Does your web hosting provider claim to include a 99.9 percent up-time guarantee with your hosting package? If so, are they holding up to that promise, or are they providing sub-standard service?

1. Use Website Monitoring Services to Keep
Your Hosting Provider in Check

2. Does your web hosting provider claim to include a 99.9
percent up-time guarantee with your hosting package?
If so, are they holding up to that promise, or are they
providing sub-standard service? Furthermore, how do
you really know the answer to these questions? If you
want to know if your hosting provider’s up-time
promise is being kept, you need to know exactly how
much downtime your site is experiencing and the
reason for any downtime that occurs. The only real way
to accomplish these tasks is with a quality website
monitoring service.

3. Understanding Your Web Host’s Up-time Guarantee
and Why It Doesn’t Really Matter
Your host may very well have a 99.9 percent up-time
guarantee in place. Before you assume this means that
your site is going to be up 99.9 percent of the time or
more, there are some things you need to understand.
First and foremost, that guarantee you are being given
only holds true for unplanned downtime. If your web
host decides to take your site offline for two days (or
more) for “maintenance” or “upgrade” reasons, that’s
your loss and they aren’t going to do a thing to
compensate you for it.

4. Another thing you must realize is that the guarantee
these hosting providers offer does not protect your
website’s profits. Your web host will not reimburse you
for lost sales caused by excessive downtime. They will
not compensate you for damage to your site’s search
engine rankings or your site’s reputation. They will only
reimburse you for the amount you paid for hosting
during the time your site was down above and beyond
the guaranteed amount, which usually equates to a few
dollars or even just a few cents.

5. Even then, you have to request such reimbursement.
This means that you have to know exactly how often
your site was down and have verifiable proof. This is
where a quality website monitoring service can come
into play, providing you with the proof you need to
show your hosting provider that you know exactly
when and how often your site went down due to both
planned and unplanned downtime.

6. Deciphering the Root of the Problem
With website monitoring service in place, you can
determine whether or not your site is experiencing
unacceptable levels of website downtime and if so,
what is causing it. If it’s because your site is running
out of bandwidth mid-month, you may need to upgrade
to a bigger and better hosting plan. If, however, your
hosting provider is to blame for your site’s unusually-
high downtime levels, you may need to take your web
host to task and call them out on the issue. If they
cannot compensate you and rectify the situation
accordingly, it may be time to look for a more reliable
hosting company.

7. Don’t Let Your Hosting Provider Hurt Your
Company’s Profits
The bottom line is that each minute of website
downtime that your site incurs equates to profits lost. If
your hosting provider is causing you to lose profits by
not providing you with the level of quality you
expected when you paid for the plan, it is time to
consider your options. You may want to consider
changing to a dedicated server or changing hosting
providers altogether.

8. However, you absolutely must have website monitoring
service in place to determine how often your site is
going down, what your up-time percentage is, and the
root cause of your downtime woes. Without a website
monitoring service in place, managing and minimizing
downtime (and holding your web host accountable if
necessary) is akin to navigating a ship in the dark
without a compass. A quality website monitoring
service will serve as your navigation through your
website’s downtime issues when they occur.

9. Alertra is a leading provider of website monitoring and
alerting services. We monitor the availability and
performance of Internet-connected devices. As part of
our website monitoring service, we provide timely alert
notifications and access to detailed reporting. We offer
monitoring service to all sizes of businesses right from
small businesses to Fortune 500 companies. Visit us at
http://www.alertra.com for detailed information on our
web monitoring services.