5.13.2012

Choosing Hosting - Things To Remember

By Timothy Phelucci


If you haven't ever built your own website or done any web development before, finding hosting can seem like a complicated process. You will be glad to learn that choosing hosting does not have to be hard. You can use any one of a number of methods for narrowing down your prospects and finding the best hosting possible. All you need to do is take some time and do some research and before long you could be up and running. Here are a few hints to help you with your research.

Do you have specific FTP needs? If you have no idea what FTP means you will probably be fine with one of the free, web based host companies out there. If your FTP needs are extensive, you should make sure that any hosting program you purchase will have a way of meeting those needs. Some companies give you FTP access through a web based application. Still other hosting companies ask that you use your own downloaded FTP application.

If uploading and downloading files through your own software seems too complicated for you, make sure your host provider has a web based application you can use. If you are a web builder who likes to have complete control over his FTP choose a hosting company that will allow you access to your server through your own remote FTP service. Ask tons of questions. Contact each of the web hosting companies that you are thinking about using. Ask to talk to a customer service agent on staff. If you have no way of speaking to a live person then you should run away! Do not share any information with a company that will not allow you to have a conversation with a live person who represents that company. Any hosting company that does not offer customer service through live employees (instead of question and answer bots or FAQs) is probably a scam. Even small companies should have at least one person you can talk to. Don't trust any company without live representation!

Look into the company's business practices. Big companies are almost always registered with business bureaus. Do some checking into the company's physical location-make sure that the headquarters listed on the company site is registered with that city and state. Do a search through the better business bureau. Companies worth your money will not have a lot of complaints lodged against them. If the company is not registered with its local authorities it should be avoided. Not even independent contractors are allowed to do business without registering with the local business registries. Any web hosting company worth your money will be easy to verify through legal means.

Check into their business practices. Larger companies will probably be listed with local business bureaus. Make sure that, at the very least, the company is registered with the city and state of its corporate headquarters. See if the company is listed with the Better Business Bureau. Companies worth your money will not have a lot of complaints lodged against them. You should also avoid a company that does is not registered with a city or state. Even sole proprietors and freelance web hosts are supposed to register their businesses with the local authorities. If you can't find out any legitimate legal information about a company then that company is not to be trusted!




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