Reliability
This refers to the availability of the web host’s servers and is usually expressed as a percentaged value called uptime. Higher percentages represent greater reliability.
Most web hosting providers offer an uptime guarantee between 99 and 100% (not counting scheduled maintenance times). When creating your shortlist, aim for a minimum of 99.5% uptime. This translates to an average of about 1.83 days per year or 3.6 hours per month or 50.4 minutes per week [PDF] during which your website may be unavailable.
A point to note, 100% uptime guarantee (meaning no unscheduled downtime EVER from now to infinity) is a goal NOT a reality. Nevertheless, many web hosts do realistically have uptimes of 99.9%, 99.99%, 99.999%, etc.
Not all web hosts provide their uptime information on their website. WebHostingStuff provides an uptime monitoring service and purports to be “the only web hosting directory that independently tracks the uptime of 18,435 web hosting companies”. Just enter the company or domain name in the search box to find their uptime information.
Security
An often overlooked factor when researching potential web hosting providers is that of security. It is vitally important that you choose a web host who takes active steps to secure their web servers against misuse and outright attacks. They should have…
- a highly secured data center for their servers
- backup systems in the event of a power outage
- a remote server for daily off-site backups
- up-to-date virus and malware protection in place
- a properly configured firewall
A security-focused web host will also provide services to help you secure your website. These include:
- sFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol) or SSH (Secure Shell) for secure file transfers.
- SSL (Secure Sockets Layer) support for encrypting sensitive data like credit card details.
- Antivirus and Anti-malware particularly for email accounts.
Some of this information may be readily available on the company’s website. If not, and they are on your shortlist, you should contact them directly (preferably by live chat so that you have a written record of their response) and ask about these issues.
24/7 Customer/Tech Support
Let’s elaborate a little on the analogy of shared hosting being comparable to an apartment building or complex.
Most reputable apartment buildings have some form of 24-hour support system. It might be an on-site desk clerk or a phone number to the maintenance personnel or a call center. These are there to assist particularly in cases of the unforeseen or the unexpected like losing your key or a plumbing issue, or some other such occurrence.
When choosing a web host, you want one where…
- the customer support is 24/7/365
- 2 or more contact options (including phone OR live chat) are available
- the response time is VERY quick
- the staff is courteous AND knowledgeable
You may need to do a bit of investigatory work by contacting the company to test their response time, customer etiquette, and technical knowledge. Then do a search for reviews to see what others have to say. Just remember that the majority of customers do not leave reviews. The ones who do, tend to do so when their experience is very good OR very bad.
User-Friendly Control Panel
Obviously you wouldn’t want to sign up for a hosting account, log in and find that you cannot make heads nor tails about where things are and how they work in your back office. You would want a control panel that is easy to understand and use.
Most web hosts will be using one of the following control panels. Click on the link for a live demo or a video explaining the features.
- cPanel: long-standing, most used hosting control panel but not the best layout.
- Plesk: scroll down to Simple View Mode (Site Management) and Login.
- vDeck: newcomer but fast gaining popularity for its slick layout and features.
For web hosts that use another type of control panel, be sure to test drive a live demo of it or look for a video (or screenshots) that details the various features.
Web Host: Other Concerns
Server Location
A question that often comes up when searching for a web host is that of whether to have your website hosted within your country of residence or with an overseas company.The more reputable web hosts have 24/7 phone and/or live chat support in addition to email support. So, that is NOT really a valid reason for choosing to host your websites locally.
Another reason that should NOT be a MAJOR factor when deciding on a geographic location in which to hosts your websites is that of SEO and search ranking. To this end, I’ll let the king of search, Google speak for itself…
From Google Webmaster Central FAQ…
Reasonable Pricing
Web servers and the software that runs them are NOT free. Keeping them up-to-date and running smoothly is NOT a cost-free process. Required systems for heating/cooling, water, power, security, and the personnel that handles these things adds to the bills of a hosting company. Support staff and other employees need to be paid for their services.
The point is, do NOT just look at price when choosing a web host. There comes a point where cheap hosting will cost you much more in the long run. So, consider all the other factors to compile your shortlist of potential host and only use cost as a tie-breaker.
Once you’ve decided on a company, contact them to see what specials they might have available. Be sure to get it in writing either via live chat or by email. Recently we moved some of our hosting accounts to a new host. I contacted the company via live chat and was able to get a discount of over 50% of the best price being advertised on various coupon sites.
