By Greg Post
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Host Your Site With A Company That Has A Proven Track Record
This point may surprise you. After all, hosting is hosting… Isn't it? Yes and no. If all you want from a hosting company is a low price and a secure place to put your website then you are in luck. There are many companies that can put up your website and keep it up. But if you want to increase your chances of building a successful website then your choices are a bit limited.
There is a lot more to creating a good website than having a place to put it. And a hosting company can greatly influence your chances of success. That is… if you choose wisely. So when I suggest that you hire a company with a proven track record I don't mean they are successful in avoiding computer crashes, they keep reliable backups, and they have a lot of bandwidth. That's easy. Just about anybody can do that. |
A proven track record involves much more than that. When I select a company I want to know how many other successful websites are hosted with them. I want to know what they provide beyond a basic hosting service.
Of course to evaluate a hosting company you need to have a good idea what you want to accomplish from the beginning of the process to the end. In other words, you need to…
Consider Carefully The Steps You Need To Achieve
For example, before you write the first bit of content you need to do your homework. Assuming you actually hope to make money with your website you need to begin by identifying your niche . Your best opportunity for internet success is to carve out a niche that you own. Did you know a hosting company can help you do this? Well… a few can. Even fewer still offer the instructions and tools necessary to uncover your niche as part of their basic package. Don't hire a company unless it helps you with this most important step.
A closely related topic is developing your best site concept . How are you going to approach your niche? In what specific way are you going to exploit your niche in a website? In short, what is your site going to be about… particularly? A good hosting company can help you with this also.
What about the search engines? Keeping up with the ever-changing rules for search engine submission can be a daunting task.
- To which search engines do you submit your pages?
- How often can you submit them?
- How do you know when your pages are indexed?
- How do your pages rank?
- What if the search engines drop your pages?
Many hosting companies do not offer a service for submitting your pages. Many others do provide this service… for an additional fee. Submitting your own pages involves a lot of work and will distract you from the all important task of building your site. Don't hire a company unless it does a great job at this with no additional fee.
These are just a few of the important extras you need to be successful. There are many others… such as a proven blueprint. So what do you do? My advice is to…
Go With A Company That Includes The Most Services As A Package
There can be many hidden expenses involved in creating and hosting a successful website. Don't be too hasty in your decision. Look for a company that has a proven track record in producing well-trafficked sites. Also make sure they provide a whole array of tools as part of their basic package.
If a hosting company is associated with a high percentage of successful websites you can be sure it is not a matter of coincidence. The company is certainly supporting their webmasters with cutting edge tools as well as practical instructions.
