E-commerce: Six Things To Know Before Choosing a Web Host

Choosing a Web site host is an often overlooked piece of e-commerce strategy. Because it’s such a specialized portion of the e-commerce puzzle, many catalogers are unprepared to make an informed decision regarding Web hosting. Following are tips to help you make the right decision when choosing your Web host or considering a change to your current provider:

1. Understand the distinctions between different hosting options. As the e-commerce business has matured, hosting offers have split into several distinct categories, each with its own strengths and weaknesses.

* Shared hosting allows you to share server space with other companies. The host manages the server almost completely, although you still maintain your site. The Good: It’s a cheaper option since multiple clients pay for the server. The bad (or potentially bad): But if one of those other companies experiences heavy traffic, your site’s performance will suffer.

* In collocated hosting, you purchase a server from a hardware vendor, such as Dell or HP, and you supply this server to the host. The host then plugs your server into its network and redundant power systems. The host is responsible for making sure its network is available, and you’re responsible for all support and maintenance for your server. The Good: Good hosts offer management contracts to their collocation clients so you can outsource much of the support to them and come to an arrangement similar to managed dedicated hosting. The bad: It’s up to you to come up with the hardware and software.

* Unmanaged dedicated hosting is very similar to collocation. The good: You lease a server from a host and do not actually own it yourself. The bad: Some limited support, typically Web-based, is included, but the level of support varies widely from host to host.

* Managed dedicated hosting means leasing a server from a host and having that company provide a robust level of support and maintenance on the server that’s backed by quality guarantees. The good: This maintenance typically includes services such as server uptime monitoring, a hardware warranty and security patch updates. The bad: Make sure your host is specific about which managed services are included so you can be sure it isn’t disguising an unmanaged dedicated offering as a managed dedicated server.

2. Ask if your potential host’s network has blacklisted IP addresses. Many hosts care little about who’s actually being hosted on their networks, so long as the clients pay their bills. That situation could put you in the company of porn sites and spammers. Ethical issues aside, this does have a negative impact on customers if a network gets blacklisted for spamming. Because other networks often refuse e-mail from IP addresses that are blacklisted, your business could suffer if you rely on legitimate closed loop opt-in e-mail marketing to drive sales.

3. Don’t confuse size with stability. Just because a Web hosting company is big, that doesn’t mean it’s stable and secure. To protect yourself, ask some key questions:
* How long has the host been in business?
* Has ownership changed recently?
* Is the host profitable and cash flow positive from operation-generated revenue?

4. Don’t make price your only priority. The old saying “you get what you pay for” applies to most things in life, including hosting solutions. When you over-prioritize price, you risk choosing a host that provides you with a connection to the Internet and little else in terms of support.

5. Make sure your host has fully redundant data centers. When dealing with smaller vendors, check that they have their own data centers that are fully redundant, both in terms of power and connectivity. Ask these questions:
* How many connections are coming into the facility?
* What’s the average use of those connections? No matter how large the connection, if it’s running at maximum capacity it will be slow.
* Do the servers have a redundant power source, such as an on-site generator? If so, how often is the generator tested?
* What security measures are in place for the network?
* What type of fire suppression systems are in place?

6. Check for flexibility. It’s important that the host understands how important quality servers are to your business. Some hosts don’t support applications that aren’t part of their initial server setup. Find a hoster that has a vast amount of experience to support a wide variety of applications, and one that brings that expertise to you through its services.

Chris Kivlehan is marketing manager for INetU Managed Hosting, an Allentown, Pa.-based hosting provider that specializes in managed dedicated hosting. He can be reached at (610) 266-7441 or chrisk@inetu.net.