Securing Your Web Host - Your Internet Landlord

Analysis

You throw a tantrum & hold them responsible when amenities in your house fail. You run a business and on Tuesday afternoon, something goes wrong at the business place that stops you from getting any sale for the rest of that week. You call your landlord, he's not around. No answer. You weren't getting enough sales anyway, but now you're getting none. You are pissed like you have never been.

The fact is that the same basic concept translates to web hosting and many a website owner has had to cry tears after learning that their web host has lost or misplaced their data, or that their servers have been hacked or virus attacked - and there is no backup.

You have to also be mindful of the fact that many web hosting companies are run by kids! It's easy to start a web host because you can always buy a server and lease space to hundreds of thousands of clients.

Choosing a web host

In light of all this, you need to choose a web host that has a clean reputation and one that you have direct contact with. If you are in the US, HostGator is a perfect choice. They offer web hosting at affordable rates and provide great support. They are based in Houston, Texas.

If you are in the Caribbean region, LiveSpring is a good choice for hosting. They provide hosting from US$5.50 per month and provides excellent support as well. LiveSpring is based in Jamaica and there is direct support available 24/7.

Sometimes it's better to choose a smaller company for your web hosting, because large companies (even as good as HostGator is) tend to host too many websites on their servers, and this may result in lags. A smaller firm on the other hand, has less customers and hence able to provide a more refined service.