Monitor Your Web Site for Downtime

For those in the Internet business the availability of their web site is a major concern. The cost of downtime for web businesses can amount to $10,000 an hour. And this is without counting the losses caused by missed opportunities and lost sales. Losses in image and credibility these businesses suffer because eventual downtime is even harder to quantify.

Many of today's web hosting providers offer 99% uptime for their web servers. If you have already chosen one or if you are planning to use one with such a high uptime should you be concerned on the whole matter anyway?

Let's see how much 99% uptime means. For a 30-day month you have a total of 720 hours. 99% of this is 712.8 hours. Are you comfortable with your web site taking a day off every month? And this if 99% uptime happens. Can your web hosting provider back up its uptime promises with real facts? How can you tell that?

For companies making business online it might seem a good idea to move their Internet operations in-house. They develop their own infrastructure, hire specialized personnel, only to keep their business online. The cost of such an enterprise would seem rather high for the ones seasoned in the Internet business. Why? Because of the high cost implied: around $20,000 a year, without even thinking of the logistical burden.

The best way to avoid that while ensuring your business is online is to have monitoring reports available on your web host's uptime.

For companies or individuals having their web hosting providers monitored by a third party is a guarantee not only that their money is well spent, but also, an most importantly, that their Internet business is up and running.

Having their services monitored by a third party is beneficial even for the web hosting providers. That is serious web hosting providers. Offering reports of their uptime monitored by a third party and placing links to them on their home page is bound to boost the confidence of existing customers as well as the one of the prospecting customers in the quality of service that host is providing for its customers.

This is a not only a great marketing tool, but also translates to very good customer relationship. This is vital to web hosting providers as the cost of attracting a new customer is from 5 to 10 times higher than the cost of retaining an existing customer.

Having monitoring reports, even better if they are provided by a third party, available on the host's web site is sure to reduce the burden on the technical support center. Many calls to technical support centers from customers regard dial-up problems such as slow connection, download times, web site accessibility or various computer issues that are often related to the personal computer of the customer rather than are problems on the host's side. This is why the number of calls to the tech support center could be reduced up to a third simply by posting the monitoring reports on the hosting provider's web site or by simply providing a link to them.

As shown above, when talking about downtime problems the stakes are high in the Internet business. Disputes regarding the uptime will never be missing between the web hosting provider and its customers, and their resolution is almost every time a delicate issue. This is why independent monitoring provided by a third party can make the resolution of these disputes much easier for the conflicting parties.

Having a web host that provides monitoring of its uptime by a third party is the best guarantee that you can get for your web site's uptime. With such level of service you can be sure that the money you are spending for your web presence can give your or your company the best return of investment.

Calin Indre is editor at HostPinPin (http://www.hostpinpin.com ), a Cheap Web Hosting Directory. HostPinPin.com is a resource for webmasters and consumers looking to find a web hosting company. Providing web hosting articles, tips, web hosting reviews, compare web hosting plans, free web hosting guide, free hosting quote, web hosting glossary and more.

This article may be reprinted or published without the authors consent as long as the "About" and "weblinks" are kept intact.

---

The Problem With Web Hosting Today

When it comes to web hosting, the quality of the... Read More

Free or Paid Web Hosting?

Just finished your first website? So it's the time to... Read More

Avoiding Bad Web Hosts

The Internet represents the most powerful communication revolution since the... Read More

Unique Features that Leading Web Hosts are Now Offering

Some web hosts are offering more than others for the... Read More

The Top 10 Essential Ingredients of Every Linux Hosting Plan (Package)

Any website comprises the following ? Domain name, Webspace, Webpages.Lets... Read More

Choosing the Right Web Host

Whatever type of website you want to host, choosing the... Read More

Where to Get Cheap Web Hosting

First, to see if you can use cheap web hosting... Read More

Demand Unlimited Auto-Responders with Your Hosting Accounting

AutoResponders are nifty scripts that run in your web server... Read More

Handling Your Email Addresses

--Company Email Addresses--Web hosting companies should provide company email accounts... Read More

Dedicated Web Hosting Is Easy When You Know These 3 Timesaving Secrets

Dedicated web hosting has its difficulties and problems from time... Read More

4 Critical Things To Look Out For In A Web Hosting Service

1. The reputation of the web hosting company.Most web hosting... Read More

Website Sitebuilders: Easy to use Website builders Come with a Price

Professional web designers don't come cheap. A good web designer... Read More

How to Choose a Web Host - Frequently Asked Questions

In this article you'll be provided with helpful information about... Read More

Reseller Hosting: The Good and The Bad!

Reseller webhosting can be a great way to earn some... Read More

Five Quick Ways to Determine One Hosting Company From Another

These days, web hosting companies are popping up faster than... Read More

Dedicated Web Hosting Explained

Why is dedicated hosting such a big hit on the... Read More

4 Tips to Find the Web Host That?s Right For You

Choosing to make a web site is a very big... Read More

What Some Web Hosts Dont Want You To Know

Many start-up web hosts in their desperate attempt to get... Read More

The #1 Factor New Webmasters Forget to Consider when Choosing a Web Hosting Plan

The ProblemToo often new webmasters sign-up with the first good... Read More

Great Web Hosting - What to Look For!

Web hosting can best be described as a modern-day marriage:... Read More

Web Hosting - How To Choose The Right Provider For You

Thousands of companies, tens of thousands of different plans and... Read More

CHMOD - Undertanding File Permissions on a Unix-Based Server

The basic command for changing file permissions in unix based... Read More

How to Find a Dependable Web Host

Your new website is ready to upload, and now you... Read More

How You Pay More for Unused Web Space and Traffic

"2GB web space with 50GB traffic for $5.95 per month!"A... Read More

Configuring DynDNS.org in Linux via DDClient

Most Internet service providers do not give you static IP... Read More

The Perfect Support

Hosting Support ? An IntroductionImagine yourself as a person running... Read More

7 Key Ingredients for Rock Solid Website Hosting

Every website needs a great web host, however when you... Read More

Free Web Hosting - Why Might It Be A Bad Idea

When talking about free anything the legitimate question that first... Read More

Nine Things To Know Before Selecting The Web Host For Your Business

It may seem simple yet it is often times overlooked.... Read More

Web Hosting Providers - Find A Newbie Friendly Web Site Host

If you're about to set up your first web site... Read More

Thinking About Changing to a New Web Hosting Company? 5 Steps to Plan Ahead for the Move

Perhaps your web hosting company has a technical support group... Read More

Multiple Website Hosting - Subdomains are the Answer!

Many business owners find themselves in a quandary over the... Read More

Finding a Reliable Host

Finding reliable hosting for your business opportunity is no small... Read More