Unlike what you may presume, there is much more to selecting a web hosting company than closing your eyes and choosing. Your web host is responsible for keeping your site up and running so it is open to the public. Because of this, it is vital you take the time to research and find a reliable company to run your site.

Obviously the first thing you want to look at is the company's reliability. There is no sense in having a web site if it is always down. Look at the percentage of time the server is working properly. While the percentages are not always completely accurate, it will give you an idea of whether or not it is the right company for you.

No matter how good the web hosting company is, there is going to be a time or two when a problem occurs. Therefore, look into how easy it is to get in contact with the support personnel. The last thing you want to do is waste a couple of days because you could not get in contact with the company.

As soon as you do get in contact with someone, try to find out how quickly they can resolve your issue. It is going to differ depending on what the exact problem is. But you want to make sure you will be taken care of in a timely manner and not pushed to the side.

You may not be aware of this, but in order to run your own programs with your online business you must have CGI access. When first starting out this is not the biggest of your concerns, but as your site continues to develop you will want this. It allows your site to have interactive capabilities. You want to make sure your CGI capabilities can read, write, and execute on your server.

Lastly, take the time to set up a POP account with your web hosting company. A POP account gives you password-protected access to mail that is sent through your web site and email address. If you are running a business outside of your home, it is probably wise to set up multiple POP accounts. In which case, you will have to find out if you can do this with your hosting company and how much it will run you.

As you can see, there is much more to selecting a web hosting company than most people think. Take the time to find a reliable company that will have your server running a majority of the time and will fix the problems in a timely manner. After all, a down server is a waste of your time and money.

Tom McMullen

Home Business