Web hosting companies face stiff competition in the market. It is good news for users looking for a cheap web hosting service in India, as they have a variety of options to choose from. Managed web hosting has made exponential progress which has helped provide you with all of these options, but on the other hand, it has become harder to find the best cheap managed web hosting service in India that is compatible with all of your needs. Hence, we have narrowed down some of the questions you can ask your managed web hosting service before you avail yourselves of their services.
1. How reliable is your server and how much uptime do you guarantee?
It is crucial in today’s cutthroat competitive world to offer a customer around-the-clock web hosting operations, to stay ahead of the curve. You, the customer, should choose a web host that has stable network connectivity on a well-built server, with a guaranteed uptime of 99.95%. If the average of their uptime is below 99% look for another managed web hosting service. You can gain knowledge about your web host’s uptime through several ways. Server monitor tools are a great way of accomplishing this. You can ask your managed web hosting provider outright and gain the information.
2. How easy is it to scale to accommodate your requirements?
There are certain days of the year when you can anticipate a rise in traffic. If you have an online e-commerce website, black Friday will inevitably cause a spike in traffic. However, this might not always be the case. Sometimes there might be a surge without any warning. In such cases, you need to ask your provider what his emergency plan looks like. What is the response time to take care of such situations? Can you scale your resources depending on your change in requirement? Clarify it with your web hosting provider before you make your choice.
3. What security do you provide?
Security is one of the most important factors in today’s day and age, as it can cause irreparable damage to your online business. Hence, it is of utmost importance to ask your web hosting provider about the security measures they offer. Especially with shared hosting, the web hosting provider must include the security features in its policy. The same goes for dedicated and cloud hosting. It is also vital to know the frequency of their virus as well as malware scans. Your managed web hosting provider should also have valid security measures such as an SSL certificate in place to keep your sensitive information secure.
In case your online business deals with any kind of high-risk data like customer information, you need a valid SSL (shared secure socket layer) certified web hosting service. Ensure that the SSL certificate protects all elements of your website. In case you find the security lacking, go for another host that satisfies your security concerns.
4. What are your disaster recovery plans?
Unexpected downtime caused by a variety of reasons like an outage or natural disasters could harm your business. In this case, your web hosting provider must have a good mechanism to ensure that the business is secure and can keep going. There will be times when the cause of your downtime is outside the team of your web hosting provider. Public clouds also face downtime for a variety of reasons. Downtime could translate to a heavy loss in revenue for online businesses and websites, which could also have a negative impact on your reputation. Hence it is paramount to enquire about the ways in which the web hosting provider is ready to restore your online presence in case a disaster takes place.
5. How easily available is customer support?
Several companies provide extremely basic amounts of customer support. A support team that you can easily contact 24/7 through chat, email, and the phone is crucial to the success of your online business. You should ask your web hosting provider if their support team will be available all day long and during the weekends. If they are local or with the server on-site, is another query you should get answered. Plus will you have to pay extra to avail yourself of additional support? Customer support is the main element of the server that keeps it afloat and you should be able to connect with customer support regardless of the time or problem you need to be solved.
6. What are you responsible for?
If a disaster takes place that causes downtime, what aspects are the web hosting company responsible for? There are aspects of downtime that they cannot be held responsible for like power outages since it is completely out of their control. However, it is crucial to clarify if the charges will be reduced in such cases.
Conclusion
The answers to the above questions will prove you with a fairly good idea of the various aspects of the web hosting company you’re scouting. Ensure that you do your due diligence before making a decision. Try not to opt for the first web hosting you cross paths with. Asking the questions mentioned above will give you a fair idea if the web host is the correct fit for your business or if it will be better to keep looking for a better option.
Additionally, when you interact with them you can get a good sense of their company’s culture. It is better to opt for a web hosting company that is solar to yours.