Well, as a few of you may know I recently purchased Tube Host. Anyways, what I am looking for is answers to what makes YOU decide to go with a specific host. The obvious answers are reputation, reliability, package size, price, etc... But what I want to know is, what would make you choose a newer host, over say host gator, brius, xzorbix, host monster, etc... I'm really not looking for flames, I'm looking for answers, as are a lot of other new hosts I am sure. Also if you have any suggestions for tube host feel free to let me know that as well, but mainly I want to know what YOUR looking for in a host. Thanks to all that take the time to respond, Mike.
I would have to say, the feel of their website and sense of information they give. If the website has a design that really shows something innovative and rich with great prices and advantages, then "Hell, why not choose this". My 2 cents.
I have only one criteria to pick one hoster over another; technical expertise. That is why I usually pick very small companies; the bigger they get, the worse their helpdesk/support becomes. Unless they are really big, but then they have other problem (like you becoming a number instead of a valued customer). I would not choose a hoster with employees / owners that can only handle cpanel, but don't know how to hack Linux (what is that, this 'ssh' you speak off?) or handle emergencies. If the only way he can handle a problem is by reinstalling cpanel or rebooting the server, there is a problem, because when shit hits the fan, he cannot fix it himself and that makes me very uncertain about uptime and data integrity. If I had to name another, I would add that I care about the ownership of the equipment; a real hosting company owns their own equipment. Why? Many reasons, but to name a few; - if you rent servers from another company and that other company goes broke, MY data will be sold off with the servers to another company I know nothing about. Not so if you own the servers etc yourself. Ofcourse you can go broke, but if the servers are yours, I can at least make a deal with you to take over that server; with large bankrupt companies this is not so easy., - big companies (like burst.net) are often terrified of DMCA/phishing/whatever complaints; they might (and do as I know) just pull the plug at the first warning (check this one for instance; http://www.007ihost.com/) and you lose all data as the server is not yours; when it is you can pick it up and they won't pull the plug that fast as they have to take a lot more effort to make that stick legally. You cannot meet my first demands I think, but you asked for an opinion how I would pick a new hoster and that is honestly how. That is if I look for a hoster to run my real livelyhood (money making) sites on; for smaller sites, I would pick other criteria; - related to the above; people who know their rights online; you DO NOT have to shut down a server/account when you get a 'we will kill you now' letter from a lawyer; if you don't know that, you are in the wrong business; I am the client and the client is/should be king, not some whiny, bluff-poker lawyer (i get bitten by this often as I try new hosters) - easy payment; Paypal subscription with ample warning to cancel - easy and transparant upgrading without bothering me about tech details - proper helpdesk/issue system - direct telephone number to someone who can help me - online chat with the helpdesk and sales On your site I am missing the issue system, live chat (with 'open' hours). I like the About page => personal is good. You have specials => good. I would introduce coupons and an affiliate program, but those are not criteria to pick or not pick you. my 2 cents.
Wow thanks kwaku , nice and informative, btw I do have an affiliate system, if you see on the right theres a link to it. But anyways thanks for the help, very helpful post, thanks a bunch.
Ah; sorry about missing the affiliate system; I thought I had looked thoroughly but not enough it seems. Thanks!
Oh and before I forget; make sure your own website is rock-solid and preferably load balanced etc; nothing is more annoying than having my site go down and seeing that I cannot reach my hosting company because their site is down too. Your site should be blazingly fast and reachable at all times if at all possible; it is so much more professional in the eyes of clients if your site appears within a fraction of second, even if all your clients are loading much slower
A lot of websites I visit have a hosted by link at the bottom. I usually check these out and decide based on reviews at webhostingtalk.com as well as checkout the hosts' list of current customers.
After dealing with a host that merely rebooted the server in response to down time, I decided to go with a hosting company that was much larger. And, despite generalizations that larger companies make customers a "number," this company actually has a tech department that treats you like a human being. I was so impressed with their tech service that I have no doubt that I'll use their hosting services above anyone else's - at least until that tech service falls apart. To me, the equipment ownership and tech service are the most important things. If that hosting company doesn't have a phone number that I can call 24/7, then I'm not going with them no matter how lightning fast the site might be. Amazingly, the site I'm with now has more storage for a lower price...yet better service. Can't beat that combination.
So far I have tried serveral hosting company, besides the price, the most important which I consider is whether they support my software scripts, in fact I tried to install one software script, but only 2 out 5 hosting can work without problem. The software script I mentioned is CB Genius or Clickadpro etc..
When i find a host that i like before buying i search on the web for reviews + post in 1-2 webmaster forums and asck about it ...
To me the 2 most important things as deciding factors are - reliability + support. Indeed, the two go hand in hand. If I get support whenever I require, I have to trust that host.
good service and good support. Good service means that the service is reliable. Good support mean the host is there even your box crash on 3 am.. for me, i personnaly go to webhostingtalk.com to see the latest discussion about hosting..
For me uptime and customer support is what I am looking for in a webhost. Reviews from users will also help me decide who will I do business with.
As for me I prefer trothworthy host...It can't be cheaper in comparison with others.And of course support!!!
Nothing would make me choose a newer host over an established one. I am talking about dedicated hosting which is what I use, but I guess it applies. All I want from a dedicated host is reliablity, performance, and a good price. I hire someone else to do management. If the box will stay up, people can get there quickly, and I am paying a reasonable price, I'm happy. So one of the criteria I have is how many boxes they are managing. I once was with a small host that was only managing about a dozen boxes and the guy completely hosed me. He left the security (which he was reponsible for on that one) improperly handled, and someone hacked the server to the point that my IP address got pulled by the data center. Then the host proceeded to shake me down for $x,xxx to get things back working on a new box. I quickly got off his box and said goodby to the guy. I will never again deal with someone small like that. Now for just a simple $4.95/month hosting plan, I'd prefer a small host because they probably are not running 1000 accounts on one box which is a bad situation. I run a small hosting company and only have a couple dozen accounts on a pretty substantial box... so my clients have a pretty nice situation.
I don't like to select a host based on the price, but rather based on the feedback I read from the customers. I will browse to a site dealing with hosting discussion, and go with what seems to be a safe and reliable company. Hope this helps.
With all of your help guys this is what me and my partners developed. Criticism and comments are helpful! http://www.plodahost.com
Sorry, but I would want to go with a reputable host only. I would not want to go with a newer host no matter how good they may be. The reasons for this is because if you want to make an online business and live from it, then your hosting is the most important aspect of your online business in that if your host is unreliable and your site goes down often then you are putting a lot of work into your online business for nothing just because of your web hosting provider trying to ruin it for you. It's not just the fact that if your web site goes down for a week, then you loose a weeks worth of website earnings, you don't just loose that, but you will loose returning traffic, new time customers that could have become returning customers, search engine rankings, backlinks, etc. It's like a domino effect just because your website's down. So customer service is the most important thing. I would never choose a web host that doesn't have 24/7 phone support.
webhostingtalk forum would be great help everytime when I want to try a new hosting company. You can find out reviews on nearly every hosting there. Well, if you can't find any review for a certain hosting company, you'd better stay away from them at this moment.