Anybody who wants to put a website on the Internet must decide where and how the site will be hosted. The key to deciding what you need in a hosting provider is to understand the nature of the website you are planning to put on the Internet.
For instance, if you are posting just a few personal web pages that hardly anybody will access, a very basic, perhaps even free hosting service may be just the thing for you.
When looking to host your website, there are several key issues you must take into consideration.
1. Uptime:
In simplest terms, uptime is time that Internet users can access your website, browse through its pages, and place orders. For you, uptime means time that you can receive orders and make money.
Uptime is generally measured as a percentage-the percentage of time a website is up and available to Internet visitors. In industry terms, the more '9s' a hosting provider achieves in uptime performance, the better.
2. Security:
For a website that collects credit card payments and personally identifiable, security is of utmost importance. In fact, your customers must feel confident that your site is secure, or you will not receive their business. Security is also linked directly to uptime.
3. Redundancy:
In addition to security and standards compliance, a good hosting provider will have the redundancy incorporated throughout its entire hosting infrastructure. In simplest terms, redundancy means having more than one of something - multiple servers, multiple firewalls, multiple databases and storage units, etc.
A hosting provider with redundant servers, for example, can ensure more uptime because if one server goes down, another can takes over and do the work of the first without losing website performance.
4. Facility Maintenance and 24/7 Monitoring:
To protect against disaster and other threats, a good hosting provider will maintains a locked, temperature-controlled data center equipped with fire protection and an alternate power source. The facility should be monitored on a 24/7 basis, as should performance details such as server uptime, load, traffic, etc. Monitoring should include an established intrusion detection system to guard against security breach.
5. Technical Support:
The amount of technical support you receive from your hosting provider is often contingent on the amount you are willing to pay in monthly hosting rates. Some low-cost providers offer no technical support at all, while others in the low-to-mid-cost range offer email or online chat support. Some of the best hosting providers offer phone support (sometimes toll-free, but not always) in addition to online support methods.
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