Does a web hosting company need

[LEWIS]

I am about to start selling hosting, won't be on a very large scale though.. however I am confused with few things.
Do I really need a phone number and address to be mentioned on my website ? Does it matter when it comes to new customers?
Please advice.

thx.

[davedj]

I think it is important to have a address and phone number on your website. Again, it
does make your company look professional. Most of the hosts these days will have address and phone. And since you are start host company, these will gain confidence in your customers.

[Travis]

I think that an address is mandatory and I will highly recommend having a phone number as well. I personally would never buy hosting from a host that does not list their address on their website. It's about building trust. Customers need to be sure they can contact the company when the need arises.

[SogoSeven]

You need to be VERY aware of quite a few things when running a business website.

From 1st January 2007, all companies in the UK are required by law to display certain regulatory information on their websites and in their email footers. Failure to do so could mean they are in breach of the Companies Act and risk a fine.

Every company must now list its company registration number, place of registration, and registered office address on its website. Sole traders and partnerships don't have a registration number but the other requirements would still have to be met.

The information must be in legible characters and should also appear on order forms and in emails. Such information is already required on "business letters" but the duty is being extended to websites, order forms and electronic documents.


Your company's website must include the following information as a minimum (from OUT-LAW's guide, The UK's E-commerce Regulations).

* The name, geographic address and email address of the service provider. The name of the organisation with which the customer is contracting must be given. This might differ from the trading name. Any such difference should be explained – e.g. "ABC.com is the trading name of ABC Limited."

* It is not sufficient to include a 'contact us' form without also providing an email address and geographic address somewhere easily accessible on the site. A PO Box is unlikely to suffice as a geographic address; but a registered office address would. If the business is a company, the registered office address must be included.

* If a company, the company's registration number should be given and, under the Companies Act, the place of registration should be stated (e.g. "XYZ Enterprises Limited is a company registered in England and Wales with company number 1234567")

* If the business is a member of a trade or professional association, membership details, including any registration number, should be provided.

* If the business has a VAT number, it should be stated – even if the website is not being used for e-commerce transactions.

* Prices on the website must be clear and unambiguous. Also, state whether prices are inclusive of tax and delivery costs.

Then you have :
General e-commerce and distance selling regulations
Data protection regulations
Trade descriptions act
Access for users with disabilities
Electronic Commerce Directive
Intellectual property rights
The EU 'Anti-spam' laws

Finally the real ass kicker -
the actual hosting providers Terms and Conditions. (not yours) the people that you buy from. Find out what happens to you if one of your clients breaches these rules and regs.

[brobert]

It is very important to have phone support. It might happen that there is a network issue in their Data center and that might stop the hosting companies website as well. The live chat and email support goes down immediately. In this case phone support becomes important. You can atleast get updates that your hosting company is still up.

[neoanderson120]

I agree. Phone support is equally important. Generally all hosting companies use the three modes like phone, email and chat. I always find the phone support easy to use. It is quick and you can have the updates in minutes. I don't see any reason for companies not having phone support. These days it has become easy to get a phone line. Companies provide toll free numbers and international numbers as well.

[Helina]

I am about to start selling hosting, won't be on a very large scale though.. however I am confused with few things.
Do I really need a phone number and address to be mentioned on my website ? Does it matter when it comes to new customers?
Please advice.

thx.

Yes you should have a phone support for your company. It is very very important to have a phone number when you are selling a product or a service. It helps you gain the trust of your customers. They know they are able to contact you when the need will arise. I will highly suggest you to have a phone number.

[Rachael]

Its always good to have a phone number and address on your website. This will make it easier for your customers to interact with you. Having a phone number and address will give a professional look to your website. If you are into selling some technical product, then you must also have a live chat so that it becomes easier for your customers to reach out to you.

[JONES]

When you choose a web hosting company, the first thing we keep in mind is that customers are going to want support available 24 hours a day through the year. If the company can’t provide this, they’re more likely to look somewhere else. It is very important to have the important modes of support like live chat and phone. I will highly recommend you to have phone support included.

[Harmony]

Generally, a web hosting service provider is compared on the basis of their customer service support staff, price, features that your website needs, location etc. There is no customer that would not need 24/7 support for his/her website. A customer needs to gain the trust that his web site will be getting support when required. When the hosting company's server is down, most of the customers prefer doing a phone call and getting an update over the phone as that is pretty fast.

[aimiez]

In my own opinion, you need hosting company to help you promote your business. Most of the business over the net are under a hosting company so in order to compete you need to do the same. All you need to do is to excel above the rest by improving your service and to improve the presentation of your business. There are plenty of hosting company in the market today. Just choose the one that meet your needs

[jessica30]

To target millions of visitors to your website and share your information with others, you need a perfect web hosting plan and a right web host. A good web hosting company can provide offer you multiple web hosting plans and a range of services to enhance your website’s credibility. Thus, this is the reason why you need good web hosting company.

[home study]

Web hosting

I would have the address displayed as it gives customers some reassurance of were your are, additionally just add email. Unless you have a large amount of resources I wouldn't add your telephone number.