The Matthias Chronicles

Monday, July 14, 2008, 11:43 PM

Choosing the right hosting company

by Mar Matthias Darin

Many thanks to Mizé for asking a very good question.

Choosing the right host for your website can be a daunting task. As far as a specific company you should trust... None of them until you talk to their customer support first. Ultimately, you must feel comfortable with the hosting company you choose. I had gone to many companies that had good referrals and talked to the customer support and wasn't happy with the answers. The result was, in my case, not for me, hence my decision to build my own server. However; operating a server is not for everyone. The are many, many choices available for commercial services for those that do not want the headaches of operating their own server..

The questions that need to be asked of any web host are as follows:

• how often do they backup your data?
• whats their downtime percentage?
• do they have emergency backup power systems to keep your site online and how long will it keep your site running?
• how do they handle their billing and what packages do they offer?
• how much bandwidth do you get for each package they offer?
• what happens if your site exceeds its bandwidth limit? How do they notify you when this happens?
• is the bandwidth limit per day, week or month?
• how much storage space do you get?
• how much mail space do you get? Is it separate from the website storage? Some sites will give you 100 Megs, then split it between your web site and email boxes.
• what services do they provide? Blogging, SQL, ftp, email, SSH, Telnet, and/or any service that is important to you.
• Do you have the choice between a Linux server and a Windows server?
• what type of firewall and intrusion detection system do they use?
• how often do they apply security updates and patches?

After you asked all the important questions of each prospective hosting companies, you should have a chart that you can compare to make the best decision for you and your needs.

I'm sure there are other questions, but the above are some of the most important.

Comments from Mizi

Hi. Thanks so much for this informative post. I'm a non-tech blogger, always wanting to learn more. I guess your experience in this topic helped me think about details I hadn't considered. I blogged about your post in Night Clicks and sent you a bit of link love, hope you don't mind. You also earned yourself another Edropper :)

Best Regards.

Comments from Mar Matthias Darin

Thank you for dropping by, commenting and the link love. I am very appreciative and glad the information has helped.