As we continue to look at 9 Factors to Consider when Choosing a Church Web Hosting Company, today we’re going to look at what I believe is the most important factor to consider…
The reality is after you’ve whittled down the list of possible church web hosting providers by looking at the factors we’ve discussed so far – platform, disk space, bandwidth, backup, SSL support, and email – you’re still going to end up with dozens if not hundreds of viable options.
But, the fact of the matter is, none of that really matters if your website is down or experiencing other problems. Therefore an important factor to consider is…
Church Web Hosting Support
The challenge is how do you evaluate a company’s support before you start using their services?
- What support methods do they offer? Every web hosting company provide support via email or help desk, but what about phone support? What about live chat? If one or both of those are important to you, make sure the web host you choose offers that.
- When is support available? It’s important to make sure your web hosting provider is available when you need support. Some web hosting providers say they offer 24/7 support, but that could be only for certain methods of support and not others.
- Who provides the support? Just about everyone has had a nightmare customer service experience where they called a company and got routed to a call center in India where they had a very frustrating conversation with someone who didn’t speak or understand English well. If that’s a concern, make sure the church web hosting provider you select, has only native English speakers providing support.
- What are their ratings? Another thing to check is what do their current and past customers say about them? Check online reviews and ratings.
There’s one more support-related factor to consider which runs deeper than all of the above…
A Trusted Ministry Partner
Do you want just a transactional relationship with large company whose primary objective is to make money for its owners/shareholders?
Or do you want a ministry partnership with an organization of fellow believers whose mission is to advance the Kingdom of God by helping you live out your mission online?
A ministry partner is staffed with Christians who understand the needs, challenges, ministries and mission of the local church.
A ministry partner gets to know your specific church – its strengths, challenges, vision and goals – and helps you select the services that are the best fit for your church. (Rather than making cookie-cutter recommendations or trying to make the most money from each customer)
A ministry partner goes above and beyond the normal reactive support, proactively initiating support when they notice there’s an issue, and even offering free insight and recommendations that will help your church be more effective in its communication and online outreach.
Do you want a church web hosting provider who will treat you like a customer or a ministry partner? –Paul Steinbrueck
If you lead a Christian church or ministry, we would love to partner with you – to help you with your church web hosting or church website design – so you can better live out your mission online!
Discussion
- How important is great customer service to you?
- How important is it to you partner with a Christian organization that shares your mission and values?
Co-founder & CEO, OurChurch.Com
Paul has been the CEO of OurChurch.Com since its founding in 1996, combining his passion for faith and technology to lead the organization.
An accomplished writer, Paul has authored over 2,000 articles on faith and technology, featured on platforms like ChurchLeaders.com, The JoyFM, and his personal blog, LiveIntentionally.org.
Beyond his professional achievements, Paul serves as an elder at Journey Community Church and is deeply engaged in his community through his involvement with the Florida Sheriffs Youth Ranch and the Safety Harbor Chamber of Commerce. He is a contributing author of the book Outspoken! Conversations on Church Communication.