| In the years that I have been paying for web | | | | information, imagine it being the busiest day of |
| hosting service I have learned to interrogate | | | | your sites history and it goes down, are you |
| possible hosts with my essential questions before | | | | going to be okay with not getting a human on the |
| I sign up and I encourage you to do the same. | | | | line? |
| Not only will you get valuable information to help | | | | 4.) Testimonials? - Can you find the name and |
| you make your decision, but you'll also learn a lot | | | | websites of other sites that host with this |
| about the speed and quality of response to | | | | company? Do a search on Google for the "web |
| customer enquiries, which is one of the most | | | | hosting company name" testimonial to see what |
| important factors in becoming a happy web | | | | others have said. Keep in mind that you you'll likely |
| hosting client. | | | | find negative customers for the best hosting |
| Web Hosting Service 6 Pre-Sale Questions | | | | service on the web, so look for patterns rather |
| 1.) Backups? - Ask about what is backed up you | | | | than specifics. |
| want to hear that all files and databases are | | | | 5.) Crowded Servers? - Ask how many sites do |
| backed up, not just files or just databases. The | | | | they put on each server? If you found one or |
| next question is the frequency of the backups. | | | | more testimonials from number 4 you can do a |
| Daily is best, weekly may be acceptable if you | | | | whois lookup at whois.sc and find out the number |
| don't update you site too often. Where are the | | | | of sites on the server. Again this can be |
| backups located? Off-site backups are best. If the | | | | deceiving, but if you do the research for a few |
| hosting company burns down, having your | | | | web hosting services, you'll find this a useful way |
| backups sitting next to the main server is not | | | | to compare them. |
| going to help you get your site back online. | | | | 6.) Patch Management? - How current are their |
| 2.) Data Center Location? - Avoid hosting with | | | | software installations? What version of PHP are |
| companies that have their datacenter in areas | | | | they using? Find out and then go to php.net and |
| that are subject to extremes of weather or are | | | | check the current stable version. If the web |
| politically unstable. Look closely to find this info, | | | | hosting service has Fantastico then see what |
| since a company can have its offices in a | | | | version of WordPress they are installing. Since |
| different location than its datacenter. Ask if you | | | | WordPress updates regularly it is a good measure |
| are unable to find the datacenter location on the | | | | of how well the hosting company stays on top of |
| website. | | | | their patching regime. |
| 3.) Phone Support? - Is there a support phone | | | | While this is not a completely exhaustive list of |
| number on the website? If not, find another web | | | | factors that determine the quality of a hosting |
| hosting service. If there is call the number and ask | | | | service, it is a quick and useful way to avoid the |
| a couple routine questions from this list. If you get | | | | most common causes of problems when choosing |
| an answering machine and are told to leave your | | | | a web hosting company. |