Many web-hosting companies offer coupon codes in a bid to attract more clients. However, these coupons come with all manner of incentives such as price discounts, bonus points, and free domains. All this makes it hard for one to choose the right hosting service provider. Here are five tips for finding and using web hosting coupon codes:
Cash Versus Percentage Discounts
Almost all web-hosting coupons offer cash or percentage-based price discounts. Percentage-based discount coupons typically range anywhere from as low as 10% to as high as 70%. Cash discounts also vary widely depending on the type of hosting package and range from $10 to more than $200. Nevertheless, selecting a web host based on this information alone is not a good idea because discounts can blind you from investigating other important aspects such as a hosting company’s infrastructure.
In addition, some seemingly attractive discounts tend to be valid for only one month meaning you may end up stuck with an expensive hosting contract. With this in mind, find out how long you can expect to enjoy discounts on offer. It is also wise to find out more about the figures used to calculate a percentage-based discount to avoid becoming a victim of a deceptive marketing campaign. For instance, a 50% discount on a hosting package priced at $8 per month translates to $4. In comparison, a cash discount of $5 on a similarly priced package translates to a percentage discount of 62.5%. In spite of this, many people tend to go for percentage discounts when cash discounts may be the best choice. In fact, many businesses use this trick to exploit unsuspecting consumers.
Free Domain
You should be wary of promo codes that offer free domains because some web hosting companies use this attractive and enticing benefit to keep clients locked into hosting contracts for years. In the real sense, web hosts register these so-called “free domains” as their own without revealing this fact to unsuspecting clients. When dissatisfied clients try to migrate their sites to new hosts, they find out that they have to pay expensive domain transfer fees. As such, many site owners are stuck with hosts who offer crappy services because they cannot afford prohibitively high domain transfer fees. In addition, they do not want to lose brands that could have taken years and lots of capital investment to build. To avoid similar problems, register your domain with a business entity other than your web host.
Hosting Package Features
Before using a hosting coupon code, find out more about the hosting package features you can expect to access. This is important because it determines the type of “user experience” web users can expect after logging onto your site. Since most promo codes published online come with names of participating web hosts, it is easy to learn more about package features. All you have to do is visit a host’s site and browse through packages on offer and their features.
Repeat this procedure for all other coupons that you come across. After exhausting all available options, cross-compare features and pick the candidate who best suits your hosting requirements. Standard hosting package features include:
- Easy to access and use control panel
- Round the clock technical support
- Email accounts
- Regular or continuous data backups
- Compatibility with popular applications
- One-click application installation
Money-back Guarantee
Do not focus too much on the price discount a hosting coupon code offers and forget about an important element called money back guarantee. You should be able to get your money back within a given period if dissatisfied with services offered by yourweb host. The period within which you can claim your money back varies widely in the web hosting industry and ranges anywhere from one month to more than three months.
Uptime
Another factor to consider carefully before using a coupon code is uptime. This refers to the amount of time you can expect your site to be accessible by web users over a given period. The acceptable industry standard is 99.9% uptime. However, you will come across web hosting service providers who claim that their infrastructure is so good they can guarantee 100% uptime. Do not take such claims seriously because it is almost impossible to build IT infrastructure that is so flawless it cannot develop a fault. In general, uptime ranging from 99.9% to 99.999% is good enough for any site owner regardless of business niche.
Conclusion
When scouring the web for hosting coupon codes, there are certain aspects you should consider carefully. Firstly, evaluate the savings accruable by choosing a cash versus a percentage-based coupon code. In addition, be wary of free domain offers. Other aspects to weigh carefully include the features of a hosting package, money back guarantee, and uptime.
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Locating Web Hosting Promo Codes