First and foremost, always go look at online reviews. The Internet is full of people’s opinions on the services they received from all kinds of companies. You won’t have to look long to find out how someone feels about a hosting service you’re considering.
That being said, you need to be careful. A lot of hosting companies offer affiliate programs. While those aren’t bad, in and of themselves, it motivates many to put up fake review sites that flatter a certain company while simultaneously selling their services for easy commissions.
This is why you can’t just stop at reading reviews. Go to the actual company’s site and look for some telltale signs that they’re not on the level.
“Unlimited†Features
Stop for a moment and consider what would happen if a hosting company actually provided unlimited bandwidth. That would be like a restaurant providing unlimited refills on their actual dishes.
The reason disreputable hosting companies offer “unlimited†bandwidth is that they’re counting on the fact that you and the majority of their customers really don’t need that much, to begin with. “Unlimited†still sounds good, though, doesn’t it?
Furthermore, if you do push their expectations, you can expect some pretty strong-handed tactics from them in an attempt to get you to upgrade.
To be fair, this isn’t necessarily an underhanded tactic. Some very reputable companies will offer you that unlimited service simply because they know you’ll never come close. Still, you should be reasonably suspicious about this marketing tactic.
“Supportâ€
Another word you’ll see get thrown around a lot is “support.†First, find out exactly what this entails. What you want it to mean is that there will be a professional available by phone 24/7. Unfortunately, this isn’t always the case.
Once again, false advertising is rampant in this industry. Most hosting companies that claim to offer 24/7 support will list their number right on their website. Give it a call at all hours of the day to see if someone actually answers. If you don’t get an answer, move on. You can’t risk having a problem and not having support when you do.
Check Uptime
Uptime is also vital. It refers to how often your site will actually be up and available. 100% uptime isn’t possible and anyone who claims they can provide it is a liar. It’s as simple as that.
However, 99% is possible and some can even do 99.99%. Go to their terms and services, though, and search to see what the company will do when downtime occurs. You want a provider that will actually compensate you for your loss.
Be careful about selecting a hosting company. The above will help you spot those that should definitely be skipped. Of course, we’d be happy to give you further advice too, if you need it. Just call!
ServerPronto offers the best affordable and secure hosting service in all dedicated server packages.
Sources:
How to Spot & Avoid Bad Web Hosting Companies
Photo Cred: Flickr / Rudolf Schuba
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