We generally don’t think of web hosting as an outsourcing initiative but it’s actually one of the more common forms of outsourcing for entrepreneurs. The last time I ran my own web server was sometime in the early 90s. There are just too many options for companies that will do it for you. I am currently on my 5th web hosting company. Most were pretty good experiences, except the most recent which was bad from the first day. If you have one web site, packing up and moving it to another web hosting provider is no big deal. Depending on whether is is Word Press or other common platform, your new host may actually do it for you. On the other hand, if you have a few dozen like I do it can present challenges.
Why change Web Hosting Companies?
The hosting issues have changed over time. My first web hosting company had evolved from an answering service. They had great customer service, but I needed more in the way of technology options. My next host had great performance, pretty good customer service but it was expensive and I was growing. I stayed with them for awhile, but ownership changed and things started changed so I started shopping. Flexibility was important because I wanted to do more on the web.
I found a provider who offered multiple hosting options (Unix or Windows) within the same account. It was inexpensive and service was good so I was there for about 10 years. Then they got acquired. The new company set a new low for customer service and performance. I tolerated it for about 6 months because I didn’t want to go through the hassle of moving. It took me two weeks to download all my web sites and cleanup the mess they had made of them. Now I wish I had done it months ago.
What to look for in a Web Hosting Company
Obviously, you want a service provider who offers the type of web hosting you need. You want to try not to get sucked into the marketing hype that most have on their websites. You will see lots of old reviews or ones that are just plain false. Spend some time looking at the different web hosting review sites and read the actual reviews. Pick your top 4 or 5 and do some more in depth research. When you have narrowed it down, see if they have a real time chat function and ask some questions.
With my past host, you couldn’t call because they didn’t answer the phone, and emailing a support ticket was returned with a canned response signed by someone with using one of the top most common names in the US phone book. It reminds me of those commercials where the Russian guy is somewhere in Siberia answering a phone “Hello – this is Peggy”. You don’t need that. I had several web chats with sales before I made the switch to my current provider. Each time it was a real person who was able to answer all of my questions without having to forward to a second level. Very refreshing.
Who did I pick and why?
In addition to reading reviews and contacting the companies in advance, I checked with other people who had used them. I narrowed the field down to two – Hostgator and BlueHost. Over the years, I have accumulated a variety of mid volume web sites so I needed your basic multiple domain account. I had experience with BlueHost with some client projects and I like their control panel. Also their shared servers are extremely fast and I haven’t had any problems with them in the past. Unfortunately, I needed both Unix and Windows hosting capabilities for multiple domains.
This was not going to be an option with BlueHost. Hostgator wasn’t a perfect fit compared to what I was used to, but I was able to basically glue three accounts together to have the same functionality that I did at my previous two hosts. I was used to the way things used to work, but the new control panel does everything I want and more. Overall I have been blown away by Hostgator. Their service is the best I’ve seen from any company – ever! My web sites rank in the upper 80s on speed tests vs the 60s I was getting before. It’s still the honeymoon period, but I’m hoping that my new web hosting relationship lasts a really long time.
(Note links are affiliate links, but really only try to recommend products I’ve used and both hosts I’ve mentioned I would recommend even without affiliate programs.)
