What do you look for in a web host? A low price? Reliability and good support I hope. If you’re anything like today’s ambitious webmaster, you’re on the hunt for the best features. There’s a lot of programs and management tools available to make your site standout but I bet there are some features you pay no mind at all. Often overlooked but one should never forget about critical security features as they will help to keep your web hosting environment protected from an array of threats. Security features are abundant but here some you simply can’t do without:

SFTP

Short for Secure File Transfer Protocol, SFTP is more efficient and secure variation of FTP. In its purest form, FTP only has the ability to transfer files, leaving them vulnerable to a range of security breaches such as eavesdropping, tampering and even interception of the entire file. A web hosting company offering SFTP provides you with the ability to secure your files in transit with SSH (Secure Shell Host), a protocol that protects data with government recommended 128-bit encryption.

SSL

Secure Sockets Layer or SSL, should be incorporated on any website that sells products or services. SSL is a standard encryption protocol designed to keep internet communications secure. If a web hosting company doesn’t support a shared or private SSL certificate, you need to turn in the opposite direction and find yourself another provider.

Data Backups

Data backup and restoration is not only something that should be practiced with the files on your hard drive, but those on the web host’s server as well. All it takes is one technical difficulty or natural disaster for the web hosting company to lose a server and all of your website data. The good thing is that most providers perform redundant backups to ensure that your data can be restored in the event of a failure. To be on the safe side, I recommend looking into a web host that offers a utility that allows you to backup your own data.

Network Security

Aside from protecting your files and website transactions, you also need to keep an eye out for security features that protect the web hosting company’s network. Do a little research to learn how the web host is protecting their infrastructure, keeping in mind that intrusion detection systems, firewalls, DDoS protection, virus and spam filtering are common features. Servers are prime targets of hackers and malicious code writers so if the hardware is breached or goes down, your website will suffer right along with it.

These are just a few of numerous security features a web hosting company should offer to ensure the safety of your website data. Hackers are constantly trying to crack into web servers while malware writers are releasing new infectious strains everyday. A web host that doesn’t take this into mind is essentially leaving you wide open for exploitation.

One should consider the given below web hosting mistakes and should restrict them from having a seriously negative impact on his/her website.

Mistakes and solutions:

1. Contact Information

One should make sure that his/her web host has contact information available to user 24 hours / day and 7 days / week. This facility provided to the user should be in the form of phone numbers plus e-mail addresses that correspond to the web host domain name. The user should make sure that he/she is dealing with a real company that not only concern about there own business but also of user’s.

2. Excess Bandwidth

It is a serious problem faced by the user that while using a free or cheap quality web host there are more chances that he/she do not possess sufficient amount of bandwidth which could cause problems with user’s website in the later time. Even in the condition when user has to pay a little bit more amount of bucks, it is worth to gain further bandwidth. The user should inquire about this before signing up with a web host.

3. Liberal Disk Space

Several times it happens that user is in false happiness for finding a cheap or free web host and just signs up without even inquiring about the quantity of disk space they provide. A user should ask just one question to him/her, what he/she will do in circumstance when the disk space fills up? One should confirm that his/her host provides him/her liberal amount of disk space or not, if not one should look for an alternative (web host).

4. Web Host Domain Name

One should confirm that the company domain name that it matches with the web host company name or not prior to disclosing his/her credit card information or rather say hosting his/her website with them. On the Internet it is up to the user to choose whether a company is genuine or not, one should verify the domain and company name to locate a combination between them to sustain.

5. Protection

Inspite of the web host and website design, the user must ensure that he/she have secure websites for purchases where people will enter the banking or credit card information. There is no argument on the fact that, if one’s site does not appear to be secure, customers will definitely leave. One must get rid of such circumstances and must go to an extent of the limit to make customers feel secure and convinced buying from his/her own site.

6. Strategy Ahead

One should be prepared for the future and should give a thought in his/her mind about the websites growth. In absence of proper strategy one has to face some severe challenges if one outgrow his/her website, shopping cart, bandwidth etc too quickly. One should adopt a systematic plan for slow, medium, as well as fast growth so that one can remain aware about how to tackle challenges in every sort of situation.

7. Sluggish Server

One should confirm that his/her web page loads within 10 sec. for a 56 k modem. If not, then people will prefer to desert one’s site before the page ever opens rather than waiting. The reason behind it is that, people are looking for instant gratification on the Internet. How to provide information is user’s headache, if cannot the people (customer) will leave on the spot. There is no matter to compromise.

8. Blueprint

One should confirm that his/her host should permit him/her to design the site for ultimate success. Presence of too many policies or regulations regarding the site design will probably influence the sales and the way customers perceive one’s site then should look for another host. There is no scarcity of choices.

9. Checkout

One should prevent several formalities in the checkout process and should ensure that it should be in clear, simple, and to the point format. People prefer to buy their products without giving one a lump of private information. Let the customer do that or plainly make certain fields optional if one is attempting to carry out market research.

10. URL

If one wishes for an ideal reflection of one’s business and services he/she should possess own personal URL. One should not use a free host that provides him/her some kind of space using their URL with some further information at the end of the URL that directs it to him/her. There is no harm in loosing some of the bucks and getting one’s own URL that is unique, simple to process, and says something about one’s company. No doubt, it is going to be most crucial.