Caveat Emptor

The web hosting industry is one that has grown exponentially over a relatively short period of time. Now more than ever, there are people all over, scramming to find a reliable web host. From small brick and mortar companies to large internet enterprises - they all want to diversify and go live on the web. But we all have heard stories of web hosts gone awry and the horrible experiences that entail. Which brings me to the question: what exactly draws us in to these companies? There are thousands of these web hosting companies all quintessentially trying to sell the same exact product: web hosting. There are variations in services offered such as Windows, Linux, MySQL databases, et cetera but what exactly draws us into one company and deters us from others? Furthermore, what is it that draws many to the dreaded web hosts that so many horror stories originate from?

Aesthetics

Aesthetics is a major factor in choosing a web host for many. If a website looks "pretty", some would say the web host must be reliable/good/all of the above. Many though have found that not to be the case as exemplified through horrific web hosting stories. This society is one where we judge everything by its cover. I'm not saying this is an entirely a bad thing; moreover it is an overpowering influence in most of our decisions. Aesthetically pleasing sites do show that some time and effort was put into creating them. When one solely bases their decision on the look of the site is when everything can go downhill. To the uneducated consumer, some may not have heard of or seen these highly circulated website templates that plague the web hosting industry. These usually for the educated consumer, throw up a red flag telling the prospective buyer to be sure to scrutinize the host more closely. Not everything on the web is what it appears to be, and many can testify to that. So when choosing a web host, it is important not to have aesthetics heavily influence your decision.

Price

Price is a large factor if not, one of the largest factors in choosing a web host. We've all heard the maxim, "You get what you pay for" and the common phrase, "Too good to be true". Usually in web hosting we find these to be true. One of the things we cannot do is buy something solely on the price. Prospective consumers see so much offered for such a nominal price and think, "Oh what a great deal!" But they don't factor in all the other aspects of the web host's job. Not only do they provide space and bandwidth, but they also provide server maintenance, server uptimes, customer support, extra features, et cetera. So before we buy this 10GB disk space and 100GB Bandwidth plan for $1 a month we must look through and analyze their business practices. Does this seem plausible? Take a look at the other plans they have. Are there any hidden costs? Does it seem like these plans can be profitable. A rule of thumb usually is to deviate yourself from purchasing plans from hosts offering unlimited disk space or unlimited bandwidth, as there is no such thing. A lot of the time, when people run into a web host with drastically inexpensive plans, they find their said services to be rendered useless – finding trouble with uptime, server speeds and general technical support. Even if we’re on a budget, it is a good idea to stay away from the hosts that make you think, “This is too good to be true.” Because as stated before, this is usually the case. Don’t think though that there aren’t any good budget hosts, because there are definitely excellent budget hosts providing quality service. To protect yourself, you really have to be aware of everything - all the services, the prices, the look and the most important factor in choosing a web host should be: research that you have conducted.

Research

The best consumer, the most protected consumer is one whom is educated. Research, research, research. If you narrow down a list of hosts, all that is left is to research them. Find out what their customers or ex-customers have to say about them. One may offer a 99.9% uptime guarantee which seems appealing but then while researching you may find that customers spent half a month without hosting! This of course is an exaggeration but it is plausible. Research is really the best way to find out if a host is suitable for you or not. You can use the forum, WebHostingTalk.com and find out various points of information to extend your knowledge of the web hosting industry. There you can use the search tool, type in the name of prospective hosts that you are researching and find all sorts of feedback from customers. This is one of the best tools as it gives you actual customer’s unadulterated reviews of the company. When looking for a host, always make sure to read their TOS and look for money back guarantee’s or refund policies. There are many instances when someone signs up with a host and is unsatisfied only to find out after the first day of hosting, no refunds are given. But this avoidable situation can put you into an extremely tight spot.

So why choose one host over another? Hopefully our choices are well balanced, educated and based sensibly in regards to the topics mentioned: aesthetics, prices, and research. If you keep a balanced view in regards to finding a web host there should be minimal problems. Always research and never jump into anything right away, and always keep in mind the Latin maxim, “Caveat Emptor” – “let the buyer beware”.