Choosing a Web Hosting Firm

Asked about the difference between Web hosting a decade ago and today, Mike Sowada, CEO of the Eden Prairie–based Internet services provider Visi, joked: “Well, Henry Ford once said, ‘You can get a Model T in any color, as long as it’s black.’ You got what you got in the early days of the car, and it was the same way with the Internet.” Web hosting used to mean only one thing: putting a customer’s Web site on line so users could visit it. These days, Web hosting is much more complicated.

“Web hosting has really evolved to where it is another part of your sales and marketing department,” says Dave Perrill, president of BHI Advanced Internet in Eden Prairie, which hosts Web sites for more than 3,300 customers. “It’s a critical part of people’s businesses. And if your site goes down, it’s not just an inconvenience anymore.”

So how can companies know they’re making a smart choice when signing on with a Web host? To find out, we talked with Web hosting companies about the types of services that are available, how they might be of use to your company, and what questions you need to ask to get the best service for your money.

Web Hosting Basics

While company size does figure into the equation when considering what types of services your company may need from a Web host, the most important consideration is what you plan to do with your site, Perrill says. If you just want to post something simple—say, some information and a few photos (like an electronic business card or brochure), you’re probably safe to go with a basic shared-hosting package.

This is by far the most widely used way to host Web sites. A nominal fee will get you modest levels of bandwidth—1 to 1.5 terabytes—and storage space, as well as several e-mail accounts and 24-7 automated phone support. For a higher fee, you’ll get more of everything and, depending on the company, you may also get better customer service from real-live humans when you need it.

With shared hosting, you will also get a personalized Web address (www.yourbusiness.com), which looks more professional than the type where your company’s name is accompanied by the name of the host (www.hostname.yourbusiness.com). This type of dual address is most often seen with build-your-own sites offered by providers such as Yahoo Geocities and Amazon. These low-cost options are quick and easy, but they lack the professional-level services most businesses want.

“This is definitely an industry where you get what you pay for,” says Sowada, whose company hosts several thousand sites. (He declined to give an exact figure.) “If someone is offering a deal that sounds too good to be true, it really is too good to be true.”

Unlike the do-it-yourself sites, most hosting companies don’t have templates to help you build your site, and many don’t offer site design as a service either, since that is a whole different area of expertise. However, Web hosts usually have relation- ships with design and programming firms to which they can refer you; or they’ll handle the whole process for a fee.