Is Your Green Web Hosting Company A Good Business Partner?

It Sure Better Be!

Why?

Because your web host is your partner in on-line success. Look, there are lots of options available when you start shopping around for web hosting services. You can go with a free hosting site. Only problem is those freebie hosting services make their money by placing their ads on YOUR website. And you have no control over what ads appear on your site.

Not good. Especially when quality hosting services are available for as little as $7 a month. You lose more than that in the couch! So, hosting is NOT a place you want to cut corners, even if you’re taking your first plunge into the world wide web. Especially if this is your first digital endeavor.

Now, there are low-cost hosts but these companies have to cut corners somewhere. So, tech support is 12 time zones away from the server where your web site resides – or used to until you got the dreaded 404 error message when you logged on to your own web site. Site not found! What the heck?

Or, these companies scrimp on things like security, leaving your web site more vulnerable to hacker attacks from the server side – from your low-cost web host. However, you don’t have to spend a bucket of cash to find a hosting company that maintains multiple layers of security, protecting your site from malware injections from the server side of your business.

In any on-line endeavor, whether your selling products, services, or just getting out a message to the world, your web host IS your on-line partner so it pays to choose wisely.

What should you look for in a good W3 partner? What should you expect from the green web hosting company you choose? A lot and plenty of it.

1. A client-centric corporate culture.

This includes everything from humans who answer the telephone when you call with a question to fair pricing to a tool box full of free goodies.

You want a hosting company with a long lineage of web hosting experience. Anyone can buy disk space and resell it. Anybody can buy a server and cram 2,500 web sites onto that server. Are these the kind of digital partners you want for your new launch? No.

You want reliability (a 99.9% uptime), longevity in the web hosting space (experience), and a business that recognizes that YOUR business success is essential to the hosting company’s long-term success.

This is a mind-set that starts at the top and infuses virtually all aspects of delivery of hosting services – from delivering more for less to fixing problems within minutes. This client-centric approach to web hosting should be a critical part of your research and your decision to partner with a hosting company.

You want to partner who’s as engaged in the success of your web site as you are.

2. Security like you wouldn’t believe.

Quality hosting companies are current on the latest viruses, the fastest hacker tactics and the latest black-hat scam to come down the Information Superhighway.

So, to fend off attacks from hackers, crackers, script-kiddies and other bad guys, your web-host-web-partner maintains a hard-wired firewall, firewall software that’s updated regularly, anti-virus software that protects your business assets and anti-spyware software that keeps key-loggers at bay, protecting your on-line business.

You can protect your business network at your end. You should protect against everything from analog theft (someone walks off with a laptop) to subversive viral attacks in unchecked emails (scan it first), but if your web host doesn’t deliver server side security, you’re much more susceptible to attack – a headache you just don’t need.

3. A complete web site tool box – FREE!

Starting a web business shouldn’t cost an arm and a leg. It should be available to anyone with the imagination to envision success on the web – and that’s millions of us all around the globe.

A good, on-line partner, your web host, should provide virtually all of the tools you need to launch a web site and build it to profitability or some other measure of success.

Look for web site templates to eliminate the cost of a pricey designer – and not just a few cookie-cutter templates. Your web host should offer hundreds of options, and the really good ones offer thousands of template options that you can customize so they don’t look like a template site.

How about a free shopping cart and secure checkout. That’s a “must-have” for any commercial site and you want it free. Same with a database, client management software, expandability, customization and integrated solutions to routine, on-line activity. Free.

Before you sign on with any host, check to see what the toolbox looks like. You should find everything you need to build a site, launch a site, promote a site and manage daily operations – and all in modular form so each piece of the on-line business puzzle slides right into place.

4. Partnership Benefits

A good business partner brings something to the table – something you can use to your advantage right from the start.

Low-cost and high levels of client care are certainly benefits but what else does your web host bring to the table? How about specialized features you can use – like “green hosting” – a web host with a commitment to the environment and employs green technology to generate the juice, cool the servers and run the office. By going green, you make a statement about your own corporate culture and company values – an important part of building an on-line brand.

How about U.S.-based client support and make that 24/7, please. You know that some web hosts only equip clients to contact home base through email? Is that your best choice for an on-line partner? When your site is down? And you don’t know why?

You want to talk to a techie who can walk down the hallway, provide the security data required to enter the locked-down server room, and fix the glitch that took your site off line. When your site is off line, you’re invisible to both site visitors and bots and if either is unable to access your site, you’re in a heap of trouble.

Look for cost savings opportunities. For example, does your host save you some start-up cash if you pay a year in advance? Take advantage of the savings because, with any start-up, cash is king. Can you buy more server space as your business grows without having to move up to a more expensive tier? A good host will let you grow a gigabyte at a time without gouging you with increased monthly fees that eat away at your margins.

How about a free, 30-day trial period to see if you can make this thing fly? A good partner doesn’t lock you in to some long-term deal, either.

Some web hosts take your money and run. Trying to get a hold of top-level tech support is like going through a root canal. So, what does your top-choice web host bring to the table?

5. Easy to get along with.

You want a partner that’s easy to get along with – is helpful and always there.

You want a web host that’s interested in your web-based success. These companies deliver lots of free goodies, security, customization and free and easy access. You want a knowledgeable human being with endless patience to answer the telephone – someone who will work through your questions, provide answers and solutions when you need them, which is like yesterday.

You want to do your research before choosing any web host. It shouldn’t be a decision that’s based on cost because you can get quality hosting at a low monthly cost in this highly competitive realm of the W3.

Read the terms of service. Take a test drive of the administrator’s console and build a test web site the way you want it. And when you have a question or run into a problem, you want a partner who will answer the phone, provide the answer and fix the problem.

Take your time. Choosing the right web hosting company is probably the most important decision you’ll make in the early stages of business growth.

Take your time. Read the corporate culture. And go with a green web hosting provider that works hard for your success. After all, isn’t that what you want in an on-line business partner.

It sure should be.

Picking the Right Web Host: 10 Important Questions To Ask Your Host

Choosing a web host isn’t hard, though sifting through the good and not-so-good options can be a head-twisting experience – especially if you’re taking the plunge and building a web site or blog for the first time.

For example, FREE web hosting companies place ads on YOUR web site. That’s how they make their money, and you’ve got no idea what ads will appear on your site. So, if you’re a medical doctor looking to build trust among site visitors, an ad for a “weekend” dating service isn’t going to make you shine. Avoid free hosts.

That means it’s going to cost you something every month. You may have to pay a sign-up fee, a maintenance fee, and a bunch of other fees that nibble away at your margins. No, choosing a web host isn’t rocket science but you should at least know what questions to ask.

Here they are.

1. How do I ask questions?

Whoa, good question right off the bat. You can’t ask questions of a web host if there’s no contact information, no help desk, no tech support. Some hosts manage client care via email and when your web site has disappeared and you’re wondering about that 404 error message appearing on your computer screen, an e-mail response 28 hours after you e-mailed the host means you’re effectively invisible for 28 hours.

And if your site is spidered when it’s off line, you’ll get slammed. SEOs (search engine optimizers) point to “Lack of accessibility to the site” as the number one negative ranking factor among search engines. Google isn’t going to send visitors to an inaccessible site so you need a quick fix quick.

Make sure the web host displays a variety of means of contact – especially a toll-free telephone number. E-mails are fine for billing questions and other matters that aren’t time sensitive. A down web site needs fixing now. You want that toll-free number 24/7/365.

2. Where is customer care and tech support located.

Start here during your “interview” with prospective hosts. (See #1. If no telephone number is provided, you can’t ask questions 2-10 so move on.)

First, you want customer care and tech support based in the U.S. A lot of web hosting companies outsource this task so you’re talking to someone 12 time zones away trying to “figure out” where you web site went.

Tech support should be right down the hall from the server room so when a problem arises, someone can fix it fast.

3. What do I get with my web site?

You should get everything you need to build whatever kind of website you want and whatever kind of website is in the budget. Your web host should provide web site templates for beginners (use them if you’re just starting out) to simple integration of a blog, a checkout, and the ability to hand code the site with a blank-slate option.

No tool kit, no bag of goodies, keep looking.

4. How much experience do you have?

Look for a company that has a long lineage on the web. Experience in handling a large client base, dozens of servers and running a collaborative business with clients. A college kid can rent server space and become a hosting reseller. So you think you’re working with Bob’s Hosting Company, when in fact, you site’s on a server in the earthquake zone of the Philippines.

Oh, and when Bob graduates, he can just unplug his laptop and move on to greener pastures, leaving you trying to figure out where you web business went to.

5. What kind of server side security do you use?

Look for hard-wired fire walls, firewall software, anti-spyware and anti-virus protection on the server side. A reputable host has multiple layers of security so ask about security redundancy. Your host’s rep will be proud to explain, assuming you’re talking to a quality hosting company.

6. What happens when my web-business grows?

Well, for one thing, you start making money. But you may want to expand. Look for a flexible host with a flexible plan that allows you to expand incrementally as you add more products, more services, archives and other site features.

7. What if I hate it?

The W3 isn’t for everyone, though there are more than 122 million web sites and 6,000 new launches every day. But you may find that it’s too complicated, too unproductive or just too something.

Quality hosts don’t want to lock you in to some long-term contract. They don’t want unhappy clients, they want happy clients. So, a quality web host will offer a 30-day trial period so you can take your new web site out for a test drive. BTW, using templates, building and maintaining a web site is pretty automated and, therefore, simple and it doesn’t take a lot of time.

But if a web site isn’t your cup of tea, look for a host that offers a 30-day, money-back guarantee.

8. Can I register my domain through you?

Any hosting company is equipped to register a domain name – your URL or web address. But, if you register your domain with host B and then choose host A, you have to redirect your domain or migrate it to the new host. You get the idea.

Register your domain name with the hosting company that will rent you that disk space each month. Simplifies life on the web.

9. What can I learn from the host’s web site?

A lot, if you read between the lines.

The web site identifies the hosts “brand” – it’s corporate culture. Some use funny logos and radical type fonts, targeting a “younger” demographic. Other hosts have a more professional appearance and take the time to explain it’s corporate values, i.e. commitment to client satisfaction, tech support, fair prices and good value. If you’re serious about your web site, go with a host that is serious about hosting.

Everything from the company logo to the site text language defines the company brand. Which would you choose? The wild techno-geek or the clean design and quality information provided by a host with a different take on its own corporate culture.

10. Does the host employ green technology?

The web grows exponentially, expanding from business novelty to business necessity in just a few years. From the spare-room entrepreneur to multi-national conglomerates, a web presence is almost a requirement.

That means more energy consumption, expanded infrastructure and a lot of out-dated servers, loaded with toxins, ending up in our landfills, and it’s a problem that will only expand.

Green hosting isn’t some passing fad or some 60s hippie thing. It’s the future of hosting. It has to be. So, look for a host that employs wind power to generate the juice to run the servers to host the web site – yours.

Look for water-cooled servers that use recycled water instead of energy gobbling blowers to cool off those racks of servers, one of which is where your website resides.

Green hosting also makes a statement about your company’s corporate culture and your concern for the future of the planet. That’s a good thing. Seeing the “green” logo on your site’s home page is a trust builder and a brand builder, as well.

See, that wasn’t so hard. Pick up the phone (assuming there’s a telephone contact option) and start asking questions. The fact is, your web host is your on-line partner.

Pick a good one.

Why Would You Want A Green Web Hosting Service?