What are the most important features of web hosting? No doubt you’re reading over all the “fine print” (or fine fonts) on your favorite web hosting partners’ sites wondering what features really matter and what features are of lesser importance. Let’s consider the most important features as cited by webmaster who are actually starting their own business sites and finding either great elation or great disappointment.
Webmasters appreciate the ability to add sub-domains to their sites as well as the freedom to use domain-forwarding and domain parking. Domain names can play a major part in branding. This certainly gives a disadvantage to free websites which usually do not allow custom domain names but instead give you a long and hard to remember sub-domain.
Other popular features may include the ability to create forums or newsletters or to add on new software. Email forwarding is a popular feature, as is the ability to forward to more than one person. Some users highly appreciate the ability to create their own error pages, as this can help not only in branding, but in preventing potential customers from losing interest.
Webmasters who have a lot of problems with SPAM will be highly interested in SPAM filters, especially ones that can filter out forwards as well as mailbox messages. Other users pay closer attention to what type of server the service employs, such as Linux, Unix or Windows. Linux users may not have access to programs like php and MySQL, so this is a major consideration. For dedicated web hosting services, security both from online threats and physical threats is a big issue. Webmasters that rely on heavy graphics prefer sites with unlimited bandwidth and storage space.
What about issues of uptime and technical support? The industry standard is 99.9% uptime for pay sites. The percentage of uptime is crucial to online stores that are depending on regular sales around-the-clock. Even the best web hosting features would be largely useless if users cannot access your site at any given moment.
Tech support is another major issue and one that you cannot take lightly. No one thinks about tech support until their site goes down in flames. When that happens do you have easy 24-7 access to a technical support phone number? Companies that only answer emails or custom forms may not be able to provide the fast assistance you so desperately need in an emergency situation.