Let down by hosting server, is this normal?

We are a small business and are very heavily reliant on internet and e-mail traffic on a daily basis.

Our website and e-mail has been down for the second day today and it doesn't look like it will be up again before close of business today.

Is this normal that hosting servers experience problems from time to time and have to shut down?

Our business depends on our quick response to clients and we're just devastated that we haven't been able to function for 2 days. We have also placed various internet and print media advertising with the emphasis of the ad being to visit our website for more information - we look as though we've gone out of buisness as it just says the link is broken!

We've been with the hoster since April and this is the first time the server has gone down. Should we switch to a more reliable hosting company or is this a normal occurrence with all of them?

Yes it happens but not a lot. What service levels are in your contract? e.g. does it gaurantee 99.99% uptime and what happens if the hosting company don't acheive that? Do you get a refund of some sort.

If you are so reliant on this you really need to pay attention to the terms and conditions of your hosting agreement. They can differ a good bit from one company to the other...

You should also review your data backups as it sounds like the IT side of your business, while very important to you, is not something you spend time reviewing.

aristotle25 said:

You should also review your data backups as it sounds like the IT side of your business, while very important to you, is not something you spend time reviewing.

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Hi Aristotle25

Thanks for your reply - guarantee is 99.9% uptime, I'll contact them and see what they say.

I'm not sure what you mean with the above - reviewing data backups?

Data backups is all about making copies of your important files and data (word docs, emails, spreadsheets, etc) on a regular basis so that in the event that your laptop\computer\hosting server fails then you do not loose files that your business relies on.

If your laptop\computer was stolen or lost tomorrow would your business be affected?

I know of companies whose main offices have burnt down but they have continued business with minimal disruption because they backed up their important data. Some companies fail when this happens because they cannot recover.

You should ask your hosting company about data backups. Or get some advice from someone.

Hi, I've run a website/discussion forum for 2 1/2 years and during that time I've only had one episode of downtime which lasted about six hours due to a problem with the server. I use a UK based hosting company.

Downtime is a factor of the host you are using and the price you are paying.

Hosting is a minefield. The cheapest hosts aren't worth using. I also host everything we operate in the UK, which works if you don't have an Irish domain and a need to appear in Irish Search Engine rankings.

There may also be an issue with your website, is it very complicated?