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The following questions are the most important elements to consider when selecting a Web Hosting provider. Since your site is a direct reflection of your organization, finding a company that meets your needs and offers a superior hosting environment is critical.

What speed of access does the hosting facility have?

Having high speed access is obviously key to having a responsive Web site. West Australian Networks offers a minimum of multiple 10 Mbps connections with sufficient bandwidth available for each client being hosted. This bandwidth is connected directly to our high speed Internet backbone.

Does the server farm have redundant Internet links?

This is essential for providing uninterrupted service. With only one connection point, if the Internet line goes down, then all Web service is interrupted. The West Australian Networks solution is our multiple redundant high speed links.

How much control do I have over the Web site?

With West Australian Networks you make changes anytime you want, you can link the site with your own domain name, you can use custom CGI scripts on the server. Your Web site is a direct reflection of your company. As such, you want to have sufficient control of the site to portray your company's image.

How is server security maintained?

Maintaining the integrity of your site is nearly as important as maintaining the availability of it. Having your server "hacked" into is not a trivial occurrence. West Australian Networks has taken the necessary steps to secure your Web site. Physical security of the server, partitioning of users on shared servers, ability to encrypt user access, and the software security is carefully set up to prevent unauthorized access.

How scalable is the service?

The best thing that can happen is that your Web site is tremendously popular. If this happens, can your Web hosting provider meet the demand? West Australian Networks can easily add bandwidth and processing power to meet any level of demand. We also monitor both the servers and the Internet connections so that any traffic or congestion problems are fixed well before your clients notice it.

Is the server information backed up to tape regularly?

Since the information on the Web server is changing all the time, West Australian Networks takes daily backups of the information you are hosting. We also periodically take a backup tape off site. This is done in case some disaster precludes loading from the regular backup tape.

Are server support, server monitoring and server availability all covered by a 24x7 support service?

The World Wide Web has no down time. You need your server to be available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week. In the event of problems, you need to have a real person available to take your phone call. West Australian Networks provides for automatic monitoring of your Web site. That way, if there is a problem with the site we will know about it immediately.

Are high performance Web servers used?

Although it is not recommended, a Web site can be hosted on a standard desktop machine configuration. However, this machine will not be able to support very robust access. West Australian Networks uses fast CPUs, a lot of memory, and high speed disk drives.

Is there a secure transaction hosting option?

Even if you are not engaging in transactions over the Internet today, you might be tomorrow. West Australian Networks have an option to have either SSL or PCT encryption set up on your Web site. These encryption protocols allow you to securely get information from your Web site visitors (such as credit card information). West Australian Networks also makes provision for getting the sensitive information from the Web server to your office location in a secure manner.

How much Internet experience does West Australian Networks have?

Although this seems like an obvious question, you would be amazed at how many companies have less than 6 months of experience in Internet services. Experience does count, West Australian Networks has in excess of five years Internet hosting experience..

How knowledgeable are the West Australian Networks sales and support staff?

Again, this may seem like an obvious question, but actually is an important point to consider. When you are talking to West Australian Networks, ask some Internet questions and make sure you are happy with the answers. Also, be sure to call the West Australian Networks support line. Since these are the people you will be dealing with, you should feel comfortable with them. Finally, check out the Web support pages. The FAQs and other documents will most likely be your main resource for answering questions.

Does West Australian Networks supply monthly traffic reports?

The primary reason to put up a Web site is to attract visitors. West Australian Networks provides monthly traffic reports that supply you with the feedback you need to make sure your site is doing everything it should be.

Does West Australian Networks have a good client base?

West Australian Networks will provide you with a customer list if you require one. Feel free to contact us and check that we are all happy and our sites are easy to get to......