Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : Objective Webhost Reviews

[Impressions]

Because it is so easy to set up a hosting business, there seems to be a billion of them around. It gets very hard to choose, at least for myself it does.

So my question is where do I go to get OBJECTIVE advice for webhosts? Can someone point me to a government or similarly reputable agency or some official consumer association or some place that has comprehensive list (as far as possible) of independent professional reviews of web hosts??

I've been to some review sites, and quite frankly, they're garbage. The sites are sponsored by the recommended companies! Sheesh.

I want four things:
1) comprehensive listing,
2) independence, professional reviews, and
4) some kind of official stamp, some kind of consumer watchdog, or similar government agency.

Do I want too much?

[Matt]

Yes...you want too much. Just Kidding though.

As far as review sites, for the most part you are correct. The top listed ones are usually the ones who doled out the most money. I don't know of any complete, un-biased site with professional reviews. The closest I have seen is findmyhosting. The reviews are posted by clients, which are verified. The host doesn't pay for position of their listing, but do give a kickback if someone is referred from there and orders. You can sort the list by ratings or by price. Some of the companies have a few hundred ratings. That should give you a good idea of the hosts reputation. The drawback is that there are few hosts with that number of reviews.

Coming here is also a good way to go. You can search the forum for a company you are considering and see what experiences others have had with them. If you do a search and it comes back with no results, I wouldn't use that as the sole determining factor as to the hosts quality or reputation. There are hundreds of companies out their that provide excellent service but are not mentioned here. In that instance I would do a search through Google and see what you can find.

The best thing to do is come up with a few that meet your requirements. Search here and on the web for information. If that checks, send them an email requesting information. That will help you gauge how quickly a host responds...but be careful of the weekend as many companies do not have a sales staff in over the weekend.

I hope this helps and I wish you luck in your search.

[blue27]

What you are looking for doesn't exist. Your best bet is to hang around this kind of forum long enough to get an idea of who is consistantly talked about in a positive way. It takes a while to find a good host that will fit your individual needs. It's not something to just jump into.

[MarcD]

Findmyhosting doesnt verify the reviews. the review script just checks to see if the domain posted by the customer is in fact hosted by the domain, then the user has to confirm his review in an email sent.

[Matt]

I should have clarified that...it verify's that the person making the review has a site with that host, and to activate the review, the reviewer must activate by clicking a link in an email that must be sent to the domain they have with the host.

[Impressions]

Hmm....why is what I'm asking for non-existent? Web hosting is a multi-million dollar industry, and what I'm after, I would have thought, is something many people would like to see.

Instead of trawling through the Internet and endless messageboards and endless threads, would it not be so much better to have a one-spot shop for everything, where you can be assured the advice is independent and the reviews are done professionally.

Clearly there is a need for this sort of thing. Or am I missing something??

[DarktidesNET]

Eeveryone can be biased ... ecpsecially if such a site got fairly big and needed donations to keep it running ....

[AussieHosts]

Originally posted by Impressions
Hmm....why is what I'm asking for non-existent?

It does, but not collectively in a way that would serve your purpose. For example, a consumer watchdog in the US/UK will have little chance of exercising any powers over an Australian based host with servers in the US, and likewise any official seal in those regions would mean little, unless they were global in their nature.

G

[MarcD]

Even the BBB is biased.

[HostMaker]

i think there are some hosting reveiw sites ( independent ones ) that offer what you are speaking of.

[blue27]

Originally posted by Impressions
Hmm....why is what I'm asking for non-existent? Web hosting is a multi-million dollar industry, and what I'm after, I would have thought, is something many people would like to see.

Instead of trawling through the Internet and endless messageboards and endless threads, would it not be so much better to have a one-spot shop for everything, where you can be assured the advice is independent and the reviews are done professionally.

Clearly there is a need for this sort of thing. Or am I missing something??

Who is going to fund it?
If they sell advertising then it's can't be truly unbiased because people will gravitate toward the advertised companies.
What other advertising would they sell. The people who go to these sites are there specifically to look for hosting.

[hostwhere]

Just find a popular host, that most people are talknig about and has been around for sometime, even if the host is spending huge bucks in advertising. A small host won't have that kind of fund to advertise in the first place.

[Impressions]

There are numerous well respected magazines out there that review games, hardware, cars, etc. Why can't we have something similar for web hosting?

Sure hosting companies can advertise in these review websites, my only problem is when their advertising has so much clout it impacts on the independence of the reviews.

For example, I think it becomes ridiculous when the web hosts on review actually donate hosting services for the website in question.

[DarenC]

Try Web Host Magazine and Buyer's Guide. I know for a fact that not all of their reviews are purchased, and they seem fair and unbiased. They even put a disclaimer on their reviews as to whether the host reviewed was an advertiser or not at the time of the review.

As for "customer reviews", there are those who write their own, spam with purchased reviews, etc. Also, a review is hardly objective - one bad experience can sour you on any type of service, and a REALLY bad experience can lead to a bad review, even if you've had a year or more of uninterrupted and flawless service from the vendor. Granted, those reviews, mixed in with several other glowing reviews, may not pack too much weight, but it is something to think about.

Bias can creep in to anything. You just have to search, read, and assimilate what you can, and try your best to weed out the BS.

[jcwebii]

There have been some tries at a comprehensive web host review resource like you are describing, but unfortunately those programs were either transformed or discontinued - possibly due to funding problems, possibly due to an uncertain business plan, or perhaps just because the directory/magazine changed direction.

One example is ISPcheck's Guaranteed Web Hosts program, which started out as a rather exciting unbiased customer-driven directory that was powered by an extensive customer survey process. However, for some reason or another, that program was discontinued. (My guess is that the program was not very cost effective for that company.)

Although we have certainly come a long way with this industry, the Internet is still very young and there may be new government/non-prof organizations formed in time. Even orgs like BBB and Attorney Gen. office are human-run; they require a lot of resources to process and review reports supplied by consumers. Also, they require the initiative of the consumer to comment - they have to actually make the effort to complain or praise the company. I am sure there are a lot of companies out there who have tons of happy customers, who never say a peep.