As hard as you may try, your website is prone to errors; it will at one time or another crash. You should seek consolation in the fact that it happens to everyone – even the biggest tech companies in the world have had their sites stop working. In some instances they were down for days.
But there is a difference between having your site taken down by hackers (over which you have almost no control, since they are getting craftier by the day) and it being the fault of your hosting provider.
Hosting providers are expected to provide services that are uninterruptable. They are expected to have redundancy strategies that ensure if one (or a couple) of their servers go down, your site will still be accessible from another one.
And yet, there are times when nothing can be done about it – things simply go wrong. Here are some things that can go wrong:
Updates
Every tech company, from Microsoft downwards, insists that you always keep your hard- and software updated. They recommend their updates as a way of ensuring you are well protected against a newly discovered threat (or exploit) or so that you will experience better service and/or features.
Sometimes, things go wrong. The updates that are supposed to enhance your website’s performance will result in a nightmare that you can’t seem to wake up from.
WordPress, one of the most popular blogging tools, allows developers to write and create apps for its platform. A majority of them work well and have millions of users. But sometimes, one or two of them pass their testing process (with great results) and yet, when applied in the real world, result in online disasters: admins being locked out of their own accounts, websites crashing (or appearing like a hurricane ran across the page) or total meltdowns that can only be fixed by building everything from the ground up.
Therefore, if your website is working fine, fight the temptation to add new features and gadgets to it. Just because a new app has been advertized doesn’t mean you have to own it. And if you do want to add it, make sure you test it on a dummy site before applying it on your live one.
Incompetent Tools and Features
One great advantage your webhosting provider should give you is access to great tools and features. There are site building tools out there that literally create your site from the ground up and within a matter of minutes. You can have a fully-functioning e-commerce site by just clicking a dozen times.
If you don’t have that kind of flexibility or your hosting provider offers you sub-par tools that deliver flimsy end-products, then you are probably going to need to move on to a new hosting provider.
Don’t settle for anything less than perfection – and once you have it, don’t let them bully you into making you think it can get better because, “If it ain’t broke…”
Terms of Use and Policies
One thing we are all guilty of is clicking on the “I have read and agreed…” button that sits under lengthy terms and conditions pages. Anyone that says they have read [and clearly understood] it all is probably telling a fib or has a law degree.
While most hosting providers simply put the “behave and no issues should arise” document that are generally safe, there are a few hosting providers who like to put in small-prints that catch users unawares.
A simple overstep by a website owner is generally overlooked (or just raises the need of a “watch out…behave… or else” email). But some of them might take it overboard and decide you are no longer worthy of their service, shut down your site and keep your money.
Therefore, if you are selecting a provider for your business website, make sure you read the terms and conditions before you click on “Agree” – better yet, find someone who can decode legalese and let them go through it and agree for you.
False Advertizing and Marketing
Business is competitive and desperate website hosting providers will try any gimmick to try to get new clients to sign up for their services. The usual way they bait and reel in their unassuming customers is by rolling out a false (or not true) marketing campaign that promises everything but delivers next to nothing.
Most website owners don’t take the time to study their choice of hosting providers. They simply opt for the one that has the most positive reviews or the one with the loudest voice (usually in the form of the flashiest ads).
Things work well for a while. But then limits are reached or promised extra features aren’t made available and the site owners realize that all the promises that were made, were in fact subject to conditions (which are usually met by paying more money).
Again, make sure you know what you are getting into before you sign on the dotted line and don’t believe everything they tell you – make use of testing periods and play around with the hosting packages they have on offer before becoming their client.
Finally, always know that if you are not happy with your hosting provider, you should make a move to one that will deliver. Don’t hesitate (and hence put your business at risk) to look for better solutions.
