Many webmasters do not have a lot of time to spend looking for the perfect web host. As a result, many webmasters end up purchasing web hosting from the cheapest provider in the marketplace. Unfortunately, this can be a risky decision, as there are a few dodgy web hosting providers in operation. These providers often attract new customers by offering extremely cheap hosting plans and advanced web tools. This article contains six reasons why you should always research a web hosting company fully before handing over any cash or uploading any files to their servers.
1. Crooked web hosting companies often place adware, malware and viruses onto your website. These things can wreak havoc on your website’s visitors’ computers. Infecting your website’s visitors’ computers with viruses is one sure fire way to destroy your business’s reputation overnight.
2. Inexperienced web hosting companies will probably not know how to secure their servers. Hosting your website on an unsecured server will mean that your website is more susceptible to attacks by hackers. Do you really want to store confidence files and customers’ personal information on an unsecured web host?
3. Some crooked web hosting providers are simply pretending to sell hosting services in order to get access to your credit card information and your personal details. Identity theft is real, so is vital that you do not hand over any personal data to companies that you do not have one hundred percent trust in.
4. Many inexperienced web hosting companies will not be around for the long term. Do you really want to wake up one morning to find that your website has disappeared overnight, despite the fact that you have paid for one year’s hosting in advance?
5. Crooked web hosting companies will steal data from your website. Do you really want to have to tell your website’s visitors that any personal information that they entered into your website has been stolen and distributed globally?
6. Many new web hosting companies will insist that you pay annually for your web hosting. These companies will then disappear of the face of the earth after one month and take all of your money with them. What’s more, if you have not made a local backup of your website, you will have lost all of your website’s content.
Hopefully the six points presented above have made you realize how important it is to thoroughly research any web hosting providers before you hand over any cash or upload any files. In general, it is best to avoid new start-up web hosting companies, as you have no way of verifying their credibility. If you have a large budget, you should only purchase hosting from well-established, big-brand web hosting companies. While these hosting providers often charge a premium for their services, many would argue that it is worth paying that little bit extra, so that you can be sure that your website is in safe hands.
If you are struggling to find a reputable web hosting company, you should visit one of the many web hosting directories on the Internet. These directories allow you to compare the features of different web hosts and they also have sections where previous customers can upload reviews on different web hosts.