As he presented this past Thursday’s webinar, Jon DiPietro, my co-founder at #CareerGravity, cautioned attendees to choose Web hosting wisely for their online footprints’ hubs, their WordPress blogs. Yes, several factors demand consideration, but perhaps the most important for novices is customer support: How well does the Web hosting company tend to its customers’ needs? Even with the help of our how-to webinars and the free, downloadable #CareerGravity Blueprint and Cheat Sheets, those new to setting up their own Web hosting are apt to have many questions, and responsive customer service is a lifeline.
Jon addressed much of that, and Thursday’s conversation ambled into a discussion of 24-7 customer service, which most providers purport to provide. That usually comprises some combination of voice-based call center support available during business hours, often interpreted liberally as early morning through early evening, plus online text-based chat support covering the remaining hours of need—i.e., weekends, late evening and the wee hours of the morning.
Artificial Intelligence Isn’t Real
But not all 24-7 is created equal, and the inequality tends to take root in Web hosting companies’ text-based chat support. You want real intelligence behind that curtain—i.e., real, live humans.
Jon’s experience, as well as mine, is that some providers employ computers behind the curtain of their chat-based support modules. Believe us when we say that artificial intelligence on a text-based chat feels artificial indeed. You want a Web host whose 24-7 customer service support center employs humans employing their own, real intelligence.
Who’s the Web Host with the Most?
Here at #CareerGravity, we’re not into endorsing any one provider; even if we did, however, you need to know that we presently receive no endorsement payouts from vendors, and if we ever did, we’d let you know about it right off the bat. Full transparency is our game. With that out of the way, here comes a recommendation. Why? Choices are great, but when you’re new at something, a straightforward, “Go here, friend,” goes a long way in making a foreign process that much more digestible.
Provided that you elect to have your WordPress blog hosted elsewhere, more than one Web hosting outfit will do a good job, and this post isn’t one of those Web hosting reviews. But for that extra touch of high-touch customer service, you won’t go wrong with HostGator, whose customer service representatives rock. That’s because HostGator’s customer service center has a soul: human beings. They’re like musicians playing real, live instruments; computer-generated techno their song is not. And there’s nothing wrong with real techno, by the way:
Webinar Recording
[iframe_loader src=”http://player.vimeo.com/video/46153923″ width=”650″ height=”365″]
Next Webinar: Thursday, May 17 @ 8pm ET / 5pm PT
Thursday’s webinar presented material challenging to someone new at setting up websites. Plus, the recording of it malfunctioned. So, Jon and yours truly are going to represent “The Web Host with the Most” on Thursday, May 17, at 8pm ET / 5pm PT. Watch our tweets and Facebook page for registration. Additionally, watch this blog on Tuesday for a preview of the regularly scheduled next webinar, which will take place on Thursday, May 24. We look forward to sharing the next steps in helping you to build the underpinnings of your #CareerGravity.
image credit: Robot, by KB35 (a.k.a. Kevin)
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