Keeping Your Web Hosting Expectations Realistic

There was a comment posted recently on one of my other sites complaining about a certain web hosting company and how they were not helpful at all. The person commenting wrote that every time he asked for help, the web host would say he needed to purchase premium services. I tried to get more information on the situation and asked what specifically he was requesting—but I never got a response.

That got me to thinking a little more about what might be happening here. Look, I hate upselling as much as anyone. Fortunately, the web hosting companies I use do very little, if any, upselling of services. However, the above scenario does show that you definitely need to be aware of exactly what type of hosting plan you’re buying and just exactly what the package includes.

For example, if you’re purchasing a budget web hosting plan, don’t expect your web host to set up, build, and maintain your site for you. Similarly, if you get one of those starter or beginner plans, don’t be surprised if your hosting company requires you to pay more if you need special customization of your site. While there are a number of quality budget and starter hosting plans (you can read about some of them on our site), just keep in mind if you need custom work done on your website, or you need some extra hand holding as you get your site online, or you’d rather not be bothered with certain website maintenance tasks, then you probably want to consider some type of managed web hosting service.

I’ve found that any worthwhile web hosting company is more than willing to assist you if you contact their customer support. After all, they do want to keep your business. But again, while they can answer questions and assist you in certain areas, if you’re going to need custom or enhanced features, or major rework done on your site, be sure to consider your managed hosting options—or be prepared to spend a little more money.