Monday, November 15, 2010

The Help Desk For Website Hosts

By Jayne Apaporte

When selecting a web host it is important to consider what kind of technical support that they offer. If it is only a online chat support then this may not be what you want. If you want to be able to speak to someone when you are having a problem then find a host that offers over the phone technical support. The host companies that often have a help Desk that is virtual are doing so in an attempt to keep costs lower. This means that if you do want phone support you may have to pay more to the host per month in your hosting fees.

If your website has crashed and you can not figure it out then you will go to your provider. If this is a network wide issue then you probably won't be able to get help if they only use an online chat support. Often times, these chats are only run by one person. If they get a lot of requests at once they have to be put into a queue. With too many users at one time, those requests will not be met in a reasonable amount of time.

Some of the programs that are used by web hosting companies are not supported by the company. Even though they offer the software they do not have to help you with it should any errors arise. The host usually wants to remove themselves from any liability of a software causing damage to any of their client's computers.

Many website hosts offer a free web page building utility. This is often just offered and not supported. This is because they have either purchased the program and many licenses or they might have a partnership with the developer. Unless your host company has built their own program, you will be left on your own if you run into a problem. If help is not available then there may be some technical documents on the internet that could help you.

Most documentation for older programs will no longer exist. If you feel that this would be a problem then it might be a good idea to get a page building program at a retail store. This way, if you do have any problems, then you know you can get help in more than one place. The first place would be the technical support department. The other would be that, if it is new software, there should be a manual with instructions for the software.

With newer software, it will be easier to find help. There will most likely be community bulletin boards with user provided assistance. Some people will often go as far as making a tutorial for other users of the program.

Making the decision of what host to go with, consider what you are paying for. If you are paying one dollar less each month but not getting phone support then it may not be worth it. These services might raised the monthly cost, but it may be worth the price increase.

There is something very comforting when we need help and make a phone call to a help desk. We are able to speak to another human and not some machine. It can be particularly annoying to have to read and type to an online virtual tech person. This can be because sometimes it might not be easily explainable in typed words.

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