When you are switching web host, you have many things to consider. A relationship with a web host is a long-term relationship, so any changes must be considered fully and with all of the relevant facts under consideration. Here are seven factors that every webmaster should keep in mind if a web host switch is in the cards.
1. Did You Find A New Pricing Structure That Is Better?
There are always new technologies as well as new pricing structures that create a huge amount of competition in the market for web hosting. With this in mind, you should always be prepared to make a switch over to a new company that is offering a new payment structure or a way to take advantage of the same tech that you already have for a lesser price.
2. Is There A New App That You Need To Implement That Your Current Web Host Simply Cannot Accommodate?
In some cases, web hosts will not be able to accommodate a new app that you absolutely need to function on the cutting edge of your industry. For instance, there are still some web hosts that do not offer the ability to connect a GPS to a mobile website, believe it or not. The web host that you need to stick with will have the ability to implement not only the current crop of usable apps, but future apps as well. Although no one can necessarily predict what will be popular in the future, there is always a certain structure within which apps are programmed. Up-to-date web hosts will always be up to date on that structure.
3. Is The Customer Service At Your Current Web Host Less Than Professional In Some Way Or Another?
No matter what web hosting service that you use, you will never have perfect performance. You will always need the customer service representation behind the company to help you out of situations that will inevitably pop up. These customer service reps should be happy and willing to help you through any of the problems that you may have, because you should not be expected to be a tech expert. You will be able to discern many of the companies that will have less than stellar customer service because of the way that they treat you during the sales process.
Make sure that you ask everything that you have to during the sales process. You can be sure that you will never be treated better after you become a customer than you are during the sales process. Find out which companies will actually respect your dollar once they have it – the customer service reps that you talk to definitely represent the attitude of the rest of the company.
4. Does The New Web Host Have More Security Features?
There is only so much that you can do about security from your side of the website. Your web host needs to play a huge part in helping to guarantee the safety of your data stream, especially if you are on a shared server or a virtual private server. If you are on a virtual private server, then you should be especially concerned with this, because this is part of what you are paying for.
Your web host should be able to help you encrypt certain connections in order to protect them against hijacking from malicious third party users. You should also be shielded from the viruses and other attacks that may go on in other data streams on the same physical server. Your web host should be able to list the details of what they are doing to protect you upon demand, so do not be afraid to ask about these details.
5. Is Your Current Web Platform Having Trouble With Its Uptime Guarantee?
It is an industry standard of the best web hosting companies to have a “four nine” uptime. This means that the uptime of your website should be 99.99 percent only because there is no way for a website to achieve perfect 100 percent uptime.
If you are having a problem with your uptime and you simply cannot get it fixed after repeated calls to your customer service rep, then it may be time to switch over to another web hosting company. There is nothing that is more frustrating to a customer than to trust a company only to run into a 404 screen when the site is needed most, which usually happens when a marketing campaign actually starts working.
6. Are You Having Trouble Getting Ahead Of Customer Problems With Your Current Web Solution?
Your web host should actually be telling you about problems that you may have with the service rather than the other way around. If you are not being kept abreast of common problems that are attacking other sites like yours and you find that you are behind the eight ball more often than not, then it may be time for you to switch your web hosting services.
7. Is Your User Interface Intuitive, Or Is It Difficult To Make Simple Changes On Your Own Website?
You should be able to make simple changes on your website without having to call in any professionals at all. Your user interface should be easy enough to use that anyone in your company can use it. This is the only way that you will be able to stay competitive with other companies in your field – you can bet that they are not paying a third party for every little thing.
Although you should consider the above points very seriously when you are switching web host, there are always other factors that are relevant in the decision. Make sure that you take the time that is necessary to really have a good discussion about any changes that you will make as a company so that you do not have to make a change this big twice.