An individual, when choosing a web hosting company, usually takes into consideration the bandwidth and diskspace that is offered with a particular package. Along with this the uptime is the true point of attraction. Most web hosting companies offer an uptime guarantee. But, it is necessary to understand the true meaning of this.

Understand the True Meaning of Web Hosting UptimeThe web hosting uptime is a measurement of the time a server has been running, the longer the uptime, the better is the service. Uptime is not only crucial for web hosting companies, but to any company or individual having a web-site. It is very important for any website to be functional 24×7, as there might be multiple number of visitors in search of information or services that a particular website offers. And, for that the website should be hosted with a web hosting provider who provides maximum uptime guarantee.

There are various factors that may affect a web hosting uptime. Users too should understand that web hosting providers strive hard to keep the servers up and running smooth, but sometimes there are unavoidable circumstances such as natural calamities/disasters, that might affect the uptime committed by the web hosting provider.

Usually, the downtime is classified in three ways. 1. Planned Downtime, 2. Semi planned Downtime and 3. Unplanned Downtime

1. Planned Downtime can be caused when a server is scheduled for an upgrade or down-grade. Web hosts keep the clients informed about such changes to the server.

2. Semi-Planned Downtime: It may be caused when software providers find a solution to a known loop hole in the application and release a patch to overcome the problem, and it needs to be put into place.

3. Unplanned Downtime: This is the worst and most frustrating (at times) type of downtime, it may be caused due to software or hardware malfunction, server overload and attack the server or a malicious software.

The uptime guarantees provided by a Web Hosting provider, is based on the past information. There are few ways to maintain and monitor the uptime. Also, there are services that provide 24×7 monitoring. But, large web hosting companies usually have a separate department that looks after the uptime and monitor their servers 24×7. Today, there are techniques by which a web hosting company can actually provide 100% uptime. But, this service can be provided by larger companies only, as the hardware required for such architecture is almost double than that of a small web hosting company.

Some companies take the efforts to inform their customers about the possible downtime. Larger hosting providers are able to recover faster from the downtime than the smaller one’s.

An individual should do thorough research when choosing a web hosting company. It can avoid the downtime of a particular website. There are applications available, that are capable of tracking a web hosting companies uptime. One can also visit different forums provided by either web hosting providers or other review forums to learn more about and particular company.

If a website is already hosted with some web hosting provider and is facing downtime, it is recommended to contact their technical support department and lodge a ticket/complaint against the issue. If one faces the same problem frequently, then looking for a better hosting provider is the best possible alternative to avoid downtime.

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