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Nine Things To Know Before Selecting The Web Host For Your  Business
by Chris Kivlehan ©Copyright 2004

It may seem simple yet it is often times overlooked. When it 
comes to choosing the right Internet hosting provider for their 
websites, the majority of business owners or companies know very 
little about making the best Internet/web hosting decisions.

* What makes a good Internet/web hoster for a business website? 
  What makes a bad one?

* How can the wrong Internet/web hoster help/harm your business?

* What are the different types of Internet/web hosting services?  
  Which ones are best for which industries?

Here are some tips to help you make the right decisions:

1. Understand the distinctions between shared, co-located, 
unmanaged dedicated and managed dedicated hosting so you choose 
the one that is right for your business.

It is crucial to understand the difference between the types of 
hosting offered. As the hosting industry has matured, hosting 
offers have split into a couple of distinct categories, each 
with its own strengths and weaknesses.

Shared hosting (sometimes called virtual hosting), means that 
you are sharing one server with a number of other clients of 
that company. The host manages the server almost completely 
(though you maintain your site and your account). They can 
afford to charge you little since many clients are paying for 
use of the server. However, companies other than yours are using 
the resources of that server. That means heavy traffic to one of 
the other sites on the server can really hammer the performance 
of your site. Also, you are typically not able to install special 
software programs on these types of machines, because the host 
will need to keep a stable environment for all of the clients 
using the server.

Co-located hosting means that you purchase a server from a 
hardware vendor, like Dell or HP for example, and you supply 
this server to the host. The host will then plug your server 
into its network and its redundant power systems. The host is 
responsible for making sure its network is available, and you 
are responsible for all support and maintenance of your server. 
Good hosters will offer management contracts to their co-location 
clients so that you can outsource much of the support to them and 
come to an arrangement similar to managed dedicated hosting. Most 
co-location hosts do not offer this service, however.

Unmanaged dedicated hosting is very similar to co-location, 
except that you lease a server from a host and do not actually 
own it yourself. Some very limited support (typically Web-based 
only) is included, but the level of support varies widely from 
unmanaged dedicated host to unmanaged dedicated host. This type 
of server can be had for around $99/month. Support levels are 
typically only provided in general terms. Ask the host to go 
into specifics about what support they will provide -- will they 
apply security patches to your server? -- before signing up. 
This service is typically good for gaming servers (like Doom or 
Counterstrike servers) or hobbyist servers, but not for serious 
businesses that need responsive, expert-level service.

Managed dedicated hosting means leasing a server from a host 
and having that company provide a robust level of support and 
maintenance on the server that is backed by quality guarantees. 
This maintenance typically includes services such as server 
uptime monitoring, a hardware warranty, security patch updates 
and more. Be sure to make sure your managed dedicated host is
specific about its managed services so that you can be sure they 
are not disguising an unmanaged dedicated offering as a managed 
dedicated server. This has been known to happen unfortunately, 
which is why it is important to do your homework and ask the 
right questions.

2. Ask If Your Potential Host's Network Has Blackholed IPs.
Many hosts care little about who is actually hosting on their 
networks, so long as the clients pay their bill. That means many 
hosters will allow porn sites, sp@mmers and servers that create 
security issues on their network for the sake of the dollar. 
Even if you are to place ethical issues aside, this does have a 
negative impact on customers in general, as for example, when a 
network gets blackholed for spamming. Getting blackholed means 
that other networks will refuse e-mail originated from IPs that 
are blacklisted. Some hosts have a number of entire class C (up 
to 256 IPs) networks blackholed and redistribute these tainted 
IPs to new clients. That means if your business relies on 
legitimate closed loop opt-in e-mail marketing to drive sales, 
being on such a network can severely cut response to your 
campaign because your e-mail may never get to its destination.

Check with any hosts you are considering to see if their networks 
are blackholed. Also, here is a link to a third party source that 
tracks blackholed networks and lists them: 

http://www.spamhaus.org/sbl/isp.lasso

The following URL is a good resource to help you understand what 
is labeled sp@m and what isn't: 

http://www.spamhaus.org/mailinglists.html

3. Don't Confuse Size With Stability.
Just because a web hosting company is big, does not mean it 
is stable and secure. In fact, many of the biggest filed for 
bankruptcy protection or were saved by being sold to some other 
company, in some cases causing uncomfortable transitions in 
service for their clients. How do you protect yourself? Ask some 
key questions:

* How long has the host been in business?
* Is current ownership the same as always?
* Are they profitable and cash flow positive from 
  operation-generated revenue?

4. Don't Make Price Your Only Priority.
The old saying "you get what you pay for" applies to most things 
in life, and hosting is certainly one of those things. When you 
over-prioritize price, you run the risk of ending up with a host 
that will provide you with a connection to the Internet and 
little else in terms of support (and even that connection may be 
running at maximum capacity or have uptime issues).

5. Make Sure Your Host Has Fully Redundant Data Centers.
When dealing with smaller vendors, make sure that they have 
their own data centers and that those data centers are fully 
redundant in terms of power and connectivity. Here are a few 
questions to ask:

- How many lines do they have coming into the facility?
- What is the average utilization of their connections?
 (No matter how large the connection, if it is running at 
  maximum capacity it will be slow.)
- Do they have redundant power to the servers?
- Do they have a generator on-site?
- How often do they test their generator?
- What sort of security measures do they have in place for 
  the network?
- What physical security do they have?
- What type of fire suppression systems do they have in place?

6. Find Out If They Have Actual Experienced Systems 
   Administrators On Their Support Staff.
When you call in for technical support, it can be a frustrating 
experience to be stuck talking with a non-technical "customer 
service" representative when you really need to talk to a systems 
administrator who can resolve your issues. Find out the structure 
of their support department, how quickly you can get to an actual 
systems administrator when you need to, and which systems 
administrators can help you when you need help.

7.  Make Sure The Host Is Flexible.
It is important that the hoster understands how important 
quality servers are to their clients' businesses. Even most 
managed dedicated hosts will not go near supporting applications 
that are not part of their initial server setup. Find a hoster 
that has a vast amount of experience to support a wide variety 
of applications, and one that can bring that expertise to you
through their services.

8. Find Out What Their Former/Current Clients Say About Them.
Can your prospective host provide you with success stories for 
clients with similar configurations to yours? Are they able to 
provide references from clients who can tell you about their 
experience using that company?

9. Make Sure The Host's Support Doesn't Include Extra Charges.
Make sure any host you consider provides you with a comprehensive 
list outlining the support they offer so that you can have an 
understanding of what is supported for free, what is supported 
at a fee, and what is not supported at all. Many hosts will try 
to hide a sub-standard level of free support behind non-specific 
statements of high quality support, so make them get specific 
to win your business.

================================================================
Chris Kivlehan is the Marketing Manager for INetU Managed Hosting. 
INetU is an award-winning Allentown, Pennsylvania-based hosting 
provider that specializes in managed dedicated hosting for 
businesses nationwide in the online retailing, web development, 
e-learning, financial services and online marketing industries, 
as well as for governments, non-profits and civic institutions.
610-266-7441 - chrisk@inetu.net - http://www.inetu.net
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