What turns you off when considering a webhost?

Here's a few of mine.
1. Links on their website don't work. Grrrr... (use a damn link-checker script for God's sake!)
2. Words are misspelled on their website. Grrrr... (ditto above... spell check)
3. They reply in HTML. Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrr...
Gearhost just did this when I emailed them a sales question. I couldn't even read it since their text colors didn't show up on my default background so I just deleted it.

1. 'Unlimited' transfer.
2. Huge tabular data listing the most obvious of features. I've seen 'a server' listed as a feature of a hosting account which was actually quite a relief to find out since I was worried the host might have hosted my site on a camel or something?!??.
3. Big numbers. Why do some hosts insist on advertising 30000Mb when they could use 30Gb?
4. Numbers 2 and 3 on the same site - UGH!!

1) i hate hosts that you can only pay yearly, i'd rather not be stuck with a crappy host.

2)thier web site has a interneral server error. (www.xoasis.com)

3)cant find how to buy hosting/ gives you the run-around (portlandhosting)

Originally posted by ice53ltd

2. Huge tabular data listing the most obvious of features. I've seen 'a server' listed as a feature of a hosting account which was actually quite a relief to find out since I was worried the host might have hosted my site on a camel or something?!??.


:D yeah it kinda makes you wonder "whos" server its on.

Originally posted by ice53ltd
1. 'Unlimited' transfer.
2. Huge tabular data listing the most obvious of features. I've seen 'a server' listed as a feature of a hosting account which was actually quite a relief to find out since I was worried the host might have hosted my site on a camel or something?!??.
3. Big numbers. Why do some hosts insist on advertising 30000Mb when they could use 30Gb?
4. Numbers 2 and 3 on the same site - UGH!!

#2 reminds me of hosts that list JavaScript and HTML as a feature, misspell Python as Paython or Perl as Pearl, and have other silly or redundant things in their feature list. :) Sometimes you can tell how little a host knows by how their features are listed.

Some good ones! Keep 'em comin. Maybe we'll educate some hosts here.:)

Here's some more:
1. Hosts with forums who block reading of their forums to only one of two forums; or only allow members to access any of the forums. What are they hiding?
2. Worthless testimonials. Anyone can make those up?
3. Poorly designed websites. I.E., red type on black, text that's too small/large, too many graphics, etc.
4. Worthless uptime guarantees
5. Worthless claims, such as "Voted #1 by Blahhost Magazine"

Actually, I have one which I hate more although it doesn't apply directly to hosting but to domain registration.

I think advertising 39p for a domain name and then writing '+ registration fee: £2.50 per year (US Domains: £6.70)' in small print is a joke. Perhaps I should advertise a brand new Mercedes for £1 and then say '+ £19,999 for the car'.

Anyway, I won't mention the name of the company but needless to say they're part of a very large operation here in the UK.

Originally posted by chrisb
. . . . . . .
1. Hosts with forums who block reading of their forums to only one of two forums; or only allow members to access any of the forums. What are they hiding?
2. Worthless testimonials. Anyone can make those up?
3. Poorly designed websites. I.E., red type on black, text that's too small/large, too many graphics, etc.
4. Worthless uptime guarantees
5. Worthless claims, such as "Voted #1 by Blahhost Magazine" Please clarify a couple of these for us. And maybe I can shed some light on some others.

1. Some hosting clients enjoy total anonymity.

2. Are testimonials that contain websites and contact methods "worthless?"

3. I suppose "Poorly designed websites" is open to opinion.

4. Are uptime guarantees that are backed by a clearly defined SLA "worthless?"

5. Speaks for itself.

1) misspellings is a big one for me

2) different prices on the order form compared to their homepage :confused:

3) using pre-made software for ordering or sales such as formmail or something similar....kinda bugs me

4) using wrong terms when describing features or specs of their machines or services

6) hosts that can't count....hey, you'd be suprised

I hate hosts with:
- Pop ups on their pages. That goes double if the pop up is from another company, making it obvious they need to sell advertising to supliment their income.
- Easily spotted misspellings.
- Poor language use in general, indicating not much thought went in to it.
- Bad links.
- Under Construction pages.
- SCREAMING colors!
- Glowing, blinking, or moving text, and whatever else newbies find fascinating.
- Any website award.
- Any customer testimonial.
- Frames.
- People (that don't work there) looking up at you from the page.
- Pics of servers they don't own / use.
- Kiddie email addresses or IM names for contacts. (TheKEwl1)

Then there are the ones that make the rest of us look bad because we don't do these things:
- Unlimited stuff.
- False values given for services most hosts privide for free.
(Includes free database - $50 value!)
- Free domain with hosting.
(in their price list they have a $25 set up fee)
- Free hosting with domain.
(the domain is waaay overpriced and the hosting usually sucks)

Yeah, it's amazing how many hosts have a higher price when you get to the order form, or have different prices on different pages for the same plan.

I, too, LOATHE those silly pics of people looking up/out at you where their head is 20 times as big as their feet. I guess it's supposed to be that perpendicular train track effect. :)

Another one:
--hosts whose order forms are not secure

Originally posted by chrisb
Yeah, it's amazing how many hosts have a higher price when you get to the order form, or have different prices on different pages for the same plan.


I know what you mean, when they advertise $2.95 per month and you get to the order form and the price is $35.00 a year. That's because you have to pay yearly and the equivalent price to $2.95 per month is about $35.00 a year.

I hated that when I looked for a webhost myself.

Just my 2 cents.

quote:
Originally posted by chrisb
. . . . . . .
1. Hosts with forums who block reading of their forums to only one of two forums; or only allow members to access any of the forums. What are they hiding?
2. Worthless testimonials. Anyone can make those up?
3. Poorly designed websites. I.E., red type on black, text that's too small/large, too many graphics, etc.
4. Worthless uptime guarantees
5. Worthless claims, such as "Voted #1 by Blahhost Magazine"

SWR sez:
Please clarify a couple of these for us. And maybe I can shed some light on some others.
1. Some hosting clients enjoy total anonymity.
2. Are testimonials that contain websites and contact methods "worthless?"
3. I suppose "Poorly designed websites" is open to opinion.
4. Are uptime guarantees that are backed by a clearly defined SLA "worthless?"
5. Speaks for itself.


1. Perhaps, but I think that's mostly BS and not a good reason. I firmly believe the biggest reason is because hosts don't want you to see negative posts or complaints.
2. That could still be faked by friends, etc.
3. Yes, that is subjective to a point, though a hard-to-read website is definitely "poorly designed"
4. No, I started to clarify that. If they are guaranteed by an SLA, then they are not worthless.
5. I take it you agree on that one.

Originally posted by TheTech


I know what you mean, when they advertise $2.95 per month and you get to the order form and the price is $35.00 a year. That's because you have to pay yearly and the equivalent price to $2.95 per month is about $35.00 a year.

I hated that when I looked for a webhost myself.

Just my 2 cents.

Thanks for brining that up. THAT's the one that slipped my mind. I hate it when hosts advertise something like "Only $14.95 a month, and then you find out that's only if you pay yearly, otherwise it's $24.95 a month. I run from those hosts that use this deceptive marketing ploy.

1. Very hard to find or non-existant TOS

Leave fast, who know's what your agreeing to if you hit signup ...

How about those hosts that obviously lie on their website, such as saying they have an OC-192 connection, when a traceroute doesn't show one.

Hosting turnoffs:

1. Hosts that don't have a snap shot of their hosting plans right on their home page.
2. The TOS/AUS link isn't easy to find
3. 5000 MB of traffic instead 5 GB of BW (I don't know why that bugs me I think I'm so used to seeing BW described in GB that when I see it in MB I get annoyed--not enough to kill the deal just a pet peeve for me).
4. If they don't have Contact info with email, phone #, and IM
5. No FAQ section
7. Email responses are unprofessional-rude
8. Must agree the smiling people looking up at me and giving me the thumbs up is getting very old!
9. Flash intros without a Skip Intro link (some get way to carried away)

Yeah, I don't care for transfer rates listed in megs, either. Don't they think we can convert those megs into gigs? I know they think 30000 megs looks better than 30 gigs, but I disagree.

30 day money back on signup but if you have a contract of 3,6 or 12 months and then cancel before the end - no refund on remaining months of contract.

This is what Hostway and several others have in the fine print.

User names that are difficult to remember.

Words that are misspelled in these forums, on their websites and in email. (even a spell checker may not correct some errors: example, please send (sent) to (too, two) me ....”

Inappropriate language. Ethnic innuendoes.

A few email addresses (Posted at a another website I visit - “Due to the on-going problems with postings from Non-ISP email addresses, we will no longer accept registrations from individuals using non-ISP related emails, such as: user@hotmail.com, user@excite.com, user@yahoo.com”)

Sending emails in HTML. Sending emails with nonspecific subject line. I don’t read ALL emails. Checked one where subject line was “Hey”. It was a hosting offer. (How many others did I miss by deleting.)

Links on their website don't work. Home and Introduction pages that take a long time to load, moving text, unnecessary graphics, flash, etc.

Agree -“those silly pics of people looking up/out at you where their head is 20 times as big as their feet. “

Hosts with forums who block reading of their forums. Forums where I cannot use the search before registering. (“Some hosting clients enjoy total anonymity.” Block the profile feature if unregistered.)

Websites red on black; white on anything.

Gallery or portfolios where I have to click from page 1 > 2 > 3 > 4 > 5. What if I saw something on page 9, I’d have to go thru each page.

Host that accept paypal only. Also think hosts could have a minimum payment of, say, $10, $15, or $20, as I think hosts that process credit card transactions also have a transaction fee, monthly fee and percentage cost.

The webhost location. If I 'really' needed to contact by telephone, don’t want to make an international call.

* Setup Fees
* No Support Forum


Originally posted by chrisb
quote:
Originally posted by chrisb
. . . . . . .
1. Hosts with forums who block reading of their forums to only one of two forums; or only allow members to access any of the forums. What are they hiding?

I wouldn't say they are hiding anything. What about hosts who delete posts yet have an open forum? We've all heard of this before.

Originally posted by Curtis H.
I wouldn't say they are hiding anything. What about hosts who delete posts yet have an open forum? We've all heard of this before. [/B]
well some people put some really obseen things on the message boads and guest books.


i wonder if this works?
[javascript:alert(document.lastModified)]

You must all think alike - I agree with all of them, although I can understand having a private forum in some sense (even though theres no NEED usually for one.

(I must say the site i'm working on already has none of the things mentioned *feels pleased with himself* :stickout: )

Originally posted by chrisb

1. Hosts with forums who block reading of their forums to only one of two forums; or only allow members to access any of the forums. What are they hiding?


We do this for a number of reasons. We don't hide anything :).

1 - Resellers need to be kept anonymous
2 - We have client only prizes and gifts
3 - We have scripts developed for our customers only

Originally posted by platinum
. . . (I must say the site i'm working on already has none of the things mentioned *feels pleased with himself* :stickout: )
We are guilty of two so far:
1. Hosts that don't have a snap shot of their hosting plans right on their home page.
Beacuse I hate that. Usually you have to click on one to see the rest of the features for that plan alone, then go back to check on other plans, ect. All our plans, features, and prices are on one page for compareson.
4. If they don't have Contact info with email, phone #, and IM
Our contact page has a "quick email us" form, with email, and snail mailing addresses, and says we have a 1800 number available upon request. Of course they can call the number on our whois, using their own dime.
Which brings me to one more:
- Hosts using false info in their hosting domain registration.

I'll reply to this, just for grins - since my site has a few of them. I don't expect to change anyone's mind, just explain why the practice may be used by some.

Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa:
host blocks access to their support forums completely, or for most forums. What are they hiding?

Good question here's why I use this practice: My support forums have detailed questions and answers in them. When a client asks a question about how to fix thus-and-such, the reply is often very careful, very detailed, and could be used in effect to enhance someone's knowledge base. This is my company's effort, my company's text. I know that there is a small percentage of unscrupulous hosts who go around swiping content off of other web sites. I'd rather not make it easier for them.

In my particular case, the forums for posting suggestions, questions, or feedback about the service (ie: where clients would post gripes about poor service as well as where potential clients would post pre-sales questions) is open to all to read and post. No registration required for that forum. Actually, that entire category is likewise open-access. I have a FAQ in the open area of the site; but the more thorough user's manual, control panel documentation, and member FAQs are member-access only. Unlike software usage, this isn't a service that can be used anyplace but my servers; so to access my site's control panel and my site's particular processes, they have to access my site anyway.

Hosts who use big numbers, such as stating bandwidth in MB instead of GB

Good question, here's why I decided to do it: My target market is not necessarily people who know what they're doing in shopping for web hosting, though of course anyone is welcome. My target audience is people who have literally been afraid to move off of Geocities or Tripod because web hosting scares them. They don't know what they're doing, they don't want to ask questions for fear of being sneered at and told to RTFM or STFW or "what a stupid question." Granted, it doesn't happen often - but you only need twice or thrice to convince you that you're a hopeless idiot and that asking questions is a bad thing. I polled a few people who made up my target audience, and they could more easily conceptualise things when the disk space and bandwidth were stated in the same units: either both gigabytes, or both megabytes.

My practices may drive off some clients; but they'll make a few more feel comfortable enough to take the plunge and host with me. I didn't decide to become a web host because I'm totally altruistic - I do expect to make a profit - but I'm all about educating and empowering my clients. For one thing, when they understand how to buy web hosting and hosting services a bit better, they'll (hopefully) realise that yes, my company does indeed offer a good deal and a good community.

I'm sure that there are plenty of nefarious reasons for hosts' use of some of the other items. A few of them have been stated. Hopefully, if my clients decide to go with another host after being with me for a while, I've helped them learn enough to spot the shysters and avoid them.

Originally posted by ATST
. . . . . .
- Hosts using false info in their hosting domain registration. Well, you may not know if it's false. Except for them that use 123 Any Street, Anytown USA (or something similar) along with the phone number of 555-555-5555 (or something similar). The ones that really annoy me are the ones that are completely blank.

don't forget the pictures of the hot chicks they've never met and the servers they only wish they owned...

quote:
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Originally posted by Curtis H.
I wouldn't say they are hiding anything. What about hosts who delete posts yet have an open forum? We've all heard of this before.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

Originally posted by dark deity

well some people put some really obseen things on the message boads and guest books.
I know this but that's not what I meant. Some hosts have been known to remove negative comments by clients regarding their service or support.

Originally posted by Curtis H.
* Setup Fees
* No Support Forum




I wouldn't say they are hiding anything. What about hosts who delete posts yet have an open forum? We've all heard of this before.

Of course! and I don't agree with that either. Many hosts only want positive posts in their forums. If they start censoring posts in their forum while I'm paying for their hosting, I'd go to another host.

We won't mention any names. ;)

Originally posted by chrisb
. . . . If they start censoring posts in their forum while I'm paying for their hosting, I'd go to another host. Of course.

But, your thread is about, "What turns you off when considering a webhost?"

And, although forum censorship would be a turn-off when considering; you likely wouldn't know until after you signed.

Although, whether they had a forum or not would not enter into the equation, if I were considering hosting.

If this thread is intended to help those seeking hosting to become more informed, it's probably best to stick to things to look out for before signing on. The things to look out for after signing, don't really need to be spelled out much. :)

Of course, if this is the normal, "Let's bash the hosting industry because once I had a host that didn't meet my expections," then carry on.

1.bad web site
2. misspelled words

The web host that have

"Live Person"

(Sorry currently unavailable, click here to leave a message)

Originally posted by chrisb
Yeah, I don't care for transfer rates listed in megs, either. Don't they think we can convert those megs into gigs? I know they think 30000 megs looks better than 30 gigs, but I disagree.

Well I'm guilty of this one, when I setup an account it's a pain to do "3072" in the CP for the transfer so I put "3000" but 3000 megs isn't 3 gigs so saying 3 gigs is lying so I put 3000 megs because that's what you get, not 3 gigs :D

Originally posted by chrisb
#2 reminds me of hosts that list JavaScript and HTML as a feature, misspell Python as Paython or Perl as Pearl, and have other silly or redundant things in their feature list. :) Sometimes you can tell how little a host knows by how their features are listed.
Though I won't argue with you on the "Pearl" comment (have seen that before myself), I've been told by some hosts that they list things like "JavaScript and HTML" as a features because people actually email in pre-sales questions asking if the host supports it. Certainly reasonable to try to head off those emails... :D

Originally posted by ljprevo
The web host that have

"Live Person"

(Sorry currently unavailable, click here to leave a message)

You noticed they're always offline too? ;-)

1) Tons of testimonials with no way to verify
2) Yearly hosting only
3) Setup fees for virtual hosting (Reseller / Dedicated is understandable)
4) Host that lie and give you "Checking into it" for 3 days because they're too afraid to say "I honestly don't know I'll go look for the anwser"
5) Tons of awards that you click on and find out you can submit your site to it to win
6) Agreed about aims like KeWLd00d45_FLoriDaSurFeR
7) Slow support
8) Techs that talk down to you
9) Hosts who don't understand anything about traceroutes and bandwidth but act like they do
10) I could go on forever but I agree with most of you all...

-- edit

Oh yeah, unlimited space/bandwidth but some <small></small> print has "This really means 200mbs and 5 gigs"

the host that doesnt even know how to get into ssh or do a top command....

Originally posted by SoftWareRevue
Well, you may not know if it's false. Except for them that use 123 Any Street, Anytown USA (or something similar) along with the phone number of 555-555-5555 (or something similar). The ones that really annoy me are the ones that are completely blank.

Wouldn't using a fake address/fake info on the domain registration make it hard to get a ssl cert for that domain? If i remember correctly Tawte required some kind of address verification.

what i also hate to see is hosting providers that dont provide any contact info at all, all they got is a form to fill out....or email address.

Originally posted by AlaskanWolf
the host that doesnt even know how to get into ssh or do a top command....

:D

What's top :confused: :blush:

I never understand that unlimited space thing. Just like I don't understand how www.worldwebhosters.com can offer a one-time lifetime membership fee. Does anyone actually buy that? I pay monthly, fool that I am. ;)

Originally posted by chrisb
How about those hosts that obviously lie on their website, such as saying they have an OC-192 connection, when a traceroute doesn't show one.

Just curious. What are some examples?

Originally posted by living_media
Mea culpa, mea maxima culpa

Doesn't that mean...

My fault. My major or ultimate fault???

Originally posted by LeaTechs
I never understand that unlimited space thing. Just like I don't understand how www.worldwebhosters.com can offer a one-time lifetime membership fee. Does anyone actually buy that? I pay monthly, fool that I am. ;)
I would think that a newbie hosting consumer would fall for that. Learn the hard way once they get burned.

Originally posted by Dixiesys


Well I'm guilty of this one, when I setup an account it's a pain to do "3072" in the CP for the transfer so I put "3000" but 3000 megs isn't 3 gigs so saying 3 gigs is lying so I put 3000 megs because that's what you get, not 3 gigs :D

Yep. You ht it on the nail! Which is why I say 2000 MB etc. Also, as there are a lot of newbie’s looking for hosting, many can imagine 2000 MB, but do not know what 2 GB is.

I also would disagree about the “Testimonial Turn-off.” I have them, as people like them – but I give ways to verify them (post a link to that client’s site.)

As for everything else, I am good to go!

Hosts that use teh term "bandwidth" to mean data transfer. That really bothers me for some reason.

Originally posted by ljprevo
The web host that have

"Live Person"

(Sorry currently unavailable, click here to leave a message)

Yes!

This one drives me bonkers. If I were going to implement something like this, I'd have it so that the graphic doesn't even appear at all unless someone is available (not all that difficult to implement with CGI, then just have your support personnel use it as they would an in/out board at an office).

-Dan

^ Hosts that sell many other things on their site that is not hosting related.
^ Hosts who have their FAQ locked to members only (though one host above explained their reasons). Many times I want to know technical stuff about the host's features and don't wish to email them. Often, I go into the FAQ and find the answer.
^ Hosts who have no explanation about their company, hardware, etc. on their website. I also like to see a regular gray Site Map button, but can live without one.
^ Hosts that take more than 24 hours to respond to a pre-sales email.
^ I agree on that "Live Support" thing. Funny how that is non-existent 99.99999% of the time. :) Great idea for enabling it with a cgi only when a rep goes online.


Also, that was a great idea about shutting off the profiles in the bulletin board to protect anonymity... but still think all forums should be left open.

Thanks for explaining why you list transfer in megs rather than gigs. I can understand better now why some hosts do that.

That's what we're all about, education and answering questions ;->

I have a pre-sales-question FAQ in the public zone, which has information about server specs, what is and is not allowed in terms of content, and some other items. The stuff about "how to I do x-y-z" or configuring email programs, though, is locked. Only members can get at that. Not a perfect solution, but darn close.

That's the same reason for locking most of the support forums: they contain step-by-step script and HTML troubleshooting, which all clients are more than welcome to access whenever they want. Again, though, I'm not interested in giving that away to folks, especially to the (admittedly small) percentage of hosts who scarf up content wholesale from other hosts to flesh out their own site.

Out of curiosity, chrisb, what things have you seen hosts selling that aren't hosting-related? I've never seem anything like this...at least not that I can remember. My brain is spitting up images of "hosting, domain registration, knitted tea cozies", but I don't think that's what you mean. (Or at least, I hope not :D )

Hosts that look too glitzy turn me off. (Glitzy is such a precise term, isn't it?) Major Flash animation, pictures of computer hardware and disks all over the site to lend it credence and make it look "more computerish", and yes, those skewed-perspective people - though I'm thinking that that craze will die out in another year or two, or at least fade significantly.

Hosts whose site used improper grammar - admittedly, I'm probably more of a nitpick about this than most people. The spelling could have been fine, but if there were lots of run-on sentences and bad syntactical constructions I worried. How would their support responses look? Would I need a specialised dictionary to interpret them?

Poor usability really irritated me. If I couldn't easily find what I was looking for, or if I found myself wading through a sea of pages with no clear idea how I got there, I tended to look elsewhere.

Long load times and heavy use of dancing baloney (animated anything) also made me click away. I view a host site as a tool: it is supposed to help a person buy hosting, and help a person find answers to questions about that hosting; and other than that it should stay out of my way.