Undertaking altruistic work requires a huge heart and iron determination: two factors that any person or institution behind such a noble task has by default.
Having a website to clearly and easily convey your message is essential, but you may be wondering which is the best option to get started with with so many web hosting companies out there. Don't worry, this can be very confusing at first, but I promise it will all make sense throughout this article.
Characteristics of a good web hosting company
Here are 4 simple points to keep in mind if you are looking for a web hosting company for your NGO.
International and local presence: Solidity, security and peace of mind for your NGO
With hundreds of players in the web hosting business, you should try to focus on important aspects that will reveal whether you are approaching a reliable company or not. Always look for a web hosting provider that has an international presence, but has operations or support in your country.
There is nothing more frustrating than trying to contact a member of the support maldives business email list team and having to wait until a time other than your time zone or only being able to do so via email, thus delaying emergencies.
In important moments, having help at hand is crucial.
Flexible hosting and domain plans
No matter what your mission is, you must have a web hosting and domain plan that flexibly adapts to your needs. As far as the domain is concerned, you could first look for an option with the . org ending (depending on whether it is popular in your country) or something more local like the . mx , . ar , . co , etc. endings . This will make the relationship with your project much more personal and perhaps people will feel more identified with it, as well as giving it more seriousness.
When it comes to hosting, it will all depend on the volume of people you expect to visit your site. Don't just think about times when your website is not very busy, but also about possible eventualities that will encourage people to learn more about your charitable work.
I recommend starting with a shared hosting service and depending on some other needs and the growth of the site, upgrade your plan to a more robust one.
On the other hand, and given the nature of your organization, you could consider contracting a plan for more than one year and thus save costs thanks to certain discounts that are usually available in this sector with long contracts.
Additional services to complement the accommodation
In case your organization needs to receive any donations within your own site, you will need to improve some security aspects for your users. We will start with an SSL certificate or better known as an https certificate .
This will allow all information that passes through your site, such as personal data, bank account information or addresses, to be encrypted and difficult to access by unwanted people.
BLACK When you request this certificate from the web hosting company, remember that you must request that it be of the OV type, that is, Organization Validation, which is specific to NGOs.
The second aspect would perhaps be a more robust hosting than a shared one, since you need to ensure that your site is always accessible to everyone and cannot have any problems.
Even if your site follows all security standards, these errors and attacks can occur due to security flaws on other sites hosted on a shared hosting.
Taking this risk is unacceptable when it comes to securing online transactions.
Domain transfer and hosting upon termination of relationship
The last point, and perhaps one of the most delicate, is being able to make transitions in case you are not happy with the service you contracted. There are times when the relationship with a provider may cool off or due to some issue beyond your control you must work with a smaller budget and need to change web hosting companies.
Make sure that the company you are going to hire offers a guarantee that you can transfer your domain and website if you need to do so in the future. Most of the large companies offer this and their technical support team can help you transfer your domain and website so that you can be using the new service in a short time.
Helping people is a job that requires you and your team to be 100% involved and trust that you can count on a team that supports many other aspects necessary for your organization to function.
