What are the main factors that make an excellent server hosting company? A brilliant looking website is surely a big plus, however is it the be all and end all? Is it really necessary to have such good customer service that they call you once a month just to see how you are?! It would be nice, but it most certainly isn't essential! Here are the three top things that in my mind, make the best of server hosting companies.
The main thing that makes a great server host, is uptime and reliability! You shouldn't need technical support if the reliability and uptime are spot on, hence why support did not make it to number one! A number of practises need to be adhered to, to achieve excellent uptime. The first is to use business grade hardware. I mean rack-mounted, branded hardware. Some companies, believe or not, host websites on dedicated servers that are simply home desktops! Give these companies a wide birth! The network also needs to be powerful enough to cope with big spikes in traffic. Finally, this may sound odd, but the organisation of the company is pinnacle. A well organised company is less likely to run into issues. A badly organised server hosting company can reboot the wrong server, or worse still format it!
Support comes a close second as making the best server host companies. Managing expectations of support is very important. You have some customers who expect instant responses. Then there are other customers who wait for days for a reply. If the query is unimportant, having a response within 24 hours is more than acceptable. However, when the brown stuff hits the fan, you need an immediate response- whether it be 3pm or 3am. You should find a company that is able to meet these expectations.
The third thing that makes a top class server hosting company is pricing. This may come as a surprise, given the old adage 'you get what you pay for'. However, this point seems very relevant given the current economic climate. There are a great many companies working on overstretched budgets. IT normally is the first to suffer. So if you can save on your server hosting, you are going to be popular! Don't be told you have to pay ten times more to be looked after properly. Many companies vastly over charge, while the best offer great value for money.
Whatever you need for server hosting, please do your research first. Try and avoid contracts that tie you in for ages. Never pay up front for a year. If a company disappears you'll need your data to move. To uncover the best server hosting companies, just start Googling!
The main thing that makes a great server host, is uptime and reliability! You shouldn't need technical support if the reliability and uptime are spot on, hence why support did not make it to number one! A number of practises need to be adhered to, to achieve excellent uptime. The first is to use business grade hardware. I mean rack-mounted, branded hardware. Some companies, believe or not, host websites on dedicated servers that are simply home desktops! Give these companies a wide birth! The network also needs to be powerful enough to cope with big spikes in traffic. Finally, this may sound odd, but the organisation of the company is pinnacle. A well organised company is less likely to run into issues. A badly organised server hosting company can reboot the wrong server, or worse still format it!
Support comes a close second as making the best server host companies. Managing expectations of support is very important. You have some customers who expect instant responses. Then there are other customers who wait for days for a reply. If the query is unimportant, having a response within 24 hours is more than acceptable. However, when the brown stuff hits the fan, you need an immediate response- whether it be 3pm or 3am. You should find a company that is able to meet these expectations.
The third thing that makes a top class server hosting company is pricing. This may come as a surprise, given the old adage 'you get what you pay for'. However, this point seems very relevant given the current economic climate. There are a great many companies working on overstretched budgets. IT normally is the first to suffer. So if you can save on your server hosting, you are going to be popular! Don't be told you have to pay ten times more to be looked after properly. Many companies vastly over charge, while the best offer great value for money.
Whatever you need for server hosting, please do your research first. Try and avoid contracts that tie you in for ages. Never pay up front for a year. If a company disappears you'll need your data to move. To uncover the best server hosting companies, just start Googling!
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If you are really trying to locate the best dedicated server company, try Melbourne.
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