Ten questions separate hosting providers, and the value is less in the answers than in how they are given. Specific answers with dates, figures, and names indicate a provider who has done the thing being described. General reassurance indicates one who has not, and the first real incident is when that difference becomes expensive.

How to use these

Ask in writing and keep the replies. Most of these have a correct answer, and all of them have a revealing one. A provider who answers all ten precisely is describing an operation. A provider who answers warmly and vaguely is describing a sales process.

The ten

1. How many restore points do you keep, and how far back?

Good: a specific number and range, with the copies held somewhere other than the server itself. Poor: "we back up nightly", which tells you that a compromise discovered three weeks late is unrecoverable.

2. When did you last restore a client site, and how long did it take?

Good: a recent example with a realistic duration, including how long before someone started. Poor: an inability to recall one, which usually means the restore path is theoretical.

3. Will my account have a dedicated IP address, and does email send from it?

Good: yes to both, or a clear explanation of the mail arrangement. Poor: yes to the first without addressing the second, which commonly means mail still leaves through a shared pool and the deliverability question is untouched.

4. Who is alerted if my site goes down at 2am on a Sunday?

Good: a named role that can act, with access already in place. Poor: "you would receive an email", which creates awareness without creating a response.

5. What does this renew at?

Good: the same figure, or a stated one. Poor: deflection. Introductory rates commonly multiply at renewal, and the increase arrives on an automatic annual charge nobody reviews.

6. What happens if I want to leave?

Good: you take the domain, the files, and the database, and they will assist with the handover. Poor: anything conditional. A provider comfortable with your departure is one who expects to be judged on the service.

7. Who is the registrant on my domain?

Good: your business, in your name, with a contact address you control. Poor: the provider, "for convenience". This is the most consequential single item on the list, because everything else can be rebuilt and a domain you do not hold cannot be recovered on your terms.

8. How do you tell me about maintenance, and when did you last do it?

Good: advance notice by a stated channel, with a recent example you can verify. Poor: no examples. Maintenance is usually excluded from uptime guarantees, so this is downtime you have agreed to in advance without being told.

9. What happens when my traffic spikes?

Good: a description of available headroom and what occurs at the limit. Poor: "unlimited", which is never true and means the limits are in the terms rather than on the pricing page. Your busiest fortnight is the moment this becomes real.

10. Who actually answers when I contact support, and what can they change?

Good: a person with server access who can make a change during the conversation. Poor: a ticket queue with a target response time, which is a promise to reply rather than a promise to fix.

Three answers that should end the conversation

What the pattern tells you

Read the ten replies together rather than individually. What you are assessing is whether this provider has operated through incidents or only sold through quiet periods.

Specific answers containing dates, durations, and named responsibilities come from people who have restored a site at an awkward hour and remember how long it took. Reassuring generalities come from a sales page. Both sound acceptable in a first conversation, and they diverge completely the first time something breaks.

Worth asking your current provider these as well. Most businesses have never asked, and the exercise frequently surfaces something worth knowing before it surfaces on its own. If the answers to questions six and seven are not what you expected, that is worth resolving now rather than during a move, and the reasoning is set out in who owns your website.

Frequently asked questions

What should I ask a hosting company before signing?

Restore points and range, when they last performed a restore, dedicated address including how mail sends, who is alerted overnight, the renewal price, what happens if you leave, who the domain registrant is, maintenance notification, behaviour at traffic spikes, and who answers support.

What is the most important hosting question?

Who the registrant on your domain is. Everything else can be rebuilt if a relationship ends badly, and a domain registered to someone else cannot be recovered on your terms.

Is unlimited hosting real?

No. Limits always exist and are described in the terms rather than on the pricing page. The practical effect is that you discover them when you exceed them, which tends to be during your busiest period.

How can I tell if a host's support is any good?

Ask who answers and what they can change. A person with server access who can act during the conversation is a different product from a ticket queue promising a response time, which is a commitment to reply rather than to fix.

Should I ask what happens if I want to leave?

Yes, before signing. A provider who explains the handover plainly expects to be judged on service. Conditional or evasive answers describe an arrangement built to be difficult to exit.

Should I ask my current host these questions?

It is worth doing. Most businesses never have, and the answers to the ownership and handover questions in particular often surface something better resolved now than during an incident.

West Coast Media Solutions Inc. provides web design, web development, hosting, digital marketing, and business consulting to organisations across Canada, drawing on more than twenty-five years in the field.

Want a provider who answers all ten?

Ask us any of these questions and you will get a specific answer, including the ones about what happens when you leave.

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