Technical Support – Web Hosting Resources

A website is hosted in anticipation that it will run smoothly and never encounter any problem but this supposition hardly materializes. On one or two occasions, we may need to contact our web hosts about a problem on our site. We may want to alert the techies of a problem they may not have noticed. At other times, we may want a service that is not listed at their website or we would want to find out about a feature. All of these activities require contact with the hosting service provider.

Technical support or simply put, how well organizations address the problems and concerns of their clients, is therefore crucial for every website owner. You must therefore choose a company that will offer excellent customer service and address your needs quickly.

Choose a web host that offers 24/7 support. Stay away from hosts that offer only week day support for you can encounter problems or need help over the weekends as well.

Your web host must offer their clients several methods of support. They should provide phone lines, online chat, knowledgebase, emails and bulletin boards. A company may not necessarily offer all of these methods of communication but the fact remains that the more contact mean the site offers, the more responsive they can be to their clients.


Figure 10. A web host provides alternate means of contact and support

You will need to ascertain any claim that the site makes concerning the efficiency of their support services. Send them emails and see how long they take to respond. Try to make a call and determine for yourself if the agent is cooperative, understanding and patient. You will also have to find out about the competence of the support staff. Many a time web hosts just employ people who are more sales inclined than technical. You need people to help you solve your problems.

Lastly, find out what others are saying about their service. You can visit sites that review web hosts and see what others have written about then. You can also visit forums and then read about user posts. Be careful about these types of verifications. A review site can sabotage a hosting provider with a poor rating or a staff or affiliate can deceive website owners into signing up with an affiliated company with claims that are untrue.

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