Tip #1: Upgrade to an Annual Plan - If you are happy with your hosting provider, consider moving to an annual payment basis. By doing this, you can benefit from a lower prorated monthly rate. If you are looking to transfer to a new web host, you might also wish to consider an annual plan as they often come with no set-up fee. Even better, consider the discount of adding a 2nd year onto that annual hosting plan; sometimes adding the 2nd annual time period results in very little extra cost since you get a web hosting discount on the first year as well. For example, HostMonster offers a 1 year hosting plan which works out to $6.95/month, and a two-year price of $4.95/month.
Tip #2: The economy is growing and Internet usage continues to increase. Is your company website ready for an increase in traffic during 2007? With monthly fees for dedicated servers coming down rapidly over the past year, your business may wish to consider moving to a dedicated environment which will offer more capacity for servicing your online customers. At least be sure that your current plan has adequate bandwidth allowances. Even the shared space now offers close to unlimited bandwidth (considering what the average website actually uses). Take a look at HostMonster - they provide 999GB of monthly bandwidth for as low as $4.95/month. Just like a cell phone, if your current website is experiencing traffic overage charges, then it is time to consider a larger hosting package.
Tip #3: Check out your Hosting Service Agreements. These agreements contain the "legal terms" of your hosting contract and may be changed from time to time. The 'New Year' is a good time to review the latest documents surrounding the relationship between you and your web host. For some customers, you may find that you are on a high-end SLA and could lower your monthly service fee by accepting say a 99.8% uptime guarantee vs. a 99.9% standard.
Tip #4: Secure a support domain for your company. Many companies are now providing technical support and service follow-up online. With Internet access still growing on a worldwide basis, you may wish to consider reserving the domain name for a potential service/support site. For example, usxmodeltrains.com might wish to reserve usxtrainsupport.com. Also, think about registering some of the new top levels domains including .info and .biz - these can be useful in driving more traffic to your website. Most web hosting companies now offer to purchase a free domain for you as long as you purchase their annual web hosting account.
Tip #5: Watch for software upgrades! Each year, many providers of web design and server software launch new versions. For instance, is your web host delivering the latest Windows or ASP.NET versions? Also, make sure your company is using the latest design software to maximize your site visitor's experiences. By checking to see if your provider has the latest server versions, you can verify their technical knowledge, ensure maximum website uptime, and create a website that is more competitive vs. your peers in terms of website interactivity and features.
By following these simple tips, your business can maximize it's online efforts in 2008 by ensuring a stable hosting environment while gaining better knowledge about your web host.
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