This is something I get asked all the time, since most of my friends know I have an embarrassing quantity of websites.  (Yeah, yeah.  Well I’m a developer and this is how we truly get our geek on.)

Q.  There are lots of cheap webhosts out there, so how do you know which one is best?

  1. Make sure they have live support of some type, either telephone or online sales chat. Test this before you purchase!
  2. Look for an UNCONDITIONAL 30+ day guarantee. If they don’t offer it, pass them by.
  3. Public forums will let you know that they are active and transparent! Webhosts such as crystaltech.com and site5.com are good examples of web hosts with public forums that let you see how they respond to complaints.
  4. Google them! Type in “hostname sucks” and “hostname rocks”. This will lead you to other websites where you will be able to see the quantity and types of complaints and praise they might be getting.
  5. POP mail is a must! So is good webmail. try out the demos of their webmail and also their cpanel software. (Control Panel)
  6. Do not go with hosts that make you register your domains through them. There’s no reason to do it, and it is a bit scammy, in my opinion.
  7. Make sure you get your own IP address. Why? If you share an IP address with some porn site or a spammer, your email could get banned! The good ones offer it, and without charging any more than the iffy hosts.
  8. Read the fine print. I once had a nightmare experience with a host that said they would offer a 30-Day guarantee, but only if you left them with a “legitimate” complaint. Although I did end up getting my money back after threatening to do a chargeback on my credit card, it was a bad experience that I could have been spared if I’d noticed how shifty their ‘terms’ were.
  9. Ask around! Most webmasters have had many websites with many different hosts, and they’re happy to share their experiences and tell you which are good and which to avoid.
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