Web Hosting Do’s & Dont’s

Confused about how to choose a good web hosting company? Read my two cents on the matter.

Having been involved in the wonderous web world since the tender age of 13, I consider myself to have been “around the block” when it comes to web hosting. I made my debut in the web design field on community websites such as MiGente and BlackPlanet (the whitey’s had to conform before myspace came around lol), which led me to becoming hosted on a subdomain through a friend, which eventually led to the birth of Bad-Behavior.com! Buying my OWN domain name and hosting space for the first time was so exciting. I racked my brain for weeks trying to come up with a domain name that would never go out of style or that I would get sick of. I definitely achieved that with Bad-Behavior.com as I’ve owned it for 6 years now.

Throughout my 6 years of domain ownership, I have definitely seen some turbulent times in regards to web hosting. Back in 2004 I was broke as a joke, barely able to pay rent, so of course I scoured the internet for the cheapest hosting deal I could possibly find. I definitely found it. Webhostingboy.com hosted my website for $4.95 per month for unlimited space/bandwidth. If you need assistance with how much space and bandwidth you might need, check out a web hosting guide to give you an idea. it was definitely a nice deal at first, but after my website experienced frequent downtime, poor support and eventually the loss/demise of my entire website.. I realized you definitely get what you pay for in the web hosting world.

I tried out a few more “economy” hosting companies and all ended with the same result. I decided spending a few dollars more to host your website with a reputable company was WELL worth the money. Now, after dealing with such poor service, a feature I require from my hosting company is 24/7 live chat support. I don’t care if you can help me over the phone.. I don’t want to spend an hour dialing buttons to get to you. I want a real person to connect to through a chat client. Hostgator.com has been great in accommodating me for the past 2 years.

Chelsey’s Web Hosting Tips:

1. DO YOUR RESEARCH! Check out a web hosting directory, read reviews, forum posts, etc.
2. Always look for contact information. Posted phone numbers & addresses are vital. If you have a problem, you want it handled ASAP.
3. Never pay for a year’s worth of hosting in advance. You might hate the company after 2 months and they could refuse a refund.
4. Remember.. you get what you pay for in the web hosting world!

That’s about it. Check out this article if you want to know more about how to choose the best hosting company. Happy hunting!

Thursday, April 15th, 2010 at 3:25 pm and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.