Are the Largest Web Hosting Companies the Best Choice?

 

Smallest or Largest Hosting Company – Which is better?

When looking for a web, host should you select from the smallest or largest web hosting companies? This is a question a webmaster or owner of a website has to answer.

Both types of companies have their advantages and their disadvantages and in the end, your choice will depend on which host best provides you with the features you consider important for your business website.

What generally happens when a webmaster signs up for a hosting package is that he will, almost without thinking, go with the company he has heard the most about. This is done at the expense of the smaller or startup organizations in the hosting game.

This parallels what most shoppers do when choosing products to buy in a supermarket. Invariably they will select the brand name products over the store brands or the generic name products.

These choices are influenced by the fact that the larger hosting organizations are able to develop their brand more by using expensive promotions. They also have greater visibility and are generally thought of as being a more reliable and trusted organization. In addition, because of their sheer size, they hold a greater market share and overpower everyone else.

Their size, visibility, and money may put them in the forefront in the industry, but being the largest web hosting companies may not necessarily make them the best host for your particular website.

The big advantage that a smaller host has over a larger one is that to them, every single customer is very important and very much needed. This need translates to going the extra mile for the customer that signs up for their service, whereas with the larger companies, several hundred new signups may occur in a day, and so any one of them is not too important should he be dissatisfied with some aspect of service.

There are many qualities that may be considered typical for the large hosting company and typical for the small sized hosting company, but not all companies will fit into what is considered as typical for its size. What follows are some advantages and disadvantages of large and small hosting companies

Advantages of Large Hosts

  • Often provide a large selection of features
  • They are more likely to supply higher-quality equipment
  • Have the ability to hire more technical support staff
  • They have the advantage of being in the business for a long time and that gives confidence that they will be around for a long time

 

Disadvantages of Large Hosts

  • The larger host will not be as accommodating and willing to keep your business since they already have a large customer base, and one disgruntled customer may appear immaterial to them
  • They provide support that is less personal

Advantages of Small Hosts

  • These smaller companies may provide more specialized hosting, services and other related services
  • A client may be provided with a more personalized service when he contacts his support team for assistance
  • The host may be more accommodating to its clients than would normally be possible in a larger organization

 

Disadvantages of Small Hosts

  • The host may not provide as many features as a larger company and may not be able to facilitate the  needs of a growing website
  • Technical support staff may not be available round the clock as in most established companies
  • The host has not yet developed a reputation and may possibly fail in its first few years of operation

The choice between the smallest or largest web hosting companies may be made differently by different clients depending on the needs of their websites and also on the experience level of the webmaster. There are however, very distinct advantages and disadvantages for each type of company that may vary from being more personable as in the smaller company to being more distant and in-personable as with the larger organizations.

If you are new to website design and maintenance you may need and appreciate the more personable assistance of the smaller company, but the well experienced webmaster may choose the larger company whose close attention to his business is not required.

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