Testing Your Web Site Host
A Web Hosting Article Contributed by Frances Rhea
How to Test Your Web Site Host
A very important step in the final stage of selecting a Web site host is to test their support. Testing the quality and speed is easy if you send an email with one or more questions to their support staff.
Contacting Your Web Site Host
Usually there is a "contact us" or "about us" section on their Web site. Make sure you find the information for support and not sales.
For each company you are testing keep a log of the amount of time it takes to receive a response. Send an email to each company at approximately the same time. Make sure you know their home location so you can use their time of day not yours.
Weekend response time can be somewhat longer but to find out how well they will respond in an emergency, use late Friday night or Saturday for your test.
Any response time under 6 hours can be considered a very good response.
The Quality of Their Response
When you receive your responses, compare the quality of the information you received. See which hosts answer your question precisely and completely. Look to see if their answers are easy to understand and have a logical structure for your instructions.
See if they are polite in their response whether they use a familiar approach or a respectful approach. Make sure you are comfortable with their response.
The Test Email
Remember that you are not hosted by them yet but they will not know that. Here is a sample for you to use:
"I am trying to get my form mail to work. Whenever I load it, instead of getting the expected result, I receive a 404 file not found error. I think I have coded everything right but am still having problems. Do you have any suggestions on how I can get it to work?
Thank you very much for your time.
Regards,
Your name"
What to Look for in the Answer
Form scripts require that you know where sendmail is located and what your root directory is. A common mistake is not changing these locations in your form script file. Another common error is calling the script in the form with the correct tags.
They should explain this to you and tell you where sendmail is located and what the root directory is on their servers. They should also tell you about how to call the script using your form and provide a sample form to use as an example.
If the Web site host has an excellent support team, they would offer to make these changes for you if you provide them with your account information.
Comparing Your Web Site Host Test Results
Look at the response times and the answers you receive from each Web site host. Rate each of them on these items: timeliness, clarity,and friendliness. After you see which Web site host performs the best, you will be able to make a good choice for your first Web site host provider.
