hi everyone,
Just before you register and commit your sites to a hoster, you should ask the questions as on the following. The asnwer that they offer should be something like the response below. It is USELESS and POINTLESS to pay cheap but you lost all your data when a disaster strikes.
1) Is it not the webhost's responsibility to backup these "store" files?
A> Yes. The web hoster is responsible for all the customer data and files. They should have a backup plan in their mind and if a disaster strikes, they should bring your sites UP as soon as possible. A hoster without a disaster recovery plan should be AVOIDED by all means!
2) Do I seem unreasonable in asking for damages since they lost all this info, including 100's of customer profiles & outstanding orders?
A> You should try to ask for the compensation. Please read their TOS carefully.
If your cheap hoster cannot offer this similar service, I strongly believe that you should seek better hoster that can offer better disaster recovery plan. My recommendation to you is
ASPHostCentral.com. I have been with them for 15 months and so far, their service is the best and most outstanding. I tried to delete my site and I then asked them to recover it. Guess what! My site is FULLY recovered within 1 hour. This is the disaster recovery plan I am talking about!!