lundi 30 septembre 2013

5 Tips to Choose an E-commerce Hosting Package for Business

This article is loaded with tips to help you choose a good hosting package for your business. Consider what you want from the host before you run off and start looking for hosting packages. This is something you need to do before you even start looking at hosting packages, in the same way that you learn to drive before you buy a car. You need the information first so that you can judge what hosting package is going to be the best for you. This means going on a research quest in order to find out what you need right now, and what you will need in the future as your business grows.


1 – Who are your competitors using?


Your competitors may have spent hundreds of dollars researching into the best hosting package. So, why not go onto LinkedIn and pretend to be someone else, and act as if you are in distress and need the details of a good host. Ask your competitor what host they use, and probe a little deeper to find out how it has worked out for them. They may have found the best hosting package ever, and may have even negotiated a better price for their package. You could approach the same hosting company and demand the same price, arguing that they gave it to your competitors so they should give it to you. You could also find out if the company is having a lot of trouble with its host in order avoid making the same mistakes.


2 – Can you trust the host with your information?


Your host is going to have all of your files and your traffic coming through its servers. This means you need to trust them not to snoop at your private files and not to steal your customers’ private credit card information. This means doing a bit of back checking on your host to check their credibility and their honesty. You need to look out for signs that they may not be on the up and down.


What security protocols are in place? Security is not just about trusting them not to look at your files, or stopping hackers from hacking your site. The host also has to take security very seriously, because if a hacker gains access to your server, then he or she has a backstage pass to every website on there. So, you need to make sure that the host has extremely good security in order to stop both online and physical attacks by hackers and malcontents.


3 – How good is their antivirus and anti-malware protection?


Hackers do not always take the direct route. Sometimes they allow the software to do the work for them. They create viruses and malware that infects servers so that the server crashes, or so that it compromises the servers’ security. It is up to you to find out what your host is doing to prevent virus and malware infestation.


How often does the host go down? The down time of a server is very important. You need to look at how long the server has gone down in previous years, and pick a package that promises no more than a 2% down time.


4 – How much space do you need?


The amount of space you need on the server will depend upon how many pages your website has, how heavy the pages are, how much data you wish to store, and if you are going to back up your website on your own server. All of this needs to be considered when you buy hosting. Also, buy just a little bit extra so that you may add to your website.


How much bandwidth do you need? This depends on how heavy your pages are and how many people you are expecting per month. Do not pay a massive amount for a lot of bandwidth with the idea that you are going to get a lot of traffic, because it will end up costing you a lot of money if your traffic numbers do not appear in the amounts you had hoped.


5 – Can you upgrade your hosting package at a later date?


This is very important, and may be one of the most important factors. You need to check to see if you are able to upgrade at a later date, and you need to check to see if the upgrade costs are not extortionate, as that is a common scam. They draw you in with a low priced starter package, and then charge you a fortune if you want to buy more space or bandwidth.






via Business 2 Community http://www.business2community.com/business-innovation/5-tips-choose-e-commerce-hosting-package-business-0631378?utm_source=rss&utm_medium=rss&utm_campaign=5-tips-choose-e-commerce-hosting-package-business

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