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In our article, "Top 10 Tips Before Choosing a Web Host," Tip #8
was to send your prospective host a test email as one of the final steps to take
before committing to, and placing and order with, your new web hosting
partner.
The sample letter below is meant to serve as a template, or guide,
for your email to the Web Hosts in your final short list of prospective Web
Hosts. There are scores and scores of questions that you could ask them in order
to assess their levels of competence and service, so we strongly suggest that
you pick only the most relevant questions according to your needs and delete the
questions that you already know the answer to, or those that are answered on the
respective Web Hosts` websites.
You are much more likely to get a proper response if it appears
that your questions are genuine and you have already taken the time to look for
the answers yourself.
So, take a few minutes and modify the letter below, or pick and
choose the questions as necessary and appropriate for each host you are
emailing. You will probably have a few other questions of your own as well. Be
sure to note their response times and level of interest in having you as a
client, then, weigh all your research and information, and make your decision.
Good luck.
Dear [Name of Web Host],
Hello. I am writing to inquire further into some questions I still
have after reviewing your informative website. I am looking for a web hosting
solution for [describe your website or company here]. I am particularly
concerned about having a Web Host that can handle [list your specific needs
here] and hope your company will be able to meet my needs. I am about to make a
decision on which Web Host to go with and sincerely hope it will be you.
Given the requirements and site description I mentioned above, I
would appreciate your answers to the following questions:
- Could you please spell out all initial fees I must pay to setup my site?
What are the different term lengths I can sign up for, and what discounts do you
offer for longer time periods?
- Can you please inform me of any guarantees or trial periods you have?
Exactly what is your refund policy in these cases; i.e., partial or total refund
of all or selected payments?
- I would like to visit and contact several websites currently hosted by you.
Could you please kindly send me the names of a few of these?
- Could you please give me an idea of how long it will take from the time of
my order until the site is ready to go?
- Please tell me about your Customer Service and Technical Support
departments; specifically the hours they can be reached, if they are available
24/7; if there is a limit to support requests; and what the average response
time is that I can expect from them?
- Can I call and talk with someone there? If yes, is it a toll-free or local
call? [Toll-free calls are relatively rare for low-cost Web Hosting companies,
so you may end up having to use a long-distance number, but that`s better than
nothing. By the way, some companies will charge you for phone support. This may
influence some of your decisions to go with a Web Host near you, if possible.]
- I am not sure what kind of Domain (or Admin) Control Panel you provide to
your clients to administer their sites? Can you please point me towards a demo
of this and tell me exactly what I can and cannot administer myself?
- Can I change my account passwords and emails myself or must I go through you
every time?
- How much does it cost to host multiple domain names? [If you have more than
one domain name, you can have them all point to the same website. For instance,
you might have one domain name for your company and other domain names that you
are using to promote some products. There are different ways to organize this.
All the domains can point to the same directory, or you can have separate
directories for each domain. There are different ways to charge, too. You may be
allowed two domains for free, for example, with an additional fee for any extra
domains. Or, maybe you`ll pay an additional fee for all extra domains. If you
need this feature, ask.]
- I notice that some sites work without "http://www." having to be typed into
the browser before the domain name. Do your sites function this way?
- The site must absolutely be registered in my name. Do you have any problem
with this? What is your policy and procedures on domain registrations and
transfers? Do you handle them, and if so, how long do they typically take?
- Do you have any requirements for me to place anything on my pages in
addition to my own content? If so, what are they?
- Can you please tell me about the server I will be on? What type of hardware
is it, and what Operating System and version are you running on it?
- Do you have Microsoft FrontPage server extensions? [For those using
Microsoft FrontPage.]
- Will I have 24 hour FTP and Telnet access? Will I have anonymous FTP?
- Will the IP number assigned to my website be mine alone, or is it shared
with someone else?
- How many other sites will I be sharing a server with, roughly? How do you
decide the maximum carrying capacity of any given server?
- What are your limits for traffic, bandwidth, or number of hits; and what are
the penalties, if any, for exceeding these? [Some companies charge you for the
number of hits - the number of times someone transfers one of your pages to
their browser. Others charge according to the amount of data transferred from
your website. Either way, the busier your site, the more you`ll be charged under
these pricing schedules, if applicable. Other Web Hosts have no limit.]
- Do you host any adult sites? Can I be sure that I will not be sharing a
server with an adult site? [Adult sites tend to require substantial resources
that would affect the performance of the server and your website.]
- What are your policies regarding mailing lists? How many can I have with how
many addresses per mailing list?
- Regarding email accounts, I notice that you provide [X] email accounts. What
would it cost to get more? Does this apply to Aliases or Forwardings as well?
- What about SMTP? Can I use my domain as my own SMTP server or must I go
through another ISP to do this? I travel a lot and need my own SMTP server, if
possible. [For those who do travel regularly.]
- Do you offer a "catch-all" account so that when people email me incorrectly
@ my domain name.com, I will still get it?
- What are your policies and procedures regarding SPAM and junk mail? Are you
aggressively protecting your clients against this unwanted intrusion?
- Can you please send me a copy of your Terms of Service?
- What statistics packages do you offer your clients free of charge? Are other
packages available? Can I view some samples of them? Can I access my raw log
files?
- What e-commerce options do you offer, and at what cost? Can I upgrade later,
and at what cost?
- Is there a limit to the number of CGI scripts I can install? Can I run them
outside the CGI directory? Can I debug any CGIs on the server? What version of
Perl do you use and does it contain a full set of modules?
- I would like to know a bit more about your company if you don`t mind. For
example, where are you located? How long have you been in business?
Approximately how many clients do you have? What are your future plans? Any
other information you can provide about yourself would be greatly appreciated.
I am just about to make what is to me a very important decision:
Which Web Host should I choose? I`d like to know what you feel is special about
your company, and why I would be better off going with you than one of your
competitors? Any comments in this regard would be very helpful for me in making
my final decision.
I appreciate your time and consideration with respect to the
questions above and I look forward to hearing from you soon.
Many thanks and best regards,
[Your name, position, signature, etc.]
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