sure, i understand that, but i would not want to take my chances with a new host when there are many out there that have been running for 10+ years...once time passes sure
as my experience: 5. technical service and customer service to contact when we need help or something is going wrong. I get a good service for both of these at my hosting. I can even consult about blog template/theme, discuss about layout, etc. Very satisfied!
1. Support 2. Uptime 3. Speed That should be enough to satisfy 90% of the shared hosting market Another thing I look for but isn't essential is Transparency and Honesty. My current web host isn't well known but he provides status pages for each server showing individual services (HTTP, FTP, POP, IMAP, SSH etc) and if you ask he will tell you how many people you're sharing a server with.