What to look for when choosing a DNS (Domain Name System) provider

When choosing a DNS provider you need to evaluate:

Customer care and support

Look into the customer care provided as the speed and reliability of the DNS provider's support is essential. Call up the web host and ask to speak to a technical engineer, and make sure that they offer one point of contact for sales, and technical advice, even have a read around the forums.

Services and payment options

Look into the flexibility of the services and payment options they provide. The managed services they supply should be various and you should be able to pick the ones that suit your needs. Also you may prefer monthly, quarterly or yearly and should get a discount for paying upfront for longer periods.

Connectivity

Your managed server needs fast and reliable connectivity, with no single point of failure. It is important to know where the provider is located as this can determine the connectivity.

Find out what their network uptime is, and have a look into their SLA (Service Level Guarantee) to see that this has been guaranteed, and what happens if there is any down-time.

Data centre location

Find out where the data centres of the hosting provider are located. Hosting companies should have multiple data centres with high-grade bandwidth and a track record of 100% availability. Plus it's essential you choose a host that is 100% UK based, with Google providing most of the traffic to sites in the UK.

Prices

In this industry you tend to get what you pay for, so shop around to find out what the dedicated managed server providers are offering and for what price. It is worth spending extra if you want to turn your website into a money-maker, as the money you make in return can most certainly justify your cost.

Reputation

In the web hosting industry, reputation is extremely important. Do your research into the reputation of the dedicated managed server providers and see what the reviews say. Have a look at the awards the ISP's have won, as they tend to advertise these.

Security of data

The physical security of your server is your provider's responsibility. This means that no one should be able to walk into the data centre of the provider and walk out with your server or data.

Click here to find out about DNS providers or request more information online.