How to Choose a Web Host

1) The 3 Types of Web Host

Basically, web hosting services fall into one of 3 categories

1 Free

• no frills
• someone else's domain
• 1-5 pages or a few megabytes of storage
• no real support

2 Budget

• free set up
• under $25 per month
• FTP management
• support available online during regular business hours

3 Full Service

• nominal set up fee
• $35+ per month
• web based site management interface
• the most current technology available
• FTP available - but not necessary

2) Which to Choose ?

Choice one above is excellent for personal, family, hobby or club, and "for fun" webmastering - NOT for business. A real business will require much more storage space and ownership of a domain name. Without this professional appearance, a business loses credibility instantly and has a strike against it before it even starts.

Choice two above looks, at least on the surface, to be a good choice. After all, most of the low cost web hosting companies "promise" free tech support. However, there is a big problem with many of these companies that you do not learn about until it is too late. The fact is, they simply cannot deliver on their promise. Their low rates and constant customer turnover simply do not allow for the proper staffing required to deliver on this promise of "support". What you are left with is a level of support and assistance far below what most small business require to prosper online.

Which brings us to choice three - Professional, high quality web hosting. OK, you'll pay a little more to get started and a higher monthly rate, but the fact is, in business, just as in life, you get what you pay for. This adage rings true in web hosting as well. If you are serious about your business and more importantly, your time, consider starting at the top.

Use a hosting company that provides 24 hour service, web based site management - instead of just FTP, and the most current technology available online, like Fast T3lines, Java, stat reporting, RealAudio, RealVideo, shopping cart software and web search engines.

3) Don't make this mistake !

If one of the top marketing experts had to change his web host seven times before realising what he was doing wrong we can certainly learn from his story. You can read it here.

4) A personal experience - and recommendation

The number one feature that I look for in a company providing any sort of service is their ability to provide support. My simple suggestion is to ignore what they claim and to prove it for yourself.

When I came across the web hosting company Virtualis they claimed an average Email response time of 11 minutes.

Now if , like me, you are used to receiving automated replies saying 'Be patient - we will try to answer you within 24 hours' this would have seemed quite far-fetched.

So I put it to the test and sent them a number of Emails on technical issues.

The result ? They were all answered within 7 minutes !

Try them out for yourself as I did and see what their response is.

Allied to their proven, flawless service reputation with 24 hour 'live technical support' they feature the most current technology on the web , including HiRize - an easy to use Web management tool which can

• instantly create a shopping cart
• create multi-user and multi-FTP accounts
• manage your Web stats
• create/delete email accounts including dump accounts and MRAs
• manage your files and directories, upload files from the browser, password protect pages, make fun counters, create auto responders, mail lists, and much more.

You don't need an expensive Webmaster !

Simply put Virtualis offers the best web hosting on the Internet.

So visit Virtualis now and pick the hosting plan that is right for you.

Regards
Harvey Segal

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