Tag Archives: web host

Importance Of Technical Support For Net Projects

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An efficient web hosting service is one that can provide good technical support on a daily basis. This doesn’t just stop at hardware and software but also to other issues related to domain names such as integration with payment gateways, acquirement of SSL certificates, advice on newsletter software or RSS feeds.

Regrettably, very few of these web hosting services exist. Most of them only make tall claims but don’t actually invest enough on equipment and competent support staff. Some aren’t even hosting companies but just plain resellers, although they make huge promises. So it’s up to the webmaster to make the right choices.

The web master must make a sincere effort to find out how competent the technical and support staff employed by a web host are, because it is this staff that you will have to call, if there is anything faulty with your web site.

Hosting services are often quite happy to provide technical back-up 24 hours a day in their operation centers. Nevertheless, the truth is that most of them make a great effort to find staff trained in operating systems as well as network technology. Some companies however spend more on advertising and marketing than they do on customer support.

That is why you should try to call up customer support and enquire on their basic routines of maintenance, availability, training, certification, years of experience, years of working with the service provider, etc. Try to establish what their level of expertise is through asking pointed, technical questions about their skills as well as the hardware and software which is used in their offices.

You can also ask the support staff where you can find them and where the office of the hosting service provider is. You can also directly enquire to find out if the staff is employed by the host or if he is working on a contract. This will contribute to help you find out if the customer support services have been outsourced or not. If the customer support technicians tend to very often put you on hold, this might show that their presence is only to convey service requests to others.

Usually, a hosting service can give you a hard copy of its technical back-up documentation. It might also enable you to download a PDF file with all the relevant details presented in a style which is highly professional. But don’t let such documents mislead you. Make sure you do your own research first before you sign on the dotted line. Remember that you need some good technical support to succeed in your endeavours.

Michael Beattie is contributing editor at WebDesignArticles.net. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.

Web Hosts For Small Businesses

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Finding small business web hosts which are good quality can sometimes be a challenge especially for individuals and businesses which are on a limited budget. This is due to the fact that the high-end hosting companies centre on the corporate market or on high traffic websites. They aren’t very much interested in the small and home office divisions due to the scale of operations being low, and the margins being less.

All this has led to the burgeoning of scores of web hosts that tend to offer shared hosting packages to small and medium companies. The majority of these web hosts don’t have the technical or financial muscle in order to provide services which are state-of the-art. Some of them own one or two servers whereas there are many others who offer reselling solutions.

It is therefore important to study the claims and market pitches of small web hosts thoroughly, before you decide to host your website on their servers. You must especially try to avoid resellers. The resellers might convince you of high quality service but aren’t in any position to offer those services because they don’t own hosting companies. They are in effect only acting as middlemen.

To find a host which is reliable, you will need to make a short list of potential web hosts in your city. You can then visit their offices and check if their claims are correct, especially the hardware that they own. You cannot do this cross-checking when you buy web space on the net. If at all possible, you should try to get the list of websites hosted by the web host. You will then be able to contact owners of these websites, and find out what their experience is.

You must try to find out which hosts can offer the required services, as well as their costs. Hosting companies will need to be evaluated for their knowledge and accuracy through asking questions. You will have to ensure the honesty of the host as well as the commitment towards the customers by asking them questions which are relevant.

You should choose a flexible host, scalable and who can grow along with your business. You will have to keep an eye out for signs of rudeness, impatience and unresponsiveness in a host. To start off with, don’t enter a long-term contract for hosting. If you can have more than one site, try to consider spreading them among several hosts.

As small hosts tend to understand the requirements of small businesses better, you might tend to feel more comfortable with them. Nevertheless, you mustn’t try to be carried away by hosts who offer you more than you require and skimp on support. The customer will be expected to be technically knowledgeable and self-sufficient to negotiate prices for hosting which are able to be negotiated.

J. M. Stevens is contributing editor at WebDesignArticles.net. This article may be reproduced provided that its complete content, links and author byline are kept intact and unchanged. No additional links permitted. Hyperlinks and/or URLs must remain both human clickable and search engine spiderable.