Kokul’s World

Finding a web host to host your site is a daunting task. The hosting market has become saturated, well actually now it is over-saturated, with businesses offering web hosts. You cannot just go with any web host you happen to come by. You have to research and pick carefully because nowadays, any 14 year old can start a web hosting company. A lot of web hosting companies disappear overnight leaving their customers hanging in the dark.

I was once in your position when I was searching for a suitable host for my blog. There were so many choices and so many traps. So to make your life easier, I put together a list of tips you can use:
Note: most web hosts use US dollars as their prices, and so, I will be using them in this article too.
Another note: it is recommended that you make a list of about 7-15 hosts that you might want to go to before you continue on with these tips. You can narrow down your list using the tips below, then make an informed decision.

Stay away from web hosts offering huge amounts of space, bandwidth, email accounts, SQL databases, and a bunch of other stuff for a low price between $1-$6.
This is RULE #1 in your search for a web host. THIS IS THE MOST IMPORTANT RULE. I guess I’ve gotten the emphasis drilled into your head now? Well this is a really important rule to follow when searching. In the past few years, hosts have started to over tons of space and bandwidth for very cheap, rock bottom prices. Well to the average consumer, it will appear as if technology has driven the cost of hosting down right? WRONG! I thought like that too, until I went a little digging and found out the truth. Webhosts are offering cheap prices like these to undercut other host prices from the recent explosion of web hosts appearing on the market. The average website isn’t very popular and thus uses only a small amount of space and bandwidth. The web hosts don’t expect you to use even 5%-10% of what they offer you. That is how they make their money and attract more customers. Only a very small percentage of sites actually use all of the bandwidth and space their host offers. For such sites, the host has an ambiguous clause in its Terms of Service about resources used on the server. The host just gets rid of those troublesome website claiming the infringe the clause.Also cheap hosts like these are the ones that usually disappear overnight. They don’t stay in business for long, and if they do, then their servers are often overcrowded and slow with poor tech support on the side and crappy uptimes.
More info at http://webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=369166

Never trust web hosting directories and other top 10 web hosts lists.
Another important rule that cannot be stressed enough. Most web hosting directories and their top 10 or top 5 host lists are fake. It’s all about the money to them. They sell the spots on the list to hosts for large montly fees (often in the excess of several thousand dollars for the top spot). It is very easy for a poor host to get placed in the top 10. Web hosting directories and other web hosting review sites may create false positive reviews if they paid to do so. Again, all about the money. Of course, that doesn’t mean there aren’t those honest web sites out there. But almost all of them are fake.
Two such honest sites are: http://www.whreviews.com
http://www.webhostingjury.com

Search for reviews on Google
Google the web host name and see what reviews and opinions come up on them. Remember what I said above about web hosting directories and review sites. Also, keep in mind that all web hosts have their happy and dissatisfied customers. No host is perfect. Some of their servers may be causing problems while the rest of their 200 servers aren’t. No matter what web host you to go, there will always be those angry customers. It is usually those customers with negative experiences who speak out while those with positive experiences that tend to not say a word at all.

Browse around at the Webhostingtalk.com forums and at Webhostingjury.com.
Webhostingtalk.com forums are where a bunch of web hosters and many customers meet. You can get tons of honest opinions there. A lot of web hosts are studied in detail by members. Some are scrutenized down to the last letter in their Terms of Service. If you are unsure of choosing between 2 or 3 web hosts, then just start a new thread asking which one you should choose. Don’t forget to state what your site will be used for, what type of site it will be (forums, portal), your budget, and your space and bandwidth requirements. Webhostingjury.com is made up of everyday hosting customers like you and me who post their reviews on the site. Negative reviews are never deleted. Wouldn’t trust their top 10 lists though.

Browse the web host’s forums
Another way to get a sense of what the web host is like is to browse the forums hosted on their site. You can see any technical issues that users experience as well as their complaints and praise. But one important thing to note is that many web hosts delete negative posts leaving only positive ones behind. So it is advisable to check several times a day in case you miss any.

Does the host have a phone number you can call?
Usually, this can be found on the host’s website. The host should be reachable for problems. If your host doesn’t have a phone number, then chances are they are running their service by paying for a reseller account. While you may be able to get their host’s support when needed, the reseller often has no control over the servers in which your site is stored. A toll-free phone number shows that your host is willing to convience its customers.

Call their support number.
This will identify if the host’s number is real. If you have any questions, now is also the time to ask them.

Check if the host has 24/7 support.
Support is very important to any client because no matter how computer literate you are, you will never have access to the server your site is hosted on to fix any problems yourself. You have to rely on the host’s support team to fix any problems. Speedy support that is always available is a must.

Send them an email containing questions to their sales department. Also, send them an email to their support center.
This is a test of how fast your host responds to your request and about the quality of their support. The sales department may take a while to reply if you send them the email off business hours. However, I suggest you try sending two support emails to your host. One email should be sent during the day, and the other late at night. Before you send each one, carefully note down the time you sent it. When you recieve a reply, note down the time again and also read over the spelling and grammar of the email. This is always a good indication of the quality of the support.

Carefully read over the host’s Terms of Service, Acceptable Use Policy, and any other policies they have.
This is another way of gauging your host. It is also a great way of avoiding any pitfalls the host may hide in their policies. Make sure you thoroughly read the policies and understand what they say.

Does the host have an money back guarentee?
A money back guarentee is very important. An acceptable money back guarentee is 30 days. Any shorter and you should look elsewhere. The money back guarentee means that you can try out the host for 30 days and if you don’t like their service, then request for a refund. Note, read their policies. There is always a whole policy or sectiona of another policy dedicated to the conditions on which you can ask for a refund.

Does the host offer montly payment?
Another important one when it comes to your money. Never accept a payment cycle longer than monthly. NEVER ACCEPT YEARLY PAYMENTS. It has happened where you may think after 30 days that your host is acceptable and decide to stick with them. However if you start disliking them after your guarentee has expired and you chose yearly or quarterly plans to save money, then if you leave, you will lose that entire year or quarter’s worth of payment. This is a way that the host ensures that they will keep you for a year, thus keeping them in business. If you had selected the monthly guarentee, then you can opt out at any time with minimal loss in money.

Does the host offer multiple payment options?
A good and professional host will offer more than one way to pay for your hosting. If a host just offers credit card as a payment, then it is not advisable to go with them. Chances are, they are an upstart by some 14 year old somewhere in the United States.

That is all my tips for your seach. Although this may lengthen your search for a host, it will definetely reduce your risk by a huge margin, ensuring you that your money won’t be wasted.

As for me, my web host is Hostgator. They are wonderful. I’ve been with them for 3 months after about 1 month of researching. They do a little overselling, but they are managing it very well. My uptime so far has been 100% according to hosttracker.com. Their technical support is very fast and quick. Not to mention they don’t delete negative reviews in their forums.

Some hosts I would recommend you stay away from are Servage.net and GoDaddy.com. Servage.net oversells far too greatly. They put tight limits on your MySQL database usage, and their stats are pretty inaccurate. So inaccurate that they will claim you reached their limit of 400,000 pageviews a day per account even if you only hit 1000 pageviews a day. GoDaddy.com is a great place to purchse your domain. However they are horrible at hosting.