Having a good web host is the back bone of your web business. If a web host frequently experiences down times and technical problems, it can result in your losing business. It also reflects badly on your company and discourages customers from coming back. So, one of the key requirements in running a successful web business is to choose a web host is fast and reliable. Here are some suggestions on what to look for.

Select a web host that has excellent customer support. The times when you need support are usually the times when you need a problem solved urgently. Having a non-responsive web host will cause you frustration. If your site problems cannot be addressed in a timely manner, your customers will take their business elsewhere. Beware of web hosts who only refer you to online help files when you need help. A good host has real people at the other end who are ready to address any technical problem that you have.

Your website is only as good as when it is up. If your host’s servers are constantly down, that means your customers cannot get to your site, and they will most likely go somewhere else. Look at the host’s uptime statistics, and make sure that they satisfy your requirements.

There are many websites that review web hosts and hosting plans. Read through them and take notes. You will find that the good hosts get good reviews repeatedly. If you have a hosting company in mind, do a search for any negative comments. Doing this step can save you from signing up with a bad host.

Do not forget to check the Better Business Bureau to see if anyone has filed a formal complaint against the company. Any complaints should raise a red flag. It is in your best interest to go with a company that has a clean record.

Sign up with a plan that will provide you with a lot of bandwidth. You never know when you will get a spike in your traffic, and you would not want to get stuck with a plan that cannot support the additional traffic. Hosting companies may charge a premium when you go over your allotment, so it is better to choose a plan that provides a high amount of bandwidth from the start.

You should also be mindful of how much disk space you need for your files. This is especially important if you are going to include videos and interactive media. Get enough disk space to accommodate any potential business growth. You may not need it now, but you would not want insufficient disk space to be the reason to interfere with your business growth.

By spending time in doing thorough research on hosting companies, you will avoid the costly mistake of signing up with a host that is unreliable and unresponsive. Your web host provides the foundation on which your website is built, so make sure that your foundation is solid, reliable and can support the growth of your business.