There are thousands of Web hosting companies that claim to be the best deal on the Net or the cheapest deal for the money. So how are you supposed to know what ISP (Internet Service Provider) to host with? Support Issues Recently I dealt with three very big, well known hosting companies who hosted (past tense), my clients' Web sites. I put the question to them, "How do I tweak a CGI-Bin Perl script to point to a custom confirmation page?" They stated, we dont provide script support. I asked another company, "Do you support ASP upload scripts?" They replied, "Our windows servers are physically in San Francisco and the technician who supports these servers does not work weekends." I made another request to a hosting company to resolve a domain pointer issue. They said, "We will create a support ticket and have someone get back to you." I work 24/ 7 to get the job done because my clients expect me to resolve Web site problems in a fast, expedient fashion. You should expect no less from a Web site hosting provider. Bells and Whistles Hosting companies sometimes offer add-ons or additional services as part of their hosting plan. If you're a Web novice when it comes to technical aspects, you may have no idea what these add-ons are all about, much less how to take advantage of them. Some helpful add-ons to look for when shopping for hosting include: * Automated form-mail creator Creates a contact form on your Web site. * Blogs by Word Press or Mambo A template-based system where people can post their rants, raves and feedback. * Web Statistics Real time feedback on a variety of statistics issues such as: number of visitors, search engine data, keywords, key word phrases, Web site hits, Web site visitors and much more. * Web Mail Access to your email via a Web browser. * Bulletin Board A controlled forum where your Web site visitors can post feedback and respond to each others posts. * Google Site map generator A relatively new way of generating an XML code whereby providing the Google search engine a way to find and record all your Web pages within your site. * Web Template Creator An automated way of creating a basic Web site. Recommendation Since 2000 I have referred and recommended a hosting company based in Delaware called HostMySite.com. I do not resell their services, although they have a reseller program. I recommend them because they are the best. They make it easier for me to do my job and they provide my Web site clientele a powerful base on which to grow their online presence. They also have great bandwidth for speed and 24/7 knowledgeable support people who go the extra mile when it comes to resolving technical issues. I have dealt with 30 or more local and national ISP's across the U.S. and Canada and no one comes close to their level of support, expertise and service. Mention my company "Visionefx," and ask them to waive the $19.95 setup fee. Their hosting packages are surprisingly low and extremely competitive. Whether you have a $150,000 monster Website running Java and Oracle, or a $300 site with Front Page extensions, choose a good ISP. Its well worth it. Happy hosting |
