The Internet has finally arrived at your
office – maybe your company is in Malaysia or maybe
it is in England? Needless to say, your company is not located
in North America yet now you've got a web site that needs
a home on the Internet. Are you hosting needs the same as
those of North American businesses. Probably a good deal of
the key technical and feature requirements are identical however,
there are certain considerations that you should keep in mind
when looking for web hosting.
Payment Issues – Most developed countries
have been penetrated by a credit card system – which
is likely accepted by web hosts worldwide. Can your company
use a credit card to pay for hosting – if so, then this
probably isn't a major problem. However, if you must send
a business check, remember that sending payment to a web host
overseas can be expensive, not accepted by the web host, or
lengthy due to mailing delays.
Currency – What about your local currency,
is it accepted by the web host? The standard for hosting worldwide
is without question the US$. So even if your web host is in
Canada, Brazil, or France, expect the company to at least
offer services in US$ alongside your local currency. If you
do choose an overseas web host, are there possible currency
expenses you need to consider? Yes. If you are selecting a
high end hosting system costing several thousand dollars per
month - an exchange rate fluctuation could raise/lower your
hosting costs significantly.
Technical Support – What are the technical
support considerations for your company. Web hosting is an
important aspect of doing business online, and if you experience
technical difficulties with your website you will want to
get them fixed quickly. Does the hosting company offer technical
support in your local language (if English is not acceptable
to you?) What about hours of operation – remember that
9AM in your local time zone may not be 9AM where your web
host is. Most major web hosts in North America operate with
24/7 technical support – however, your company should
ask the host before signing with them.
Bandwidth Connections – While many
countries around the world are rapidly growing out their network
infrastructures, some of the most developed Internet-connections
are still in the United States. Does your country have the
bandwidth capacity to handle the potentially large volume
of traffic your web site could receive? If so, is it more
expense than if your web host was international? Aside from
this, check to see the speed of the equipment your local web
host is using vs. an international web host. Which company
offers the more powerful servers?
Keeping key issues in mind when analyzing
international web hosting companies is important. There are
advantages to choosing a local web host (eg. currency and
convenience) and a non-domestic host (eg. greater features
and Internet connection speeds). Ultimately, if you remember
to ask about some of the above factors, your company will
find a superior web host. Remember that whether your web site
resides in Europe, Asia, or North America, the method with
which you administer your site is likely to be the same.
There are a number of other resources at
HostIndex.com that might interest those examining International
web hosting:
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