Finding a better website host

I am developing a website to sell things. The current web host company is based overseas. While I can put up with slightly slower access, that company is having constant server problems. I am afraid my own site will be unusable when it's ready, if customers can't see the products for sale, and of course I don't want that to happen. So there are two issues: one, to find a more reliable website host, preferably in Hong Kong; and two, to be certain I can actually relocate the website and all the work done so far. By the way this uses something called "DotNetNuke" format.


Hope someone sees what I mean and could suggest a company in HK that possibly could help me manage this transition. One other question is whether a website-in-progress can be backed up by me at home in such a way that if something happens to the host server at least the part that is backed up would be safe. Like an external hard drive??


Thanks in advance for advice ... Goloh

Actually,I'm in a Network company,who is providing Webhosting and relocation services in Beijing. But I don't think it's hard to find a local provider in Hong Kong! Good luck,Man!

Hi Goloh,


I can see what you mean and there is quite a number of hosting companies here in HK, some of whom I had personal experience to various degrees. By been overseas you shouldn't have to put up with slower access, in fact I have seen sites running in HK that appear a lot slower than sites in US which I usually use for hosting.


One question you may have to ask yourself is where is my target buyers. If they are in Europe do I want to host my website in HK or should I base with a European host to have max speed. But in my own experience nowadays websites load fast no matter where, if the hosting co uses decent equipment, and keep them up to date.


Speed of course isn't everything. Level of support is also another critical factor, if I send an pre-sales email to a company and takes them 2 days to reply, they don't get my business. A good indication of the company's commitment to their users in my view is how open they are about it. For instance do they have a support forum available to all? The postings in there will give you a pretty good indication on what really goes on "under the hood"


About your other question about backups, you should be able to take "snapshots" of your site at any time. A lot depends on your host's setup and control panel you have access to, but with an FTP you should be able to copy all files and folders to your local hard disk. Then you will need to find a way to also backup any data in any databases you use.


I guess the trickiest part to answer is whether you would be able to migrate the DotNetNuke to another host. This would depend on which build of it you use, whether it was custom build for the current hosting company and so on.


You can drop me an email on info@itexpertsnet.com if you need any further advise.

Greatly appreciate those of you who have replied on the site or through PM with suggestions. I'll take it all to heart and see what can be done. One point, yes, these days it should not really matter where the host is, and while the current host answers e-mails quickly, it's always to say "everything is fine, what's your problem?" and that kind of answer is worse than nothing. They must have a public forum--they're big--and I just need to find it. In any event, qspinos and others, thanks and let me see what I can do now.

Many thanks for the info.

~Goloh