E-Commerce: Why You Need a Host and How

Choosing a web host for your up and coming e-commerce website should be a very important move and indeed the most critical.  The last thing you want is to buy into a web host that leaves you busted and disgusted.  In this article we will point out some of the most often missed, over looked, and fatal decisions that should play a huge roll in choosing a web host provider (get the picture?). First Factors that are to be Considered Before Selecting a Host: Cost Capacity Bandwidth Technical Support History Imagine that you have this great website that sells trinkets.  It is supposed to be running 24/7, even while sleeping. Only to find out that it isn't, because when the server your site resides on crashed last night, the single IT guy was at home sleeping too, nobody was there to fix it.  Later to find out that there was no working backup, leaving you without a website and out of business.  This happens more than most think.  A true web host provider will tell you that investment cost on equipment and employees is high, but their clients (you) are even more important thus investing in their equipment is investing in their clients.  To avoid these problems look for a web host that provides 24/7 around the clock technical support and monitoring that has it's infrastructure in a protected data center and not in someones garage.  Any good hosting service will tell you their up-time and specifications.  Some will even show off their facilities (not much to see other than lots of computer data towers and servers, but if your a geek like me then you will find it nifty). What a Good Web Host will Disclose: Years in the Industry Backup Routine Industry Recognition Up-time and Downtime Statistics (usually should be around 99.8%) Location of Data Center Service and Quality Guarantee with Money Back Offer. Web Tools and Support Lot's of Bandwidth and E-mail (Should be hard to use up, not feeling limited) Needs to Support Database and Programming Languages Such as:  SQL, MySQL, PHP, etc. Dedicated IP Address Sub-Domain Options There are more than that are listed above, just consider them a rule of thumb.  If a provider can not offer any one of the above, then move on and find another host.  This is the most important step before launch and your income.  You need a site that will be running all the time with very limited exceptions of maintenance.  We highly recommend Ix Web Hosting, because they match and exceed all the above.  They are not only web host out there, but they are ranked at the top and their services are many on the small amount invested compared to what you get. Best Wishes in your venture and success, President of Ryan's Computer Consulting Services