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There are quite a few really good web hosts out there and your business
will do just fine with any of them. But how can you tell is a web
host is really worth your business? The first thing you need to do
is understand the games disreputable hosts play in order to get your
business. There are many variations, but most of the games fall
into the following categories:
- Great marketing but no staying power. The host says
all the rights things (and may even mean them), but they don't
have the management skill to keep the business going.
- They conveniently forget to mention that your site does not
exist except in our database. That's right, you cannot
customize your site, integrate with many ecommerce function,
find it in natural search or even back it up on your own.
Why? Because it doesn't exists in the traditional sense of a web
site, only as some files within a content management system that
you don't control.
- Tell you what they want to hear. You think 5,000 GB
of transfer is important. OK, they'll tell you it's
included even though they know you'll never use it. The
truth is, very few sites need more than 100MB of disk and 1GB of
bandwidth. And, if you use much more, disreputable hosts
(even ones with huge brand names) will cut you off even if you
are on the "unlimited" plan.
Now that
you know the games web hosts play, here is a checklist to tell the good
guys from the bad guys. If a web host you are considering cannot
answer "Yes" to all of the questions below, be very wary.
- Have you been in business at least 5 years? 10 years?
- Are you profitable?
- Will I have a dedicated IP address?
- Will I have full FTP access to my site files?
- Can I move my site to another web host?
- Can I install add-ons or extensions to my site?
- Do I get access to my site logs?
- Can I be sure you won't cancel my account for "resource
usage" if I am doing legitimate business?
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Quick Start Affordable
Web Hosting
$4.95/month
(with annual purchase)
Simple control panel interface for site management
Email accounts with all the tools you need to manage them
Full access to your server, FTP access, backup tools and more.
Free site builder tools
Free site statistics to track visitors and search campaign results
$4.95/month
(with annual purchase)
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