacturing industries.

Stay up to date on the latest AI technology advancements and learn about the challenges and opportunities AI presents now and for the future.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shares some tips and methods on how to restore files that have been accidentally deleted on your computer or smartphone.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson helps you recognize fake items and fake third-party vendors on legitimate retail cites like Walmart and Amazon.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shows you how to protect your Mac computer from a new malware strain called MetaStealer that is targeting your data.

Learn more about the most popular search engine that the world uses; become an expert by using hidden tips to improve your workflow.

Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson explains how to keep yourself safe from scammers that are cold calling victims and posing as deputies to trick people into paying money.

Keeping your information safe and secure is a top priority. Kurt "CyberGuy" Knutsson shows you the top authenticator apps for an extra layer of security.

You can use your data to make extra cash by utilizing 10 apps from your iPhone, Android or smart device such as Ibotta, Rakuten, Fetch, Dosh and more.

Kurt "The CyberGuy" Knutsson explains various ways thieves try to steal cars and shares tips on how to prevent your vehicle from being stolen.

Your internet and Wi-Fi router can become a victim of cybercrime and hacking if you fail to erase personal data and information before disposing it for good.

While ChatGPT has grown to be a go-to in the Open Ai circuit, there are a number of AI alternatives such as Bard, Microsoft's Bing Chat and Google's Socratic.

Questions To Ask a Hosting Company Before You Start

Web Hosting Web Hosting