Every online entrepreneur must make a very important decision: which web hosting company to do business with. Every person deals with this decision in a different way. Some people ask their friends what they would suggest, while others simply search for the most popular web hosts or the cheapest offerings from companies. While each person’s method may differ, one of the most important issues in the web hosting search pertains to the reputation of the company. Once you have a list of several web hosting companies to consider, there are many reliable websites that can make researching the company relatively easy.
The First Steps

Any responsible small business owner needs to start by making sure that the web hosting company they’re planning to work with is a respectable business. One of the best ways to do that, is to check with the Better Business Bureau online: BBBonline.org.

Potential warning signs should be treated with caution, as many other entrepreneurs who have chosen not to heed what the Better Business Bureau has to say can confirm. Blindly picking one company or another is never the smart thing to do. Foolish mistakes will end up costing money and, most importantly, time. Another resource worth checking out is the ConsumerReports.com website. Both of those sites can help in spotting potential warning signs to consider right from the beginning.

A Quick Online Reputation Check
Scam.com, as the name suggests, is a community devoted to outing companies that should be avoided, so it definitely represents a good starting point. In addition, as strange as it may sound, it’s always recommended to do a search using terms similar to “[company name] scam” on Google. This is a quick and easy way to find complaints that may be lurking in forums and other consumer Web 2.0 arenas. While much of the information can be based on simple misunderstandings, some of the data can be very useful in assessing the respectability of a particular company.

Reviews, Reviews and More Reviews
Once you’ve determined that there is nothing suspicious about a certain company, you can include it on your list of potential options. When that list is finished, it all boils down to using the review websites to complete the company research, and then choosing the best offer for your particular needs.
It is highly recommended to search for as many reviews as possible, while narrowing down the list of web hosts to consider. Below is a collection of websites that can provide unvarnished insight into businesses from a consumer point of view, as well as some web hosting review site locations.

http://www.webhostingtalk.com

Web Hosting Talk is considered one of the industry’s largest, most influential web hosting resources, with information, forums, reviews and advice. The site also includes web hosting news, a wiki, and the forum topics cover every issue of importance to online business web hosting. The site is owned by social media company, iNET Interactive – which operates many prominent online technology communities that include user-contributed ratings, reviews, and discussion, along with professionally produced and informative web content. The web hosting review section of the website can be found here: http://www.webhostingtalk.com/forumdisplay.php?f=10.

http://www.best-webhosting-2009.net
This is a no nonsense site that reviews ten web hosting providers. While you may recognize some of them, others are sites that you might not have heard of before. The site is usually up to date and accurate. They also provide information about the providers’ features as well, including the price, disk space, bandwidth, set up fee, domain price, a detailed review, and a percentage score that tracks just how useful the web host is. This is a site that breaks it down and provides the real life information needed that is very helpful for choosing some web hosts to consider.

http://www.thetop10bestwebhosting.com
This is a site that is a lot like the one above, which compares ten web hosting companies in a test that spans several categories. The hosts are rated from one to ten, with the best host (in the website’s opinion) at the front of the list. The list includes reviews of such features as disk space, bandwidth, domain price, a performance score, uptime, speed, and free reviews about the hosts themselves. The site is easy to use, informative, and can really help with learning many things about various web hosts.

One key thing to remember when looking for the best web hosting service is to remember that customer reviews are absolutely one of the most reliable forms of feedback that can be found on any particular web host. How customers perceive their experiences with the host can give you incredible insight as to how you can plan to be treated if you sign with them. After all, a cheap web hosting company might look good on paper, but how it stacks up against some customer reviews should be considered as well. You really don’t want to find out that the cheapest hosting won’t be worth all the trouble it could cause in the long run.

http://www.findmyhosting.com
This is perhaps one of the better guides for scrutinizing web hosting possibilities on the Internet. This site offers customer reviews on many different web hosts, and includes a search engine on board that can help narrow search preferences. Search categories can be refined according to price, hosting platform, disk space, data transfer per month, or email accounts. After entering specific search details, you are taken to a page that shows the different web hosts offering plans to fit the search criteria.

The customer reviews were easy to find under the view rating detail option that is available for every host. This link takes you to a page breaking down how the customers felt about the host, and is a great way to see behind the curtain. This is really a great place to go to not only find new web hosting companies that you have not heard of before, but also compare prices, customer satisfaction, and different plans available. Since the number of different hosts featured here is truly staggering, it is a good place to visit before deciding, because it is likely that it could reveal a side to web hosting that you have not seen before.

It is important to remember when deciding on a web host for your business that customer satisfaction are the two magic words. Many experienced, professional business people will pay more to know that they are going to get good service. This is because without reliability and good service, the host is only going to be a waste of money for you, no matter how cheap the hosting service may be.

http://www.customerhostingreviews.com
This is a good site to visit, even if it is solely to become aware of some new hosting companies that you may have never heard of before. This site also features many valuable reviews that could be very useful. It is also a good destination for checking up on some web hosts that you already be considering, as another way to validate them.

It is a good idea, while searching and finding some web hosts that appeal to you, to check for a few more. Then take the choices that you have narrowed, and search for more information. If you try to find out everything that you can about potential web hosts, you will be in a better position to know the truth about the hosts that you are contemplating. No host is perfect, and it is better to know the downsides before you have already signed a contract.

http://www.hostcritique.net
This is another website that could prove helpful in your search for a good web host. This site again features the classic top ten list, and rates the sites based on a number of different categories. The site also offers both more info and reviews options for all of the web hosts on the list, including what other people think about them. It is difficult to determine, though, whether the reviews are by customers or random reviewers.

It is important not to forget that knowledge gained from many places will often reveal a much truer outlook than knowledge obtained from just one place. All of these sites are great, but only if you utilize as many as possible. Information can be as true or false as the person submitting it, so you need to research a wide range of different knowledge banks before making that final choice. After all, information obtained from ten sources is going to reveal more truth about the topic than information gained from just one or even a few sources.

http://webhostinggeeks.com
This site also offers a top ten list format. However, there are two differences that make this site worth checking out at least once. For one, the site is updated. Right at the top of the site, it is dated 2009, so you can be pretty sure that the information is recent. Also, you can read a review of each hosting choice right on the site. It appears, however, that the reviews are not by customers, so again, keep that in mind. Regardless of where the review came from, it may still provide some good information to consider. This site gives one to five stars based on how good the hosting service is supposed to be, which reveals at a glance which hosting services the website endorses.

Seeing the Big Picture
All of the sites above are good for furthering your quest for knowledge, but it is best not to rely upon them individually for all information. Always be suspicious when you come across review sites that give only good information about a certain site or service. Often, ‘reviews’ such as those are by writers hired to write a positive review, rather than actual users. A good, objective review is always a sign of honesty, and that is what you need to in order to make the best web hosting decision possible.

The key thing to remember about finding a good web host is that information is your best ally. You need to know as much as possible about the web host before you engage in business with the company. Therefore, Google the host, Google some customer reviews, and even Google the host owner. It is highly recommended that you do not sign with a web host until you are certain that you are going to get the best service possible. There should be no trial and error in this area, because no business can afford dealing with a disreputable web hosting company.

Finding a good web host does not have to be hard, but it does take research to find the truth about the companies being considered and will ultimately be well worth the effort. Using the resources available can make it much easier to determine which web hosting company is best for your small business.

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