Web hosting for companies – What are the key features?

Getting a reliable web hosting service is essential for companies looking to create business website by themselves online.

However, the challenge lies in deciding which web hosting service provider to go with when there are so many for companies to choose from. This can be made easier by looking for several key features that ensure that the service is reliable, fast and flexible.

The one thing that companies end up valuing is support. For many companies, support isn’t important until something goes wrong. Going with a company with a poor support system will make it difficult to fix problems, get clear instructions, and get a dedicated representative to work on the issue. The best service providers offer multiple ways to reach them, offer 24/7 support, and an immediate redirection to somebody that has the knowledge to fix the problem. Reading reviews on how a service provider handled support will help pinpoint which companies to consider.

The next feature to look for is the uptime guarantee. Having a website taken down during an important promotion can result in lost sales, so it’s important to ensure that the website is always up. Every company should go with a web hosting service provider that offers a 99 percent uptime guarantee and backup servers that keep websites up when the initial one goes down.

Another feature that companies often overlook is regular backup. Many web hosting service providers will automatically backup the contents within their server. That means that if a website is hit by a hacker, accidental delete, or critical error, companies can contact the service provider to ask for the backup of their site. Some companies will regularly backup their files on their own, but having another way to mitigate file loss will come in handy.

Medium to larger companies will want to go with a hosting company that offers reliable and flexible servers. It’s important to know that a shared hosting plan can slow down a website’s speed due to other websites on the same server even if the shared hosting plan comes with unlimited bandwidth. The hosting company should offer many different options to host on a server from the OS that is used, specs of the server (affects speed & performance), level of security, and more.

Finally, pricing will need to be part of the decision. Companies like 1&1 offer many flexible plans rather than locking companies into rigid pricing plans. This allows companies to pay for what they need and save money in the process. Companies that are just starting out also have the option of going with cheap shared hosting which comes with a free domain depending on the plan. The bottom line is that companies should go with hosting service providers that give them the power to determine what plan is right for them and not overpay for things that they do not need.