The Ocean Agency

Our web design agency offers web hosting, too– and we highly suggest that for any website, you have a quality host to back up your beautiful design. A good web hosting service is necessary, but maintaining a good relationship with your web host is extremely helpful as well. 

Smashing Magazine gives some great tips in this article about how to find the right web host and how to maintain a good relationship with that company. First of all, realize that the cheapest plan might not be the best deal, especially if you expect your website to grow. Things like hosting multiple domains or having daily backups might not be automatically included in a cheaper plan– check to make sure all of your necessary needs are reflected in your plan if you find a “steal” web hosting rate.

Similarly, the larger web hosting services may not be the best for you. While they are well known and generally trusted, they may not be as quick or consistent at customer service because of their many, many accounts. Using your web design company’s hosting provider can give you access to a much higher level of customer service, resulting in less downtime for your website over the years. 

Reputation, uptime and size are all significant things to consider. Good customer service may ease your experience over the years. Check out the other tips Smashing Magazine has, and make sure to put careful thought into choosing a web hosting provider at the beginning of or during your creative web design process. Most importantly, treat your contacts at the provider with the same respect you demand, and your resulting good relationship will prevent tons of headaches for you as your website grows.