Here are some topics to consider when choosing a web host for a CPA or accounting website.
Customer Support
Make sure when asking about support that you probe for details. Many hosts offer a variety of support packages so find out if support costs extra and what kind of limits there are to different service levels. A lot of people don't think about support until it's needed and this can be a very expensive mistake. Even if you don't have problems I guarantee sooner or later you'll have questions.
Before committing to a host check out their support by looking an their online support and checking out their support FAQ and contact method. Some support systems are by email/ticket only, while others provide full phone support. If they do take calls, are the calling centers local or will there be a language barrier? Make sure you get a firm written commitment from there in regards to their support hours and costs. Don't forget to keep an eye on time zones. If you have an east coast firm a host out of California may close as early as 2pm! Make sure that whatever your support requirements might be your new host is prepared to meet them.
Storage Quota
The best websites for accountants need disk space to store files. This online storage allows you to display downloadble high resolution documents and videos on your site, but more importantly this is the factor that dictates how many client files you can store on your site at once. Before you decide on hosting you'll need to decide what kind of file transfer capability your site needs. Permanently storing files for clients online uses much more disk quota than simply transferring them. You'll also need more space if you want to display videos or offer high quality downloadable PDF files on your site. All of these factors affect the amount of disk space you'll need.
Again, your web host may allow you to upgrade as needed, so you may be able to start small and increase your disk space later. It can be easy to overestimate how much space you'll need. Frankly, disk space is pretty cheap. When tax time rolls around not having enough online storage will disrupt your practice and it's worth a sawbuck or two to avoid this.
Bandwidth
Bandwidth is extremely important when hosting websites for accountants, and it often gets overlooked. In essence, the higher the bandwidth allotment, the more visitors that can visit your site during that day or month. Websites for Accountants have much higher bandwidth requirements than most other websites. Accountants don't use the same "boutique" sites that are adequate for most other businesses. Most business websites only need enough bandwidth to allow visitor traffic. Increases in traffic results in increased bandwidth requirements. This is still true of accounting websites, but even smaller firms are going to need a lot more bandwidth than a bowling alley or restaurant might need. Accountants send and recieve files over the internet all the time, and this causes their bandwidth needs to skyrocket. Most accountants need at least a Gigabyte of bandwith in the months around tax season. 1.5Gb would be better, and this assumes a smaller firm and average use. Last year my most active client used more than 3Gb in the month of march.
Website Editing
Most hosts won't help you here at all, but all the really good ones will offer tools to help you edit your site. Some sites will only let you upload finished sites that you've built from scratch, others force you to use inflexible templates that cannot be modified at all, and many offer varying degrees of compromise between these extremes. Find out what, if any, editing tools and capabilities your host offers. Your website host may provide you with options to choose the type of package you'd like.
Programming and Databases
OK, this is where things might seem a little intimidating, but it's really not as scary as it sounds. In simple English, you will probably want a website that can support advanced functions. There are limits to what you can do with simple HTML. Find out from your host what options they offer. If your host is using a Windows server they most likely offer support for .NET and Microsoft SQL databases. On the other hand if it's a Linux server they'll most likely support PHP and and MySQL. Both of these options will likely help you achieve what you want in different ways.
Secure File Transfer and Other Support Tools
As an accounting firm you'll find that secure file transfer capability is an absolute MUST for your website, but there are some other advanced features to consider. Do they provide web stats so you can see who is visiting your site? Do you have FTP access for ease of moving files onto and off of your website? What other tools are provided for other advanced features? Again, depending on your intended use, you may or may not not need these extra management tools but it's important to that your host is giving your firm room to grow.
Site Security
If you actually want to USE your secure file transfer this becomes extremely important. In order to keep your client's tax returns and QuickBooks files protected you'll need to make sure adequate online security precautions can be put into place. Does your host provide the ability to add SSL to your site? This will ensure a secure transaction and also verify your company's identity.
Other Goodies
Most web hosts offer related web services, like email and domain name registration, in addition to their basic service. Sometimes these features are bundled into their basic hosting package, sometimes not. Consider all of a hosts terms and expenses when choosing a host. You can save money this way, but you may just as easily wind up paying for stuff you don't need. Make sure any domain names you register through your host are registered in a retail account in YOUR name. Some hosts will register your domain in a wholesale account in their name, and they'll often use their ownership of your domain to browbeat you into staying with them.
Google has an excellent freeware solution for small businesses so if you don't need more than 10 accounts it really doesn't offer any value. Larger firms may benefit from email service, but be aware that some hosting services offer email service that's pretty out-of-date. And similar to the domain registration, what happens if you decide to leave this host? Make sure you've downloaded ALL your emails into an email client before changing email hosts.
There are many considerations when choosing a web host. As service professionals trusted with confidential financial material CPA firms enjoy a much slimmer margin allowed error allowed to good websites for accountants than many other types of companies so it's always best to analyze your options and ascertain what other users of those services feel when deciding on hosting services. While this article will afford you some practical information so you'll be able to make a somewhat informed choice I would fervently suggest making flexibility a weighty ingredient in your final choice. If your host lets you upgrade features as you need them you'll have a much easier time building your accounting company.
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