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How To Spot A Bad Web Host

Description: There are plenty of web hosts to choose from online, which makes it all the more important that you choose the right one. But how can you tell the good from the bad? Read on to find out.

If you are on the hunt for a good web host, you can sometimes feel as if you are being blinded by all the different services that people are offering. Everyone seems to claim they are the best, and it's obvious that not everyone can be. But there is a difference between good, average and bad, and it's the bad ones you need to avoid.

One excellent way of evaluating a web host is to take a look at their website. How much information is included on it? The best web hosts tend to include comprehensive FAQ sections and explanations of all the terms used in their web pages. There is a definite feeling that they are there to help you - not just to take your money.

Bad web hosts are more often geared towards selling, and their websites are often more basic as well. Watch out also for the types of service they offer. The better hosts will have a wide range of packages and options for you to choose from, whereas this won't be the case with the substandard hosts. For example, if you want to run an ecommerce website and you need access to a secure server, you will notice that some of the bad web hosts won't even offer this as an option.

Two of the main areas to watch for with any web hosting service concern bandwidth and uptime. Many less scrupulous hosts like to claim that they can offer unlimited bandwidth at all times, even though this is a myth. The same applies to uptime - more commonly known as the amount of time your website is live and accessible online. No matter how good the web server is it will occasionally experience problems, because that's the way technology is. If anyone says they have 100% uptime you have found a bad web host.

A lot of the issues surrounding whether a particular web host is good or bad are simple common sense, and do not require any great depth of knowledge. It's advisable to compare a half dozen sites with each other before you make your final choice, as you will soon be able to tell which ones don't quite make the grade.

It's easy to forget when browsing the site of a web hosting company that you can call their offices as well. This can be the single best way to find out how good they are. Good web hosts will stay on the line with you almost indefinitely, and try to answer all your questions as best they can. On the other hand those web hosts that are less than satisfactory are usually in the business to make money and nothing else - and this will be more than evident from the way they treat you.