Searching for a Reliable and Affordable Web Hosting Solution

By Peter Otte – October 1, 2009

In early 2009, one of my web design clients stated she wanted help finding a cheaper web hosting option. She had been hosting with Digital Housing and Administration, LLC, a regional Southern California provider but her colleague, also a client, had told her about Network Solutions, the domain registration provider that was offering hosting that appeared to be a cheaper alternative. Would I help her take care of it?

I have been working with Digital Housing for a number of years with other clients and they were very cooperative and the transition process began apace. If you have ever undertaken the switch before, you know it’s seldom smooth sailing. It can take hours, even days to reach a live human representative who has been trained to persuade you to change your mind. Digital Housing, on the other hand, handled the issue with aplomb and my client was all set to make the switch to Network Solutions.

Her friend’s recommendation plus the lower cost were compelling. But the more I learned about Network Solutions as well as other heavily positioned providers, the more my enthusiasm dimmed. The experience taught me a greater appreciation for good web hosting and for the qualities that aren’t always visible: the hardware, the practices, relationships and the leadership. What seemed at first like a mundane assignment turned into a revelation of sorts, and why I now firmly believe that choosing the right web hosting partner may be just as important as who designs your site.

A Hosting Company?
First of all, as a leading domain name registrar, Network Solutions doesn’t host web sites as its core area of business. They are a consolidator of services: over the years, they along with others that share the same business model have been known to outsource various web hosting services to a number of four or five different providers, some eventually acquired and some not, and as a client you really never know who or geographically where you might be assigned or located.
 
Not all providers are equal in ability or service, no matter how small or large. For example, another client had a hosting account with another large hosting provider that advertises to be “Global Experts in Online Solutions for Small Business.” This organization had apparently outsourced service to an Atlanta based provider. The client didn’t know that this was the case because they thought they were hosting with the “Global Experts in Online Solutions for Small Business”. Well, the outsourced Atlanta provider lost a server during facility renovation and relocation. They could not get the client’s web site back on line for almost 3 weeks because the provider lost the physical disk drives and had not been doing full server backups.

A good web hosting company always makes regular backups. That way, they can restore your site in minutes rather than weeks. Don’t assume that every web host backs up your site systematically or at all. It’s a really good idea to make backups of your site yourself. POP keeps current backups of sites that we have under maintenance contract.

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