How to choose a good web host

Posted on 03/16/09 in Blogging Tips, Web Design, 24 Comments

How to choose a good web host

Finding a reliable web host

There are thousands of web hosting companies online. It is not easy to decide which one to go with. At my own expense, I’ve had dealings with some terrible web companies. Therefore, my experience will help you avoid these floors. It is vital that you choose a good, reliable web host from the beginning.

Here are some tips to help:

  1. Reliability – One of the most important factors in web hosting is reliability. A reliable server can be often overlooked, because people mostly focus on the amount of bandwidth and disc space limit when choosing a web hosting plan. The most important factor is whether your hosting company will be online 99%+ of the time and provide fast loading pages.
  2. Reputation – What is the reputation like of the hosting company? Are there any testimonials on the hosting companies site? Is there a website address of their customers on testimonials? If so, e-mail their existing customers.
  3. Research – Find out as much information on potential hosting companies as possible. The more information you find about a potential host the better. Look on the Sitepoint forum for hosting and check out web hosting talk. People are willing to share their experiences, just remember that their all customers have different levels of technical experience.
  4. Avoid resellers – There are hosting companies that will offer you TB’s of space for a few dollars a month and oversell. Overselling web hosting is overloading the servers and making your blog slower. Therefore, providing you a poorer quality of service.  How often are you going to use 5TB on a blog per month? Highly unlikely for a new blogger. At the very most 10GB-20GB is more than plenty to begin with. You can always upgrade later, but purchase from a host that provides a realistic bandwidth and disk space.
  5. Technical support – Technical support is the most vital part of any hosting policy. Some hosting packages that cost a bit more usually provide better customer service. Is there technical support 24/7?  There is no point of having a web hosting company with technical support that’s Monday to Friday 9 to 5. Customer service is about you and not for the convenience of your host company.
  6. Read the terms and conditions very carefully – It is important you understand the terms and conditions of your hosting policy. Make sure you understand the rules and breaches of contracts first.
  7. Use a credit card – If purchasing web hosting and you require a refund use a credit card. It is easier to get your refund. A debit card takes longer to get your money back. The advantage of a credit card is your not having money taken directly from your bank account. This is from personal experience.
I’ve had some bad experience with hosting companies, I’d love to hear your experiences good and bad. Which hosting company would you recommend? Please leave a comment.

24 Comments

  1. TechZoomIn

    Many hosting companies came into play with offers like free and less costs and more…

    Good tips dude.

    Posted 3-17-2009

  2. James King

    Hi Lax.

    Thanks for the input. Hosting companies are a minefield, after my third attempt, I’ve found a great company called Heart Internet.

    Posted 3-17-2009

  3. Salwa

    Choosing a good web host can be very tricky at times. Thanks for the tips

    Posted 3-17-2009

  4. James King

    Hi Salwa,

    Thank you for commenting on the atmmultimedia blog.
    In the UK there aren’t really any Oversellers selling TB’s of webspace.

    But the web hosting company I am with in the UK is Heart Internet.

    I suggest only using oversellers if you have a podcast or video tutorials, place those on your massive bandwidth. Embed podcasts and videos into your blog. So that, you don’t overuse your bandwidth to your server with your blog on.

    Seperate hosting for blog (good fast server)
    Seperate hosting for podcast (use a hosting account with TB’s of room)

    Don’t use a database on a overseller account, there are too many sites on the server and it’ll crawl your database.

    Posted 3-17-2009

  5. KushMoney

    Great tips, thats why I love my hosting provider. They are totally against the whole idea behind overselling. My blog loads fast every time.

    Posted 3-18-2009

  6. clickktdotcom

    Very interesting and usefull post.
    Thanks

    Posted 3-18-2009

  7. James King

    Hi Kush money,

    Thanks for stopping by. if you don’t mind me asking which hosting company are you with?

    Posted 3-22-2009

  8. KushMoney

    My hosting provider is hastyhost.

    P.S. 99% off first month hosting on any shared plan with promo code: kushmoney

    Review them if you like.

    Posted 3-22-2009

  9. James King

    Hi KushMoney,

    Thanks for your reply, I have my own web hosting server, but thanks for the offer.

    James,

    Posted 3-22-2009

  10. James King

    You’re welcome,

    Thanks for commenting.

    Posted 3-22-2009

  11. KushMoney

    James are you building a web hosting company?

    Posted 3-23-2009

  12. James King

    Hi KushMoney,

    I am considering this: I’ve bought a reseller host, because I was with an overseller company and they were terrible, the customer service was dreadful. If I wanted some assistance, I needed to contact the CEO of the that hosting company to something done, that’s pathetic really.

    My hosting company is great, although my hosting costs me £35 per month. As I am web designer as well, I can supply the hosting, domains and URLs as well.

    It is something I am thinking of doing in the future.

    Posted 3-23-2009

  13. KushMoney

    Overselling hosting companies suck. Cost its clients money.

    Let me see your hosting website when you done building it. Will you have an affiliate program?

    Posted 3-23-2009

  14. James King

    Hi KushMoney,

    Of course, I will show you when I’ve done building it. One concern I have will I have the time to offer excellent technical support. If you are a web host provider how do you deal with that?

    I am currently in full time work.

    Thanks

    Posted 3-23-2009

  15. KushMoney

    I thought about providing web hosting but realize I would suck at technical support. So I didn’t build a web hosting company.

    If time is your problem, Hire someone to handle the times you can’t be available.

    Posted 3-23-2009

  16. James King

    Thats a good idea, it is hard to create an online business in your spare time, when you’re in a full time job, but I am sure there are ways around this, hiring someone will be a good idea.

    Thanks

    Posted 3-25-2009

  17. KushMoney

    Well I hope everything works out for you. Becareful of who you hire. Some people are really lazy.

    Posted 3-25-2009

  18. Wholesale PLR

    I read a post similar to this a few weeks ago, but I think this makes more sense

    Posted 4-1-2009

  19. Ex Back

    After reading the article, I just feel that I really need more information on the topic. Can you share some more resources please?

    Posted 4-9-2009

  20. James King

    Hi Ex Back,

    What would you like to know? In more detail, please assist

    James,

    Posted 4-9-2009

  21. brampiompix

    This is quite a hot information. I’ll share it on Twitter.

    Posted 4-14-2009

  22. James King

    Hi Brampiompix,

    Thanks for your comment, nice one I am grateful that you’ve twitted me.

    Posted 4-15-2009

  23. John/jvanwyk.com

    As a novice with programming and technical information, I find that good customer service is key. Reputable companies will rise to the top and customer service is always one of the main reasons why. Look at companies like Zappos, and I would have to include from my experience Go Daddy.

    I have never had a bad experience with either and both are proactively improving their business structure by listening to the customers that they serve.

    Great Post!
    John@jvanwyk.com

    Posted 7-30-2009

  24. james

    Hi John,

    This post was written from experience, I had terrible customer service with Globat so I had to change. Stick with a hosting company that has a good reputation.

    Posted 7-31-2009

Post a Comment

Your email is never published or shared. Required fields are marked *

Back to Top ↑