What to expect from a HOST

HI,

Looking for a comprehensive checklist on what to expect from a webHost and what to ask from a webhost including Service, security, website management, server type and it's speed and so forth, before signing up for an account.

I dont know about anyone else but this is bothering me all these posts.

Check out this website (linked below) and go to Google and type in your questions there. Alternatively you could just go to the correct forum (which as far as i am aware isnt the General Discussion forum) and type your question there.

http://www.havingmyownwebsite.net/

when i look for a host i look for one that isnt a masive company that has its own server station and i dont go to people that do reseller accounts. I look for a single or 2-3 person team. Basicly like Unflux's its not a huge company or a very small host. That way you dont have to worry about the stupid custimer servers. You can talk one on one, through email or the forums. And maybe some messenger if the host has one.

Thanks for the suggestions. As Uncensored-Hosting mentioned I beieve in a large company because of obvious reasons such as security,service and so forth.

Perhaps you misunderstood me I suggested you startout by investing a large (5GB+) Reseller/Semi-Dedicated Plan from a fully managed provider. However bigger companies do not necessarily mean better service or security. There are some huge DC's/hosts that will basically sell you a box and leave you hanging on service and support. Or worse are only open for limited hours eg: no night or weekend support. In all honestly you are more apt to get faster and better support from a small - medium size company then a big/huge one.

Hmmmmm..well i guess then I have to be carefull when the time comes to select the right one.

There are several considerations when choosing a hosting provider - especially in the reseller hosting market. You are only as reliable as your provider, so choose wisely..

Things you should look for are redundancy, reliability, track record and communication.

As a reseller, the only thing you do not have control over is the actual environment itself. Make sure you land with a provider that has taken all the pre-cautions to ensure that your service will be reliable - additionally and just as importantly - check their sites and see if they have a method of communicating with their clients to report upgrades, scheduled outages, disasters, etc...

Good questions to ask:

Do you have publicly posted uptime stats from a 3rd party monitoring system? if no, can you provide me your uptime statistics?

Is your environment clustered or are you built on single server silo's?

What backup strategies do you have in place?

All of the above questions are critical when choosing a reseller provider. The answers to these questions will give you a clear indication of the realibility of their service and the thought that has gone into it.

After that, search the various forums and google for any feedback to further narrow down your choices...

http://www.webhostingtips.info/

thank you very much for all and the suggestions. CartikaHosting, thanks for the questions you mentioned in your post.

take care