10 replies to this topic

[Fae]

Hi all,

I'm currently looking for an effective shared hosting service for a small business I'm currently working for, as their current web hosting is inadequate. I've spent the last two hours or so trawling through host after host, assuming the ones that try too hard either provide poor service or are scams etc...

Looking through the reviews of some of the ones that I expected to be scams, I happened upon TrustLink, which seems to be a website dedicated to reviewing the authenticity and performance of this sort of thing.

I was wondering, are TrustLink themselves a reliable tool that I can use to help me find a decent web host? And are there any other similar sites that I could use to help me in my search?

Thanks a bunch

~Fae

[WingedPanther]

Is there any reason you aren't simply hosting your site on one of your own computers?

[Alexander]

WingedPanther said:

Is there any reason you aren't simply hosting your site on one of your own computers?

Pooling money into uptime on a unmanaged server is not the best option, businesses generally like the tech support that comes with the price of managed hosting.

@Fae: Although that tool may be a good option (like the BBB) to find hosts that are not scams, they do not vouch for performance or user satisfaction. A host with 67.7% uptime is not a scam for example (unless they claim it is otherwise, but that is not the point);

The most important question is: What is your budget? We could better assess options you could look for, if you tell us your needs.

[Fae]

WingedPanther said:

Is there any reason you aren't simply hosting your site on one of your own computers?

Pretty much what Nullw0rm said; We only have one small server here which only comes as part of the deal with the computer company we pay to do our IT (Remote services, VPN, etc...). I'm just here as a temp to redo the website. The company is a small charitable organisation with few employees who are technically minded. I've already reviewed the possibility of hosting it here, and determined it is extremely unfeasible.

@Nullw0rm: I'm honestly not sure of the budget, the director seems to expect something in the region of £100 per year (I notice you're in Canada, that's ~$160 CAD). Currently, I'm looking into the major hosting platforms (HostGator, BlueHost, LunarPages, iPage, 1&1, InMotion etc...) as they seem to be inexpensive enough, fully able to handle the small volumes of traffic we will generate and simple for hosting largely static pages. We really don't need anything fancy. Looking at these options, I think whatever I choose would land us under-budget.

The only one I'm intent on avoiding at the moment is JustHost.com, I'm aware that they're the cheapest and the general consensus of them is that they're good, but from some of the comments I've seen from the dissatisfied customers really makes me question their business practices, and I would not be comfortable leaving a company of non-technicals to deal with that kind of thing. Plus, they try too hard with that 'intellichat' thing whenever you try to leave a page, it tries to connect you to a 'live' operator, always a 'pretty' young woman trying to offer you a discount which is obviously a marketting chatbot. In my opinion, any company that tries so hard to get you to sign up in the first place and feels the need to deceive potential customers in this way clearly feels they need to because their service record cannot stand on its own merits. Sinister, I'd say.

Also, thanks again for your help ^_^
~Fae

[Fae]

Hi all,

I've sorted the web hosting dilemma here, we're going with out existing IT support company.

For anyone who finds this thread in future, and a trawling through the web hosting review sites like I did, something important to remember is that the web hosting review sites are often marketing sites who strike a deal with whichever host they're reviewing and get commision from every person they pass through who signs up to a plan. Due tio this, it's in their best interests to give every hosting site on there a good review. I myself was nearly taken in by the reviews on HostingThatSuck.com, as from the name you'd expect them to pick on every little fault, grumble and moan with every potential webhost. I found it odd that they repeatedly gave out perfect 5-star reviews to everyone (even to JustHost.com, who, as I said in my previous post, looked very fishy from the beginning and numerous user reviews confirmed my suspicions), and it turns out they're the same.

Anyways, enough jabbering and on to the conclusion :) I found this website that does in-depth research and reviews on the hosting review sites themselves. If you're looking up good webhosting and you think you've found a legitimate and honest review site, I'd reccomend checking them out here first to see if they honestly do review web hosts, or if they're just in it for the commission. ;)

[Alexander]

It's great to look for faults rather than "hopeless promises", although that site you link to assumes too much to be credible, it assumed one company spammed his/her video and not an individual looking for referral points. That site is kind of a "glamorous search for bad hosts", not filtering out much of the bias comments in the process.

[Fae]

I agree it shouldn't be taken as this site's word is law when looking for hosting. I just found it, and out of all of the websites that I rooted through in my search, this is the only one that seems to do clear reasearch on the targets of its articles. I thought it was more useful than anything else I found, and thought I'd post it up so other people could use it as a tool during their considerations if someone else starts going through the hosts like I did. My intention is that people consider the points that are made here as a part of their descision, and not base their entire descision on what this site says.

[ethikz]

I was in your same position. I searched through hundreds and read review after review about different web hosts. I did however stumble upon one that I read really good reviews about. You should check them out iPage. If you do decide to setup an account with them, would please say that techsectnet referred you.

[Rumsfo]

Go for stability, not just size. Just because the host if offering you unmetered and unlimited space, doesn't mean you should soley base your decision on that. What good is that account to you when your site is down or the server is overloaded?

[Hostforweb Inc]

The host should provide some sort of refund (eg prorated refund or discount) if it falls below that figure.

[LusoVPS]

Try to contact the current customers of the web host provider of your choice and see if they are satisfied with the kind of services being rendered by the web host company.