Ask Details before Selecting a Web Host

Refer to my previous post on Tips to Find the Right Web Hosting

Here you will find the set up questions which you may like to clear before choosing Professional Web Hosting

Check out their background. Talk to some of their customers and ask them if they've been satisfied with their service.

• Do they offer fast connections?
• Do they have a back-up system in place to protect your data in case there is a power outage?
• Do they require you to make payments in advance?
• Do they require a long-term contract?
• Do they charge set up fees?
• How is their customer support? Test them.
• Do they provide you with free access to a secure server for order processing?
• Do they offer shopping cart software to process your orders?
• Do they provide you with an online Web Site Manager?
• Do they provide you with an online support manual?
  

Ask for references. Talk with some of their customers and ask them if they have been satisfied.

Here are some basic features you should look for when selecting a web host:

* 24/7 reliable tech support
* Your own domain name (www.yourname.com)
* At least 10GB of monthly transfer (traffic)
* A minimum of 20MB - 50MB of server space
* Unlimited true POP email accounts - name@yourdomain.com
* Unlimited email aliases
* Email forwarding
* Unlimited autoresponders
* Your own unrestricted CGI-Bin
* Access to SSL Encryption for secure transactions
* MySQL Database
* Perl
* htaccess password protection
* Server Side Includes (SSI) support
*Design (and upload to) your site using Netscape or other HTML editing software
* Microsoft FrontPage Server Extensions for those utilizing FrontPage
* Unlimited free access to your server via FTP/Telnet
* Easy access to your log files
* Statistics on visits to your site

When selecting a web host, you must look at the entire picture prior to making your decision.
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