I often hear people say that when it comes to website hosting in Australia, the website hosting company you choose doesn’t matter, which always raises my eyebrows a little I must confess. The premise of the statement seems to be that a website looks the same wherever it is hosted, so as long as the price is right nothing else has any effect.

I’m not sure whether this is born out of ignorance, or someone is just lucky to not have suffered from hosting problems, but for me when I’m looking for business website hosting, I’m bothered about far more than just the price. The hosting plans overall cost is obviously something you should consider, and in today’s economy will probably consider one of the most important aspects, but there are other things you need to take into consideration.

In essence, the premise that the website looks the same wherever it is hosted is essentially true, as long as it’s all working correctly. Of course if something has gone wrong, and faults can appear in even the best hosting system, then your site may not look as good as it would on another hosting platform. It is here that the important differences between website hosting companies will become evident.

The support provided by your hosting company only really matters when something’s gone wrong, but having that personalised support available 24/7 whenever you need it, staffed by competent and knowledgeable people who can assist you through whatever issues you are having on is as vital a component of your hosting plan as the overall cost, because eventually, your site will need some support, and if that is not up to scratch, you could be left with a non-functioning website costing you a large amount of revenue and goodwill while issues are slowly sorted.

Personalised support that understands your needs and expectations can make all the difference when you need it most. A support system that allows you to not only understand the issues but develop solutions quickly and without fuss can save untold time, lost sales and man-hours in dealing with your website’s functionality.

When assessing website hosting plans, it is important to take into consideration the kind of support that is offered in the package. You want to ensure that your chosen website hosting company offers full 24/7 support, that wait times are minimal to avoid spending hours on hold, support is in-house and not at the whim of external subcontractors so you can be sure of what you’re getting, and that the support staff are knowledgeable and able to offer suitable advice and solutions for problems that you may encounter.

Not all hosting is equal, no matter what people may try to say, and when assessing the website hosting company it is important to consider what they offer when things go wrong just as much as what they offer when things are going well. We next considering your business website hosting, remember to factor in the quality and availability of personalised support when making your choice.