Does anyone still pursue quality or are we now in the process of standardizing based on price? What are your top 5 criteria for choosing a web host?

I ask because it seems as though every time I turn around, a new company is offering 2.95/mo. accounts and instantly servicing 1,000 customers. So I have to ask..does anyone choose hosting based on something other than price?

Many hosts do. You just have to be patient and spend some time finding them.

ok, I have no idea what that means in this context, but thanks for the reply :)

Originally posted by iversit
ok, I have no idea what that means in this context, but thanks for the reply :)

Actually it's a direct response to your question
Does anyone still pursue quality

iversit is a host whom does not partake in offering 5 dollar a year plans. He or she wonders if people just scoop up hosting plans because they are cheap and if they don't even research the background of the company, reviews, etc. They are choosing cheap over quality.

Most people who know what they are doing and what they want get a good deal out of these cheap plans. They don't need extensive support, they just need space, bandwidth, uptime and a good deal.

Someone who needs help in setting up their site should pay more in the beginning, to ensure they will get the help and support that they need, in the case of the cheap host not following through.
The people who need help are always the ones that complain about their $2.95 bad host. ;)

We have no problems getting customers, and we are not the cheapest out there. People are looking for good quality hosting all the time that's what we offer. Not to say $2 hosts are not good but with $2/mth - cc transaction costs it does not leave you with much. How is one to expand?

Most cheaper hosts are run by younger people that have no bills to pay no family to feed. Sorry to say, staff costs money good quality servers cost money and you need cash reserves for emergency situations.

The key to hosts who don't charge $2.00/month is customer service, I've found that this is the one thing customers are willing to pay more for.

Another advantage of good customer service is you will have your number one advertising source for no cost, word of mouth.

Wise words, Robert. We have a $3/mo plan but it is paid yearly (less transaction cost) and has no cgi or mysql capabilities. With accounts like that, we can fit quite a few on a server so make it profitable. :)

Originally posted by NexDog
Wise words, Robert. We have a $3/mo plan but it is paid yearly (less transaction cost) and has no cgi or mysql capabilities. With accounts like that, we can fit quite a few on a server so make it profitable. :)

Plus with no MySQL or CGI I suspect your support requests would be somewhat lower.

Originally posted by MN-Robert
Not to say $2 hosts are not good but with $2/mth - cc transaction costs it does not leave you with much. How is one to expand?


Maybe some of these $2 hosts do their own processing in their offices, and cut out the middle man.
... < insert laugh >


Snickn,
"Another advantage of good customer service is you will have your number one advertising source for no cost, word of mouth."

Two cheers for that.

I choose based on
1) Quality of site : If they say things like "we help u do such n such" I won't touch it. If they don't use their capital letters, punctuation, etc. or make stupid spelling mistakes, I won't touch it.
2) Network : If it is multi-homed bandwidth from known providers it's fine. If it's on a single Williams line, yeah thanks for the offer, but no thanks.
3) How long have they been in business : If they've been in usiness a couple of years (3 or more) it's probably ok. If they're new (but no newer than 6 months) and offering reasonable deals that aren't "too good to be true" it's probably ok but keep your backups. If they are two days old and offering unlimited storage and bandwidth for $1.47/year then thanks but no thanks.
4) How fast do they respond to pre-sales email : If it's within 24 hours and a full response, it's probably ok. If it's some time next year saying "yes no maybe yes no no yes" it's probably not to good.
5) Finally, check WHT, HHO (and when it starts to grow, TAH) for reviews, comments, etc. on the host.

Of course, budget has to fit in, but it shouldn't be all you base your choice on. You're better getting less resources than less service :)

Max

Originally posted by blue27
Plus with no MySQL or CGI I suspect your support requests would be somewhat lower.

Not to mention the server load. :blush:

Yep, 500 $3/mo accounts is quite profitable with a server that costs $250/mo. Of course you have staff and other costs but if I had 20 servers like that, I'd be a happy chappy.

Of course they do. I think it depends on the site you run. If you're not going to mess with it much and just want to play with PHP on the weekend then you're probably not going to care about much.

Originally posted by TAH-Max
I choose based on
1) Quality of site : If they say things like "we help u do such n such" I won't touch it. If they don't use their capital letters, punctuation, etc. or make stupid spelling mistakes, I won't touch it.
2) Network : If it is multi-homed bandwidth from known providers it's fine. If it's on a single Williams line, yeah thanks for the offer, but no thanks.
3) How long have they been in business : If they've been in usiness a couple of years (3 or more) it's probably ok. If they're new (but no newer than 6 months) and offering reasonable deals that aren't "too good to be true" it's probably ok but keep your backups. If they are two days old and offering unlimited storage and bandwidth for $1.47/year then thanks but no thanks.
4) How fast do they respond to pre-sales email : If it's within 24 hours and a full response, it's probably ok. If it's some time next year saying "yes no maybe yes no no yes" it's probably not to good.
5) Finally, check WHT, HHO (and when it starts to grow, TAH) for reviews, comments, etc. on the host.

Of course, budget has to fit in, but it shouldn't be all you base your choice on. You're better getting less resources than less service :)

Max


Ah, yes, thank you. Precisely what I was after. I'm looking for more of a hosting consumer view point (no offense to other hosts, but for those of you who know me personally...I'm well aware of your opinions on the topic.)

Not having to do this before (was on Homestead :rolleyes: ) it was a real eye opening experience.
I tried to filter out hosts for quality, support and such,(see post above by TAH-Max) the prices all seemed relatively the same for what I was looking for: small BW and storage.
But in my case the ones I thought would work and help me couldn't host my site, so it finally came down to picking the best of the rest. (dartboard theory)
This industry seems ripe for consolidation, but probably won't happen for a while, which is good and bad.