Who will host your new business web site? Although this question has multiple answers (relevant to the business model of the person asking), there are some similarities between the hosts we personally recommend.

You want to be very careful which hosting company you choose as there are some serious drawbacks to some. Let me give you a few personal experiences to learn from.

Going Out of Business - I've had hosts close shop overnight. If my data wasn't backed up I would have lost everything including my income until I re-established all the content on the site.

Growing Too Big, Too Fast - One of the hosting companies I used (and paid top dollar for) was growing at a phenomenal rate. As such they didn't have the systems in place to support their customers (server side as well as customer service), they oversold their bandwidth (geek terminology for selling more space than their servers could manage), and as a result my web pages often came up as "Page Not Found." You can imagine what that did for my business and credibility in the search engines. The host was Globat, but there are hundreds of other web hosts who have these problems. No amount of complaining and explaining could get them to fix the trouble and eventually I left them - with hundreds of dollars of credit in my accounts!

Undesirable Use, Bad Web Neighborhoods - Some hosts will have very loose rules about what their customers can post on their sites or use the servers for. These company host pornographic materials and are often used for SPAM mail. Guess what happens to your legitimate business web site when people complain enough about the other sites on the server? I'll tell you, your content gets blocked by service providers and your email will get blocked as well.

Domains Held for Ransom - Some hosts offer a free domain registration when you sign up for their hosting services. They believe that you don't know how to check your WHOIS records when you sign up, if you did you'd find that the hosting company legally owns your domain name! Look into the future and imagine what will happen should you ever decide to switch your hosting service.

Add on Fees - Some web sites will get very busy, very quickly. In the marketing industry we call this 'viral'. If your web site traffic increases exponentially overnight you may be shut down or worse, end up with an extra invoice to pay!

A dirty trick - Many hosting companies pay affiliates (sales people) up to $150 per new customer. Therefore, that glowing testimonial you found on another site is likely nothing more than a sales pitch for an affiliate commission. Be mindful whom you listen to.

Helping You Find the Right Hosting Service

You don't want to spend hours learning about website hosts and the small print of each contract and you certainly don't want your domain name hi-jacked and held for ransom!

After 10 years running an online business and helping hundreds of people getting started I understand that not all hosts are right for all business models. Furthermore I am not about to suggest a host based on how much they pay me to get your contract! Just a few minutes on the phone with me will help you find the best host for your business.

Collect your free business web site consultation with us.