Some web hosting companies claim 100% uptime with their services. While this is technically possible given a small enough time frame, there is no way for a hosting company to be certain they will have 100% uptime for the duration of a server’s life.

The opposite of uptime is downtime. This is the amount of time a server is offline. Downtime can be attributed to server maintenance, technical failures at the datacenter of the hosting company, or to DDoS attacks on the hosting server.

Downtime is calculated by looking a the uptime claims of a web hosting company. For example, over the course of one year, a host that guarantees 99.9% up time will have 8 hours and 46 minutes of downtime. This can be calculated by taking the amount of hours in a year (8760) and multiplying it by the difference of 100% and the claimed amount of uptime (1.00 – .999 = .001).

When searching for web hosting, always be sure your potential host has an acceptable amount of uptime (99% or higher). This will not only keep you happy, but it will keep your visitors happy as well.

• Try to keep your domain name on the short side. This can be difficult since many short domains are already registered.
• Limit the number of words in your domain to a maximum of 3 or 4.
• Be sure to register all other TLDs (.net, .org, .biz, etc.) for your domain and have them redirect to your main site.
• Avoid using hyphenated domain names. While it can be good, in theory, for search engine rankings, it will take away from the overall branding value of your site. Hyphenated domains can also send visitors away from your site, as they might automatically type the URL in without the hyphens when thinking of your domain.
• Make it easy to remember. This applies to the spelling of your domain as well. People will remember “DedicatedServerNews.com” much more easily than “DedictdSrvrNwz.com”.
• Millions of registered domains are deleted each day. If the domain name you want is taken, try out a service like DeletedDomains.com to see if it has been recently deleted or put on-hold.
• Check out domain auction sites like DomainersEdge.com to see if there are any domains up for sale that would fit with what you are looking for.

The domain name is the one of the most basic parts of your website, but it is also one of the most important. Take care in selecting the right domain name for your site or company, as it can have a lasting effect, both good and bad, now and in the future.

Overselling is when a hosting company sells more disk space and bandwidth on a server than actually exists. For example, say the server is oversold by only 50GB of storage/bandwidth. Overselling is not really an issue here since the amount is small and most sites on the server aren’t using all of their allocated resources. However, say the server is oversold by 1000GB of storage/bandwidth. This situation can cause the server to have performance issues and even go offline if enough sites are using their allocated resources.

So what are the best ways to protect yourself from overselling? First, you can research potential hosting companies at Web Hosting Talk. The user base there is very knowledgeable and has years of experience in the web hosting industry. Second, beware of very low prices when looking for web hosting services. If you come across a deal that says you can have 50GB of storage and 100GB of bandwidth for only $1/month, then the deal is probably too good to be true and the host is engaging in overselling to lure in masses of customers. This is not always the case, but is a good guideline to follow.

Always do your research before signing up for web hosting services. In the end, you’ll be glad you did, even if you end up paying more for better service.

• Wait until you have received at least two quotes. This way you will be able to compare and see which hosting proposal is best suited to your needs and budget.

• Create a comparison spreadsheet with all of the features that you would like. Enter the information from each proposal you receive to visualize which one meets your specific price and requirements.

• Decide what is more important: price or features. One quote may have the better price, but another may have the features you need. Even if it’s more, always go with the feature rich quote as you will be more satisfied and have fewer complications in the long run.

• Take your time deciding which quote to go with. Contacts at hosting companies may be on holiday and get back to you with a fantastic quote later than expected.

After you choose the host that offers you the best deal for what you need, be sure to keep the other quotes handy for future reference. You never know when you may need a new host again!

• Make sure you fill in all of your contact information. It is understandable that you may have privacy concerns, but rest assured your information is safe. We will NEVER provide your personal information to any outside third party for any purpose.
• Complete all of the hosting requirements in the form. Not only will this help you get the most accurate web hosting quotes, but it will also speed up the process of receiving your quotes. Incomplete forms must be manually approved by an administrator, which can lengthen the time between form completion and quote reception.
• Check your spam box for quotes. Sometimes hosting quotes are accidentally marked as spam. Make sure you do this if you haven’t received a quote a day after submitting the form.
• Select the appropriate hosting category for your need. Chances are you wouldn’t need a dedicated server for your personal blog. By selecting the appropriate category you are assured that you will receive your quotes in a timely manner. If you have doubts about the type of hosting you need, we provide a multitude of examples on the home page that take you directly to the correct form for the type of hosting required.

Following these tips will allow you to get timely, accurate quotes from our web hosting partners and will also allow you to get the best price that fits your budget.