Critical Factors for Choosing a Web Host

Today’s global economy demands a web presence in order to be considered a formidable competitor. For small and mid-size companies, navigating web hosting services is often a daunting task, occasionally frustrating. Due in large part to the numerous web host servers readily available to fit your new business needs and budget.

There are several things you should take into consideration when selecting a web hosting service for your new online business including: customer service, price, domain names, and upgrade options.

Efficient Customer Service

Before closing a deal, you should always know your business partner. Whether attempting to contact the interested web host service company via phone, e-mail or learn more about the services each offers reading website information and client testimonials, gauging customer service is an essential component when making a final decision. Thriving business owners realize their key to successfully acquiring and retaining customers is excellent customer service; web hosting services are not immune from the same curiosity.

A respected web host service representative should return messages within 24 hours, answer questions honestly and value your time as a potential client – if not then move on to your next option. If the web host service doesn’t respond in a timely manner, then chances aren’t any better in troubleshooting assistance.

Affordable Pricing

Pricing is another significant aspect to consider when opting for a web host package. Many new online businesses get into financial trouble when purchasing a web host because either they aim too high or too low. Quality service should never be compromised, but neither should it be ridiculously priced. If you’re a small business owner, then you won’t need all of the bells and whistles as those of larger websites. Although starting a website, estimating visitors and bandwidth usage is difficult, consider your current client base.

Free web hosting is tempting for many new online entrepreneurs; however, it’s not always the best option even though being affordable. A free web host typically requires your website to display ads of various products and services. Visitors quickly equate the pop-up ads as annoying and quickly exit left to your nearest competitor’s website. Summary: avoid free web hosting unless you’re testing a specific market or sharpening your web design skills.

Dependable Domain Names

It’s equally important to spend some serious thought and effort into a domain name for your online business. A good web hosting provider will offer you at least one free domain name per hosting account. Of course, receiving the free domain is the easy part. Chances are the first name you choose will already be taken, so consider several different options. A legit domain name should be easy to remember, spelled correctly, and relate to your business. If you opt to use a free web hosting service, be aware that typically your online address requires you to include part of the web host’s address to your domain name.

Despite being affordable, the convoluted web domain name confuses existing customers searching for information online and detracts potential new sale leads. A lengthy web address also wrecks havoc on SEO rankings. When picking a profitable domain name, paying for the convenience of owning a personalized address is a worth-well investment.

Available Upgrade Options

Finally, before settling on a web host, be familiar with the available upgrade options. Initially, your online business endeavors shouldn’t require a fully-loaded web hosting package, however, as your business grows, so will your need to accommodate web visitors. The most common reason small business owners find for upgrading websites is due to an increase in web traffic to your website, which means the demand for more bandwidth. A couple of advanced upgrade options preferred by larger online businesses include Managed Hosting and Unlimited Managed Hosting packages. Upgrade options depend greatly on individual needs and available budgets.

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The Advantages of Purchasing Used Domain Names

Building a successful website is often a long and drawn out process that requires many steps, and a significant amount of diligence and persistence. Unfortunately, many of the attributes that make a website successful take a long time to create, especially those that are associated with search engine optimization. Every website online is represented by a domain name, which is often indexed in major search engines, having a history and authoritative stance of its own. By purchasing a used domain name you can take advantage of all of the work done by the previous site owner. The following information outlines the main benefits of purchasing used domain names for building your websites.

Page Rank and Domain Authority

Search engines use patented algorithms to efficiently gather, index, and rank information on the Internet. Google, in particular, utilizes a power stance system known as page rank, which gives each domain name a certain amount of authority based on a number of factors. One of the factors that affects a website’s page rank is the amount of links on the Internet that point to pages on the website, which are also known as backlinks, or incoming links. Many times, when a domain name is sold at auction or on an expired domain name vendor site, the domain name will still retain some of the backlinks and all of its page rank. By purchasing one of these domains, you can eliminate most of the work involved with establishing authority for your domain, which will allows you to rank highly in the SERPs (search engine result pages) for practically any term or keyword with less effort.

Established Reputations

Building your new website on a domain name that already has an established reputation may create an instant flow of traffic from previous website visitors that are returning in hopes of finding the website they last visited. Even though these visitors are expecting to see a completely different website, if your new site is relevant to the same niche or topic that the previous successful site that utilized that domain name was relevant to, it is possible to instantly build a small amount of residual traffic based on the success of the previous site. The previous site may have also caused the domain name to rank well for popular key words or phrases, which can bring instant traffic to your site via the search engines. Since your domain name will essentially be the brand of your website, purchasing a used domain name that already has an established reputation is the best way to quickly build a popular brand for your new site.

Obtainable Experience

Used domain names give you the opportunity to instantly obtain experience in the eyes of your site visitors and the search engines, without putting forth a lot of effort or taking a lot of risks. Surprisingly, it is possible to find used domain names for as little as $20, with the average used domain name being sold for anywhere between $20-$100. Purchasing a well-established .com domain name that has been used for successful website for the past several years can give your website an instant boost in traffic and overall popularity.

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A Detailed Look at Reseller Web Hosting

Everyone who wants a website on the internet needs to have a web host. The large number of potential customers has made web hosting a very profitable business. However, launching your own hosting company is normally very difficult. To set up a hosting company from scratch you would need to purchase your own servers and maintain them. A simpler option has evolved in reseller web hosting.

Reseller Hosting

There is a much easier way of offering hosting services to your customers. The easiest way of doing this is to sign up for a reseller hosting account. Reseller accounts can host multiple domains and websites on a single server.

By registering a reseller hosting account it is possible to sell hosting space without owning servers yourself. It is also possible to make money from this method and it’s much easier than setting up your own hosting company.

Reseller Control Panel

Most reseller hosting accounts include an internet based control panel. This makes it very easy to create new accounts and make adjustments to the settings of your hosting account. The most popular control panel used for reseller hosting is WHM as this integrates nicely with cPanel.

The reseller control panel is slightly more complicated than a basic hosting control panel. The business reseller control panel needs to be used to create new users, suspend accounts, back up all the sites on the server and install new updated services.

Finding Reseller Hosting Accounts

If you are interested in a reseller hosting account then you will need to take your time and choose carefully. Your reseller hosting account will be part of your business. This means that you will need to make ensure that it offers everything you need for the lowest price possible.

Important things to look out for include the following:

* Reliability – It’s essential that you can offer a reliable service to your customers. Look out for a service with an uptime guarantee.
* Cost – It is possible to find reseller hosting packages in a variety of different price brackets. Choose one which offers everything you need. Avoid the very cheap services on eBay though because these are normally very unreliable.
* Automation – Some of the better hosting accounts allow you to automate the process of signing up new customers. This is very useful since your customers do not need to wait to use their account. WHMCS can be used with WHM hosting packages; this is worth looking for from your reseller hosting company because a separate license is very expensive.

Reseller hosting accounts can be utilized as a good way of starting a hosting business from scratch. When your business expands it’s then possible to purchase your own hardware and servers so you can continue to offer more services.

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The 4 D’s of Purchasing a Web Host Plan

Whether you’re a seasoned professional with an expanding online business or an entrepreneur launching an e-commerce venture, understanding your web hosting needs is essential for success. There are numerous factors to take into consideration before opting to agree to the terms of a web host’s contract, however, there are a couple of things to keep in mind when assessing your web needs.

Do Your Research

As any successful businessperson can testify, doing your homework is the fundamental foundation to making wise business decisions. Before deciding on a final web hosting service, read both industry and personal reviews for a collective unbiased opinion. Also, perform a quick search for a Wiki company profile entry. Once you’ve narrowed your choices, thoroughly browse the web host’s website, review basic tutorials provided and make mental notes of customer service support options available when troubleshooting issues arise. The cliché is true; time is money. Perhaps no more evident when your website is down for only a couple of hours – valuable resources are quickly swindled!

Databases

Understanding the product or service you provide to customers is important, however, it’s also essential to identify with your web host in order to efficiently accommodate visitors’ needs. When shopping for a web hosting package, select an option that offers the tools you need without all the unnecessary add-ons tagged with a ridiculously expensive price tag. If your site is dependent upon blogging, forums, or virtually every Web application in demand, ensure your web hosting package offers a sufficient number of available databases. Many entrepreneurs soon discover creative juices are stifled and expansion capabilities are thwarted once reading the small print to find the standard server packages usually doesn’t include more than five databases.

Domain Names

Another similar issue is a limit on domain names available on a shared server. Although perhaps not a large obstacle if you’re launching a new website or testing the waters in a specific market niche, however, chances are your domains will be maxed out once you decide to demonstrate your company’s flexibility attempting to use a standard shared server plan. When browsing for an effective web host, opt for one with at least 20 domains. Ideally, the more you can add, the better!

Developer Support

After doing your homework, you should be able to determine if a specific web host offers advanced developer support to keep your website ahead of the fierce competition in today’s global economy. Long since the days of FrontPage extensions, advancements in developer tools seem to currently travel at the speed of light. With that in mind, you should never settle for a web host plan that offers less than the following developer tools: PHP, MySQL, CGI, .htaccess and Python.

A little time initially invested into assessing your web host’s needs proves to be a worthwhile return on investment!

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How to Research a Reliable Reseller Host

When searching for a reliable reseller host your best tools are to utilize the vast resources of the internet or even by personal experience. By conducting solid research you will be able to arrive at the best decision to fit your business model and hosting needs. Visiting forums, message boards, review sites and engaging in conversation with those that have previous utilized your host are great places to start.

There are three primary suggestions on how to research a reliable host including:

* Visit industry websites
* Contact experts on the subject
* Utilize Twitter

By visiting websites and forums specific to the reseller hosting industry you can gain excellent insight into the various aspects of different companies. Also, there are several specialty sites that post industry news and company reviews. Forums are one of the most popular mediums as they allow customers to appraise hosting companies and share experiences with each other.

By contacting experts on the subject of reseller hosting you have access to someone that is much more knowledgeable than yourself. Experts can give you the cold, hard facts mixed with their own personal experiences and help you make the best determination based on your personal needs. You can contact them in person, on the phone or indirectly through an academic journal they have written.

Finally, Twitter can be another powerful research tool. Twitter differs from a regular search engine tool in that it is real-time and uncensored from actual customers of the reseller host you are reviewing. You have the ability to see an immediate view of how that web hosting provider is doing. If there are constant problems with the company, it will appear in a Twitter search.

The most efficient method for using this tool is over the course of a few weeks to acquire accurate information. First, reduce your pool of reseller hosts down to a few. Then search for the web hosting providers name and look for tweets that mention the name. Finally, gauge the writer’s satisfaction level and make your decision.

Research is the key to uncovering the truth about any company. If you want accurate and reliable first-hand experience about a specific topic or company, utilize the research methods mentioned above. This will allow you to be an informed consumer and thus have a piece of mind that you made the right decision.

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