Leaning Towards Co-Location

Selecting a Provider

Selecting your provider is undoubtedly the most important decision in this process, and should not be taken lightly.

While it may seem evident, the first step is to determine what your needs are. I suggest that you write down what you need from a host and what you don’t, and keep this list in front of you while you “listen” to the sales pitch. Otherwise, you may be sold on the small things providers are so aggressively marketing, without ensuring you get exactly what you need.

To begin your research, visit HostChart and Host Amigos. After finding a provider at HostChart, I recommend visiting HostAmigos to research the overall reputation of the provider(s) that interest you.

Things to look at while searching for a provider include:

Price

One obvious factor you should pay special attention to is the price. I do not suggest that you find the cheapest host, because the saying “you pay for what you get” definitely applies to Web hosting. You may be tempted to take the cheaper route, but having frequent downtime is very unprofessional, and will result in instant credibility loss among your users.

Technical Support

Available technical support is another issue that should be taken seriously, and ought to play a major role in your decision. Most reputable hosts have 24/7 support via email and phone.

Unfortunately, if you have a problem with your server hardware, support will not cover this. However, problems can arise with your connection, or when you’re setting up your server, and a quick response is crucial.

Redundancy

Another vital aspect I strongly urge you to look into is your host’s connection. You may have the best hardware for your server, but if your host cannot match this with a good connection to the Internet, you may experience downtime that results in loss of business. Good hosting companies have multiple connections to the Internet, and should also facilitate the use of on-site back up equipment in case of a power failure.

5 Questions to Ask Your Host!

To summarize the above information, I recommend you ask the following questions:

1. Do you provide 24/7 support? Via email, phone, etc.?

This is extremely important. A good method of testing the hosting company’s level of support is to call their support line and see if you can reach someone, or to simply them send an email inquiring about a hosting package and compare their response time to that of other companies.

2. What type of back-up systems do you have in place?

In addition to this, you should ask what the fees for back-ups are, and how often they’re performed.

3. Do you provide a 30-day money back guarantee?

If you have paid a set-up fee, and end up switching hosts because you are unhappy with them, you may find yourself a few hundred dollars out of pocket. Also, most reputable hosts offer a 30-day money back guarantee incentive, which also shows their confidence in their own service.

4. How many connections to the Internet do you currently have running in to your facilities?

Most reputable hosts will have at least two connections running into their data center. This is fairly important: in the case of a line getting cut you will not experience downtime.

5. What is the turnaround time for server setup?

While this will certainly vary with the urgency of your project, I would not recommend a host that says it will take a week or longer to set you up. If they are that slow getting you online, it’s doubtful that they can provide you with adequate support.

I’ve heard countless horror stories from Webmasters who received the dreaded call from their provider to tell them to cough up money they didn’t have for a NIC card, or hard drive. If your financial situation is equally precarious, go with a dedicated server. Having a dedicated server does not affect how others perceive your business, but having an unreachable homepage means instant credibility loss. If you’re still convinced that co-location is the option for you, take a very cautious approach in selecting your host, and in case of hardware failure, you can always leave a spare NIC card with your provider.