Here we have some questions you could ask when finalizing your web hosting provider, either ask them these through an e-mail or elicit the information from their site.
Find out about the web hosting company. Ask how long they have been operating this business and how many people work for them?
Number of sites they are currently web hosting.
Ask for some referral sites which they are currently hosting. So that you can visit the site and make some understanding (use alexa tool bar to ascertain the popularity).
Ask about their network equipment, redundancy in power, storage device, network device etc. This information may be available in the site.
Find out what type of Internet backbone carrier they are connected with and also the redundancy status if this link.
Find out the price of additional disk space. Ask the web host how the upgrade to a different hosting plan is executed? ask about any possible down time.
Ask the web hosting company how they charge additional fees for hosting a secure web site. This is the SSL (Secure Socket Layer) option generally needed only by e-commerce sites. Implementing SSL based security will bring security to your site and increase the trust customers have with you because a digital certificate is at the center of this, issued by a trusted third party.
Find out how long does it take for them to answer support requests and how they handle it? we have been telling through out all guides that tech. support is the key issue when dealing with domain registration and web hosting companies. It is the ‘make or brake’ of a site. Hence understand the importance.
Ask the web hosting facility about money back guarantee and ask them how it works?
Ask the web host if you wish to cancel the account, how it is done and whether you get a refund for the unused period.
Ask also, if the account is suspended, how long does it take to restore it?
Next : Main factors that influence cost
Quotable Quotes:
“Action makes more fortunes than caution.”