Which of the many hosting companies is the best fit for your needs?
Thank you to WebHostingBuzz for sponsoring the 8th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest. This is their 4th year in a row as a sponsor. Please support them as they support JobMob.
It's not easy finding a good hosting company.
There are so many choices, so many different plans, and the marketplace is constantly evolving while they compete with each other for your hosting fees.
How do you make sense of it all?
Here are a few tips to guide you on your search.
Normally, you would start by trying to understand what your hosting needs are. Nowadays though, with the commoditization of most computing solutions, any self-respecting hoster will have a plan for you unless you or your company is part of a tiny minority with very specific needs.
With that in mind, here are some tips for making a great choice:
1) Don't just google “best web hosting company”
Most of the results will either be paid placements or review websites. Since anyone can pay for ads, this is no way to judge credibility.
2) Don't put too much credit in review websites
Reviews are a crapshoot because companies can pay freelancers to post positive reviews while disgruntled customers are much more likely to post public reviews than happy customers. Either way, you don't get a true measure of a company.
3) Ask savvy friends for recommendations
Almost everyone has a friend or colleague who can make a competent recommendation. A common problem is that unless the friend understands your needs, what worked for them may not work for you. And if you yourself don't know what your needs are, this goes double. But asking friends is still a good place to start for some ideas.
4) Support those who support those you love
Another good place to start for some ideas is by taking a look at the sponsors of your favorite sites. True, just like I said above, anyone can pay for ads BUT here they chose to support your favorite site, which shows that they at least have good taste. The reality is that without sponsors, many of your favorite sites would disappear. Which is why if you love JobMob, give 4-time sponsor WebHostingBuzz a try for your hosting needs.
Between asking friends and seeing who supports your favorite sites, you should be able to compile a shortlist of 3-5 hosting companies. Their websites will probably do a great job of touting what they can do for you, but you need to look beyond the marketing to separate the winner from the losers.
5) Test their customer support
For each hosting company on your shortlist, contact their customer support services to ask these important questions:
Q: What do you guys recommend for my needs?
Salespeople will often try to sell you on plans and features that you don't need, which is why you want to talk to customer/tech support. They're much more likely to give a realistic estimate.
Q: If I join, how do I cancel?
For pretty much any service, I always want to know how I can leave before I join. Too many companies start to jerk you around once you try to take your business elsewhere, which makes you want to leave even more. On the other hand, any company that makes it easy to leave clearly has confidence that you won't want to.
Thanks again to WebHostingBuzz for being a Silver Sponsor for the 8th Annual JobMob Guest Blogging Contest.
READ NEXT: WebHostingBuzz: Great Support But How Is Their Web Hosting?
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