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When is a web hosting company not a web hosting company? When it's a VAR.

There's nothing inherently wrong with being a VAR (value added reseller) - I've been one many times in the past, and will likely be again.

It's just that people typically don't understand what a web hosting company is - or does - and when it comes to their online business they make some questionable decisions because of it.

For instance...

Recently I was consulting with a client and they asked my opinion of a hosting package their web design firm had offered them. *STOP RIGHT THERE* There's your first BIG CLUE...

Your web design firm is in the business of designing web sites. Making your web site look a certain way. Sometimes the web design firm may have coders on staff who can program the site to behave a certain way (and coding a webpage is not the same as coding a database application,) and sometimes the web design firm has writers on staff who can make the site read a certain way (and writing your company profile is not the same as writing your primary sales and landing pages...) And don't even get me started about SEO, Internet marketing and general strategic online business development advice!

But I seriously doubt they have a multi-million dollar environmentally controlled, fire suppression enabled, multi-point redundancy, 24-hour monitored, data center in their back room.

Now THAT'S a hosting center.

Most pretenders err.. most hosting companies are really VARs, and here's the rub, these pretenders often charge 100 times the actual cost of hosting and deliver 1% of the service package.

Now before I get loads of angry letters from quality hosting VARs I should say that they are not all like this. I do however bring up this huge discrepancy and tell you this tale to illuminate a point that drives me nuts.

Just because someone can code up a web page doesn't mean you should entrust them with your online business presence and hosting. It certainly doesn't mean you should trust them with your online marketing, and it especially means you shouldn't automatically trust them with your online brand reputation either.

These are all important points that require special skills - some companies have the mix, some do not. Do you know which questions to ask and how to tell a Pretender?

I know the web is still a brave new world (as of writing, it's just over 14 years old!) and you'd be forgiven if you still don't quite 'get it' - that's why you need to take care and ask more questions and work with a proper web strategist/consultant who's been around the block a few times.

Remember before focusing my efforts as a corporate web strategist and online marketing expert I was a VP of IT and Consulting and managed multi-million dollar software development projects across most major continents for banks, governments and major manufacturers. Managing upwards of 50 people, I've personally built and sold software solutions for over 30 years now, and even pioneered online systems that pre-date the Internet (try creating a TV based hyper linked TeleText system in the mid 80's... now that's creative)

Anyhoo... I'm a little off-topic.

The conclusion of my tale was this. I recommended a direct hosting source (one of the major players in this field) and provided their price. The client declined telling me that it was "too cheap" and that they would stay with the web design firm *sigh* So I pointed out the firm was a VAR and in this instance was charging them nearly 100 times over cost for 1% of the service...

Call me crazy, but spending 100 times more than I need seems unnecessary. But that's just me...

JAMES BURCHILL Shows individuals and companies how to profit from the innovative use of Internet technologies, strategic content and social media marketing. James' innovative and creative solutions are the select choice for those seeking an advantage, and Jim's valuable money making, marketing, technology and business advice is published regularly on his website. You can find out more at http://www.JamesBurchill.com/about