How to Choose an Email Web Hosting Provider

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by Luciano Underwood

One of the most important decisions that you can make for your businesses website is choosing the web host which will house your web site and display it to the World Wide Web. If you have a good web host, you can focus your energy on maximizing your business instead of making sure that your customers have a reliable site to reach you on the Internet. So, how to choose an email web hosting provider? This article contains helpful tips that will guide you along the process and give you a leg up on your competitors.

You should start with the basics; your internet service provider's (ISP) internet connection capabilities. Most ISP's are connected by T1 and T3 lines. These are among the fastest connections that the internet provides. A T1 carries up to 1.5mbs (megabits per second) and a T3 line is capable of carrying 45mbs. These are the connections to look for. Some of the smaller ISP's have ISDN connections, which are functional, but not ideal. It is a good idea (if you don't have one already) to invest in a speedy Internet connection for yourself. When conducting business through the computer, you will spend a lot of time using the Internet and telephone charges can add up pretty quickly. You might also want to look into co-hosting your computer at your ISP's location in order to take advantage of their connection to the Internet.

Now that you have made sure that your ISP has the speed capabilities to handle your business needs, you need to make sure that it provides you with enough space. Web hosts will allot you a certain amount of space on their computer. This varies with every ISP so you need to make sure that the one that you choose fits your needs. The average amount is 5MB and this is enough space for most web pages that include graphics. But the number that they quote you can be deceptive. Some ISPs include email; log files, and system programmers in this number, which can take up additional space. Make sure that you understand what this number includes. If the above are included in the space that you are allotted, you will need around 15MB of space.

Email is one of the most important aspects of your business website. In this day and age it is one of the main ways to communicate with prospective clients and to get your information out to them. Emails hosted by your ISP allow you to include your business name in your email address and should look something like employee@employer.com. Your ISP should provide you with at least one email address but some of the better ones offer multiple email addresses. The larger your business, the more email addresses you will require. Some ISPs offer the option of fielding customer questions with an address like info@employer.com. Make sure to consider growth before you settle with a web host that only offers one or tow email addresses. Some providers will also allow for a catchall email address like anyname@employer.com, which will allow a misspelled or misunderstood name to be fielded to your account. This will save you a lot of lost business.

Quote of the Day

The delicate, invisible web you wove
The inexplicable mystery of sound.

—T.S. (Thomas Stearns)

Even if you know how to choose an email webhosting provider and are pretty sure that you have made the right choice, things can still go wrong. Your web host may become blacklisted making it difficult for you to send emails out to clients or any number of things can go wrong. Before signing on with a provider you need to get a thorough understanding of how free you are to choose another ISP. Read the contract carefully and find out how long you are required to stay with them and under what circumstances. If you leave an ISP while you are still under contract, they maintain possession of your domain name, which can confuse customers and cause you to loose a lot of business and hard won credibility. If your domain name is listed as the "Administrative Contact" with InterNIC, you are allowed to transfer your domain to another web host although your previous ISP can make the process difficult and slow if they are unhappy with your departure.

Another good way to guard against potential problems is to make sure that your web host has ample and easily accessible help desk support. Check the hours and availability of their help desk. Good ISP providers will have 24-hour support with the ability to talk to a real live person at any time. Some ISPs have very restrictive hours and you will be fielded through a series of automated responses (or worse only be allowed to seek help through email) before you make contact with a real tech support person who can help you with your problem. Larger companies will almost certainly be in need of 24hour tech support. If your customers encounter a prolonged problem on your website, it can hurt your credibility.

Now that you have learned how to choose an email webhosting provider you are well on your way to ensuring your businesses success. Good Luck!

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Please note: All personal opinions expressed in the "How to Choose an Email Web Hosting Provider" article belong to the contributing author and are not necessarily shared by WebDesignConferencing.com.

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