Small Business Web Hosting

In our previous post, we talked about web sites and translations. Thank you for your comments and feedback. But one of the challenges facing many of us, other than creating a great website, is how to get started in the first place.

Many times, web hosting becomes the first biggest hurdle. Yes, it is not a complicated thing. However, its like text messages on your mobile phone. Whether you are using T9, iTap or pressing buttons repeatedly to tap out your messages, it was tough at first. Most small business owners are not familiar with web hosting even if they are comfortable online with emails and social networks.

There are three key things you need to be aware of:

Is the Web Hosting company reputable/reliable?

The worse thing that can happen is if you got your web site hosted, then a year or two or even three years later, the web hosting company folds up. As a non-technical person, transferring web sites, back up and moving to a new web server is a nightmare.

Is the Web Hosting Plan affordable?

The top tier web hosts are, of course, reliable. But they are also expensive. Many of the smaller web hosting companies are serious businesses with dedicated staff and a solid business plan. Good deals can be found. You just need to spend time asking around and checking.

Is the Customer Service good?

Usually, with a good web hosting company, the only time you need them is at the beginning, when you set up your web site. And of course, at first, everyone is nice. The most important though, is when things go wrong. If you do not have a good customer service, there is little you can do to your web site if the problems are on the “server side” of your site.

Do you have good or bad experiences to share?