We Were Right about FreshDirect.com: Don’t Stumble into These Website Pitfalls

It turns out we were right about FreshDirect.com. The site did indeed go down because someone forgot to renew the company’s domain name. Just goes to show you how a simple oversight can take your site down for hours. FreshDirect.com won’t find themselves stumbling into this pitfall again, as they have renewed their domain name through 2024. However, there are other pitfalls, in addition to domain name renewal, that could take your site down. Here are some pitfalls to avoid if you want to ensure website uptime and avoid downtime pitfalls.

Avoid Hosting Providers that Don’t Meet Your Needs

Not all web hosting companies are created equal. We’ve discussed this quite a few times in the past. To ensure website uptime, you need to ensure that your web host is capable of meeting the demands of your site. Look at the applications that your company uses and then measure those applications against the abilities of your web host. If your host is not able to run the applications you need, you will have to move to another web host to ensure website uptime.

Ensure Network Availability

If a web host isn’t transparent with its capabilities, then chances are they have something to hide. Ask any potential web host about uptime data and demand a Service Level Agreement that includes an uptime guarantee. That guarantee must include compensation to you if your site suffers from any website downtime caused by the hosting company. If a web host is willing to put their money where their mouth is and be completely transparent about their infrastructure, chances are they will be able to meet the needs of your site and ensure maximum website uptime.

Understand that Redundancy is a Good Thing

Make sure that your hosting company provides redundancy testing results for support utilities. Ask them about their redundancy testing measures. If your hosting company doesn’t have an answer for you when you ask them this question, it may be time to change web hosts.

Remember, 100 percent uptime is the goal. Downtime is inevitable, but that doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t work with a hosting company that at least aims for 100 percent uptime. Alertra will be here to notify you if your site goes down. If your site is going down more than .01 percent of the time, then it’s time to start looking for a better hosting plan.