Choosing a web fax service isn’t something to be taken without serious consideration. After all, it involves faxing documents that are crucial for your work or business. If you are currently planning on getting one, never settle for less. You might as well choose the best one that the 21st century could ever offer!
When choosing the best web fax service, always make sure that it meets your needs. You need to set some standards. Don’t simply choose based on which one is the most affordable or the most popular.
Before choosing, consider some factors first. These factors will help you decide whether the service best fits your needs.
Table of Contents
- Things to consider before choosing a web fax service
- What is the best web fax service for small businesses?
- What is the best web fax service for medical practices?
- What is the best web fax service for home or occasional use?
- Final Thoughts
12 things to consider before choosing a web fax service
Here are some of the most noteworthy things to consider when it comes to choosing a service for faxing online.
1.) Fax Number
The web fax service of your choice should let you choose a local fax number based on a list of countries available. It should also let you create a fax number using any area code available in US and Canada.
For those with an existing fax number, the web fax service should support porting this number. This way, you don’t need to change your number. Even if you switch services, you can still use the same fax number.
A fax number is an essential factor for online faxing. By having a fax number, you can receive faxes from virtually anywhere. There’s no need to get a fax machine or even a phone line.
2.) Competitive Features
Does your web fax service have features that can keep up with today’s modern and fast-paced lifestyle? You need to see what kind of features you’ll be getting per pricing tier.
Does the web fax service offer unlimited cloud storage? How many pages can you send or receive per month? Can you receive faxes via email? These are just a few examples.
Many web fax services offer multiple pricing tiers on a subscription basis. Making sure that you are getting the most of what you are paying for isn’t you just being finicky. It’s seeing to it that every cent you’re paying is worth it.
To get a clearer idea of what features you’ll be getting, you can look into comparison charts or make a checklist. You should also determine the features that you’re willing to compromise as well as your deal breakers.
3.) Ease of Use
When it comes to choosing the best web fax service, usability is something that you shouldn’t overlook. A service offering online fax shouldn’t be too difficult to use.
The user interface should have well-designed and balanced elements. It should be easy enough for new users to navigate. You should be able to figure out how to use the service without frequently contacting tech support.
Faxing online doesn’t require advanced technical knowledge. As long as you know how to send and receive a fax, that’s enough to get started.
4.) Accessibility and Portability
Modern faxing in the wireless age means being able to fax whenever you want and wherever you want. Therefore, your web fax service must have what it takes to achieve this.
It’s not enough for a web fax service to be accessible only via browser. It should also have apps that could run on today’s most widely-used platforms.
For example, iFax isn’t just available online. It has apps for Windows, Mac, Android, and iOS. This way, you can use the web fax service on any platform of your choosing. Your access to it isn’t limited to just one option.
5.) Cross-Platform Support
A web fax service should have cross-platform support. Having cross-platform support means you’re able to send and receive fax regardless of what device or platform you’re on.
There should also be real-time syncing across these supported platforms. For cloud-based faxing, you should be able to sync your faxing data automatically instead of doing it manually.
The auto-sync feature is a must for users who fax using multiple devices. It’d be such a hassle to manually update your faxing records if there’s no auto-sync support!
For businesses and corporate users, this should be a requisite. After all, faxing on a large scale involves multiple people.
6.) Level of Security
Not all web fax services have the same level of security. Faxing online involves the frequent exchange of sensitive documents. Therefore, you should carefully inspect whether a web fax service is secure enough for you to use. It also depends on your needs.
Whatever document you’re faxing, the information in it should always remain secure. A web fax service should have a level of security that’s strong enough to encrypt your data and keep it safe from any possible data breach.
For online fax, a strong level of protection means having military-grade 256-bit AES encryption. This level of encryption makes encrypted data extremely difficult to crack. Decrypting it using brute force will take a long time, possibly years.
Of course, not all web fax services offer this level of security. You need to choose your fax service wisely, especially if you plan on faxing sensitive documents regularly.
7.) HIPAA Compliance
Those who are working in the healthcare sector must choose a web fax service that has HIPAA compliance. Since faxing documents and records with PHI must be safeguarded at all costs, the web fax service must duly meet the HIPAA guidelines.
Not all web faxing services offer this feature on all of their plans. This feature is usually available on business and enterprise plans.
On a good note, iFax has HIPAA compliance on all of its pricing tiers. So even if you’re on iFax Basic, you can send and receive faxes with PHI.
8.) Electronic Signature Support
Nowadays, it is a must for every web fax service to include support for electronic signature. After all, documents that are often sent or received via fax require signatures.
With an electronic signature or e-signature, you can digitally sign documents however you prefer. With this in mind, your web fax service should allow you to sign your fax documents without any hassle.
iFax, for example, offers its users an effortless way to annotate and digitally sign fax documents using Fill.
9.) Uptime and Customer Support
Not all web fax services are fully capable of delivering their promises. Sadly, there are times when they fail to meet the expectations of their users.
So before you make a choice, do some research first on whether the service has 99.99% uptime and 24/7 real customer support. This is a crucial factor for many companies and businesses.
After all, faxing is something that businesses and companies do all the time.
10.) No Hidden Charges and Setup Cost
Always be on the lookout for web fax services that incur hidden charges. An ideal online fax service does not charge setup fees and upfront to whatever additional charges they ask from their users.
If you are not careful, you could end up spending beyond what you’ve expected. If you have doubts, it’s better to ask the fax service provider first. You don’t need to purchase a plan or subscription right away. You can always check whether there’s a free trial. You can also request a free quote.
11.) Cancellation and Plan Policies
Before getting a web or online fax service, always check their cancellation policy first. Are you able to cancel your plan anytime? Are you able to upgrade or downgrade your plan to whatever suits your needs?
Always keep these things in mind before deciding to pay. I’d be such a pain if you can’t cancel a subscription anytime. Time will come when you’d eventually outgrow your current subscription. When that happens, you should be able to upgrade to a better one right away.
12.) Pricing Options
Lastly, a good fax service should offer its users multiple plans or subscriptions at reasonable costs. Having many options is good because you can compare which one is better than the other.
Most web fax services also offer plans that target a specific user market. Take time to look around. Look for packages or subscription offers that best suit your needs. Compare these packages against each other to determine which one qualifies as your most suitable choice.
What is the best web fax service for small businesses?
Many web or online fax services offer plans and packages specifically aimed at this type of market. Choose the service with the best business plan offers. At the same time, look for reasonably priced options with cancel anytime yearly subscriptions.
Choose a web fax service that adds value to your business. It should be reliable enough to secure your business documents and streamline your faxing process. With less effort and time spent finishing faxing errands, you can focus more on growing your business.
In business, it’s essential to have a reliable and trusted online faxing solution. Choose a web fax service that has what it takes to help your business function in a modern and efficient way.
Here are some of today’s web fax services that are ideal for small business owners:
iFax
iFax is a web fax service of choice by many small business owners. With affordably priced business plans, this online faxing service has been in business since 2008. Trusted by millions of users, iFax offers features that are essential for running a business.
iFax supports cloud-based faxing, seamless cross-platform syncing, fax broadcasting, and real-time delivery reports.
NexTiva
NexTiva has features and flexible pricing plans that are ideal for small and medium-scale businesses. Its VoIP features are perfect for operating a small business with remote teams.
RingCentral
RingCentral has online fax packages that are well suited for managing small businesses. This service is an established industry leader with millions of active users.
What is the best web fax service for medical practices?
For this, choose a service with plans tailored for the healthcare sector. The best web fax service of choice for this would be one with robust enterprise-grade security, GLBA compliant, and HIPAA compliant. It should also be fully capable of high volume faxing with 99.99% uptime.
Another crucial factor to consider would be whether the HIPAA fax provider has a longstanding credential.
What is the best web fax service for home or occasional use?
If it’s just for home or occasional use, you can choose an online fax service that has free or basic plans as well as those with pay-per-fax options. This way, you can save on costs without compromising your faxing needs.
For occasional fax users, it may seem fitting to choose the most affordable web fax service or go to a nearby fax center. However, this isn’t always the case. You need to consider the safety of your documents and your privacy as a user.
There’s also the matter of convenience. Going to a nearby store with a fax machine isn’t always the most convenient choice. You could end up going only to fax ten pages of documents.
Why not choose a web fax service that lets you fax from anywhere? You can even use an app to send or receive fax on any device. With online faxing, you can conveniently fax documents while feeling secure that your faxes will arrive safely and on time.
Final Thoughts
It’ll be easier to choose the best web fax service once you figure out your needs. With the help of a guide, you can make well-informed decisions. You can base your choice upon what you truly want or need from an online faxing service.
Also, don’t rush. Give yourself time to evaluate which service best meets your needs. It’ll also help to get some recommendations from trusted business partners and colleagues.
Always remember not to settle for mediocre choices. It’s best to choose a service that already has a proven trust rating.
Do you want the best web fax service for the 21st century? Try iFax! If you sign up today, you can get a free 7-day trial of its Professional plan. With the Professional plan, you can set up unlimited fax numbers and use email to fax.
Sign up for an iFax account today!
