Basic Guide To Selecting A Webhost

For well over 5 years, I have been in the webhosting industry. I do not press it. In fact, some people think I do, but truthfully, I am the type of person that just leaves a link or banner out. If someone clicks on it, great! If not, oh well.

For hosting, I have purchased well over 8 years, as long as I have been designing professionally (for pay.) Yep, for those haters, I have been designing that long, and my resume (forgive the lack of accents and correct spelling on that word) contains almost 100 sites I have played part in the design. Not only that, my free graphics have been used on numerous sites. Personally, I enjoy more that people love the free graphics I give out. In fact, I encourage people to make suggestions on what they would like to see. It is practice for me and something else that is free for anyone.

People often forget the simple and honest things, especially in hosting, hence why I began a bit awkwardly in this post. It is to prove my honesty. With over 400 pages, I better be honest about what I do!

So, here is a guide to how to select a webhost:

1. Choose several webhosts before you begin. There are so many, that you should choose at least a dozen and go from there.

2. Look up the host in search engines. As much as some people like to be positive, you need to be careful. No matter if a webhost has a thousand or ten thousand clients… as they say, you need to look up their company name and words like “scam”, “bad webhost”, “reported to Better Business Bureau.” Trust me, after a personal learning experience, I can attest that you really should.

3. Look up the company you want to webhost with in the Better Business Bureau.

4. Read the forums, that is, if that webhosting company has a forum. Even if you have to sign up, it is better in the long run.

5. Check out what kind of services it offers. If the company offers a special admin panel other than cPanel or Plesk, you may run into the fact that you are limited on creating databases or other features. You could even have troubles moving to a different host later on if you choose a host with a different control panel platform (like Powweb… sorry, I do not even link them because I do not like their services.)

These are just general considerations when you select a webhost. Although price may seem great, in the end, you could get screwed. Do your research first before choosing.