Once you have your website authored, you’ll need a place on the Internet for it to reside so visitors can access it. There are literally hundreds of choices ranging from large webhosting companies to someone’s server sitting in their home office. Many of these hosts are free, and few cost more than $20 per month in this new century. You could even set up your own host; a dedicated computer that’s permanently wired into the Internet, and has its own address. This, however, is time-consuming and expensive and, for most small businesses, not a good idea. It is better to outsource webhosting to folks who specialize in it.
You could also use the free space that comes with your ISP account. All providers offer users a certain amount of space to create their own homepage as part of the basic package of services. This space, however, is rarely suited to running a business, and business use is usually prohibited. Servers providing this type web space are slow during peak traffic hours and accessing your website can be very frustrating. This space may be sufficient for putting up finished pages and testing a site before you are ready to go live, but when you want to go to market, you need a dedicated host.
Picking a webhosting company can be tricky, however. Thousands of these companies draw you in with promises of ultra-low services charge, and then charge countless fees to “bolt-on” additional services, at additional cost, as you grow. Actually, a good policy is to quietly set up an account and test the host before announcing your presence to the world. Better to know your host is operating smoothly before inviting guests to the party.
Herbert W. Watchinski, CEO of Sirius International, Inc, a leading webhosting company for entrepreneurs and e-tail storefronts, states that you should analyze your potential hosting company to look for several proven performance ratings and key e-commerce-friendly features. He recommends that when reliability is key to your business, and it is for most websites, avoid a web host that doesn’t provide a written guarantee of nearly 100% uptime.
“What we have learned from being in the business since the world-wide-web truly became world wide, was that we had a lot of issues to resolve to ensure integrity of our services, Watchinski said. “As we grew into the main stream of webhosting service providers, we built additional redundancy and security into our system. Our model architecture is now one of the outstanding systems available for e-commerce.”
“This architecture has given us a reliability rating that exceeds 99.9% for several years, and a connectivity speed of 50 and 100 milliseconds,” Watchinski said. He defined several key factors that should be considered when selecting a web host. And, he mentioned, this is a very important decision, so don’t make it lightly. It can cost you a great deal in lost revenues when you client can’t log into your site, or make that purchase transaction when a buying decision has been made.
1. Connectivity & Speed- An ideal host has, at least, T3 lines connected directly to the Internet, not through someone else’s network operations center, says Watchinski. “We became a leader in this area recently,” Watchinski relates, “when we connected our system to the Internet backbone through an expandable Fiber Optic System connected to a SONET ring” (which provides redundancy). The average response time for a typical webpage hosted on the Sirius International system is between 50 and 100 milliseconds while the industry standard response time for a typical webpage is 200 milliseconds (the lower the number the better).
2. Reliability – A server that is off line, or experiences frequent problems is simply not a good choice. Surveys show website reliability is e-businesses’ main concern. Look for at least a 99 percent uptime guarantee, and find out what the guarantee means. Watchinski advises that his company’s 99.9% uptime guarantee is possible because they place each website on a backup server with automatic switching in case of server problems, and multiple power backup systems. “In fact,” he offered, “during the recent partial U.S. & Canada power outage, our system was still generating sales for our customers’ clients in the areas not affected by the outage.”
3. Security – Passwords should always be required to control access to the host whether you are managing or modifying your site. All files should be backed up daily. Always look for a host that offers secure transactions, and utilize the latest firewall technologies to protect the hosted companies’ environment. For total security, Watchinski says, Sirius International employs an advanced processing method called, 3-WayEncryption™, which protects sensitive information through each step of the online transaction. Order transactions should use SSL encryption routines which are the most secure on the market today.
4. e-Tail Friendly Services - A full e-Commerce host will provide you with all the tools you need to run your storefront as a part of your account features. Look for services such as Automated Transaction Processing (ATP) or Manual Transaction Processing (MTP). Both processing methods have advantages and disadvantages, and you need the option to select the system best for you. “Every e-business is different,” Watchinski states, “so we provide both systems for flexibility. Merchants should also have the option to choose Online Ordering software, Catalog software or both for their customer’s convenience.”
5. Support – “Plain and simply put, we support our system,” Watchinski said. “We provide live customer support, online support, and volumes of help text to assist our users with their technical questions. Look for 24/7 phone support available from a live person. Then check it. Call or e-mail the tech support line at 9 p.m. on a Sunday night and expect it to be answered by someone who can actually help you resolve your issue. You just can’t expect less from your provider if you are serious about doing business on the Internet.”
6. Affordability – How much should you pay for your e-Commerce hosting? Shop around. Check out a number of web hosts. But, be careful that you are getting the functionalities you need today as well as when you begin to grow. “You have to make sure the baseline service, dependability and security is there,” according to Watchinski. “With all of the features of our cutting edge technology and support, you might expect to pay a premium for a Sirius International account, but that just isn’t the case. For about the same cost as a typical hosting solution, you can get much more with one of our accounts, including access to over one hundred web design and promotion tools. We feel that you should be able to expect this level of quality and service from any provider you choose. It’s available, so why settle for less?”
