Web Hosting with a Small Service Provider
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea
Choosing a Small Web Hosting Service Provider
Personally, I always choose a small company whether it is for dialup access or for my Web hosting provider. I will explain my reasons for this and help you to decide if a small company is your choice for your Web hosting service provider.
Advantages of Choosing a Small Company for Your Web Hosting Provider
My main reason for selecting a small company is that the large companies all ready have enough money. Since I have a home-based business, I can sympathize with the small company and their need for clients.
I have found that most small Web hosting companies are run by individuals who have a good technical knowledge of the Internet and all of the hardware and software needed to have this type of small business. Although they sometimes have other jobs which are their main source of income, they are dedicated to their Internet business.
This means that when I need support, I may have to wait a little longer for a response but when I receive one it will be the answer I need instead of a 'canned' answer from a service manual.
Small Web hosting providers also have fewer clients to bog down their servers. This means that my Web site will be available for my visitors most of the time.
They often provide more disk space, bandwidth and technology with their basic Web hosting packages than large providers. This is because they want to attract new customers by their offerings rather than their well-known name and large advertising budget.
Disadvantages of Web Hosting with a Small Provider
The obvious disadvantage is that they may not have support personnel available 24 hours a day. You may have to wait for a response to your problem. This can be an issue with a large, mission-critical business Web site. With the small business or personal Web site, this is usually not a problem. There are many resources available on the Internet that can provide the assistance you need without needing a response from your Web hosting provider.
If the business were to close you could also have problems such as changing your DNS registration entries to point to a new hosting provider. You could also have trouble replicating your Web site if you did not maintain your own backup copy of your Web site files. There is also the time involved with altering the files so that they work with the new hosting provider.
Conclusion
If you have a fairly good technical knowledge yourself, the benefits of using a small company outweigh the use of a large Web hosting provider. If you or your company is technologically challenged, then using a small company can be a deficit that your company cannot afford.
As with all decisions, weigh the pros and cons to determine your personal needs and make your choice accordingly. Of course, my hopes are that you will choose the small company which will help our nation's economy by boosting small business.
