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Many providers try to look as if they are a great value by repeatedly telling
you that there is no limit to certain resources that they provide. "Unlimited Files", or
"Unlimited Bandwidth" seems like a great value at the time, after all, where else can you
get an unlimited amount of something for a fixed price?
Well, the answer is you can't get that kind of deal anywhere. If you go to
a provider who will give you "all you can eat" bandwidth, and try to use a lot of bandwidth,
you will often end up with a huge excess bandwidth charge, or the provider will terminate
your account. The reason is that the account's bandwidth is unlimited "within reason".
Since "reason" is up to the provider, you will probably find out that what you consider
to be unlimited is actually very limited.
Disappearing Hosts, or "Why Can't I See My Website?"
One way a host can let you down is by not letting the world see your website.
There are many ways that a webhost can fail in their duty; their bandwidth provider can have
problems, their equipment can break down, they can have a power failure or fire in their
datacenter. The best hosts will have redundancies and plans in place for when such disasters
strike. The worst hosts will disappear, not take your calls, and your site will disappear
from the internet for the duration of the disaster.
A great webhost will usually have:
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Redundant links to the internet, provided by various companies
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Backup power, with a generator for use during long outages
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24 hour accessibility for customer support
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A money-back guarantee for some duration after account activation
Hosts Who Charge More Than They Claim
Some hosts will seem like a good deal, and will claim to charge a certain amount
per month or year, but will make errors and overcharge. This sometimes happens with hosts who
are rapidly growing, and find the need to change (or adopt) their billing or accounting software.
Some hosts will double-charge monthly fees due to accounting errors. Another big headache is
a bit more common with the bad hosts, which involves billing you for an account after you've
cancelled. Many hosts bill monthly, and if you cancel on day 5 of the billing month, then
you may often have to forfeit the remaining portion of that month's fees. Which is understandable,
although some hosts will refund this money, which is great. Some hosts will just keep on billing,
despite the fact that your account is closed and your webspace is gone. One way to prevent
this from happening is to pay using a credit card, and save copies of all correspondence with
your host. If your host happens to charge you after you cancel, then ask them for a refund.
If you don't get one within a reasonable amount of time, then you can dispute the charge
to your credit card company, who will generally strike the charge from your account, if
you can show that you cancelled.
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