I suggestiong APlus Networks (www.aplus.net) they are one of the oldest web hosting providers around, hence the *.net extension when ICANN actually enforced there rules a long time ago.

They have excellent pricing for shared and dedicated servers, I wouldn't use the "get a free domain name" option and just register it yourself, as with all web hosting providers and this offer you don't really own the domain name.

Hostgator might be good but with a 25% CPU Usage limit

Hi bttc-thunder,

I'm a new member of webmaster-talk.

I totally agree with you in regards to choosing a particular web hosting provider available in the market for our website which sometimes can be confusing and frustrating.

In my opinion, the best way to deal with this situation is to use:
1. Referral:
Ask your business acquaintances, friends and family which web hosting provider is used for their respective organizations or if they can otherwise recommend a web hosting provider.

2. Money Back Guarantee:
A good and reliable web hosting provider will dare to have a money back guarantee policy for their client. It'll will give more confidence knowing their web hosting provider is not some sort of "back yard" company.

3. Check with a particular web hosting provider (through their "contact us" interface) whether they are able to provide service according to your needs in terms of price, storage space, traffic volume permittable and last but not least is for them to provide a guarantee 24/7/365 support (possible in writting).

Hopefully my input can be of help to you.
Regards,
G00db0y

2. Money Back Guarantee:
A good and reliable web hosting provider will dare to have a money back guarantee policy for their client. It'll will give more confidence knowing their web hosting provider is not some sort of "back yard" company.

I'd check their history of actually owing up to their word. Anyone can say "money back guarantee" and then not deliver on it.

Originally Posted by ryanwink

hey good luck finding a good webhost...

Because ...



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HostGator.com works for me! They're totally good!

I suggest my host, HostGator. I've been with them for almost 6 months and no problem.

+1 to Hostgator.com they have been making happy thousands customers. Also HostWW.net quite good so far with their lovely price policy. Have a look.
About money back. I think that anyone can return money through trusted payment system like googlecheckout or paypal without any permission from web hostingprovider side. And no problem. You have to prove only that service was not delivered.

Hello!
Have a look at Lunarpages.com, santrex.net or site5.com. They will be able to suit your needs.

Originally Posted by ldcdc

In UK, there is, for everything that is sold online. If my memory serves me well, where I live, there is one for footwear, which must be guaranteed for 30 days. Consumer protection laws really do vary a lot.

This is exactly the point - they tend to be consumer protection laws, and the rules vary more (maybe to the point they're not there at all) for B2B sales.

The other thing to watch out for is, with regards to the UK's implementation of EU distance selling laws at least, there are exclusions for customised/bespoke products. It's easy to see how a domain registration can be considered within this category - for example.

I wouldn't go buy from any hosting provider where you're relying on the money back guarantee, or local/regional distance selling laws, as you're really going into it expecting trouble suggesting that maybe you're not picking the correct provider to start with?

From the provider's point of view, offering a money back guarantee is a risky business as it can be abused be freeloaders looking for a month's free hosting etc. Therefore it's more important that you feel confident with your chosen provider from the start, know what your commitment is, and recognise that you're paying a fair price for the level of service you expect.

As an aside, just because a provider doesn't advertise any kind of trial period etc. it doesn't mean that it would be impossible for them to do so if you talk to the sales guys

I think that anyone can return money through trusted payment system like googlecheckout or paypal without any permission from web hostingprovider

Actually, Paypal has a policy of no "chargebacks" for intangible items (if your using funds from your Paypal account), which would include web hosting services. I did hear of customers managing to get one regardless, but it's not a surefire thing.

Thaose payment system allow return money during 60 days of the payment date. If you have paid for year and decide to return money after 3 months - I'm afraid in this case nothing can be done.

The best place to start is at rankthehosts.com
I use this site anytime someone messages me asking who they should host through.
Quality info on all the top hosts in one place.
I learned about many hosts I didn't know about from this site.

Originally Posted by JohnAndrews

The best place to start is at rankthehosts.com
I use this site anytime someone messages me asking who they should host t hrough.
Quality info on all the top hosts in one place.
I learned about many hosts I didn't know about from this site.

Let me guess...that's your site, right???
I see only 10 hosts "reviewed" with absolutely no user reviews for any of them!
Just brief descriptions with affiliate links through CJ. Who are you trying to kid?

Try checking out http://www.cavecreek.com/

They do shared and dedicated hosting, colocation, IP transit, cdn, etc.

Crystaltech has worked out well very for me:

www.crystaltech.com

The one thing I look for in a web host is whether or not they pick up the phone when I call. If I can get a live person on the phone 24/7, I feel fairly comfortable that they will be reliable. There is nothing worse than spending an entire day trying to get tech support on the phone when there is a problem with your site. I certainly don't mind paying a little more for the peace of mind.

If I can get a live person on the phone 24/7, I feel fairly comfortable that they will be reliable.

You've been lucky so far. Often times phones are manned by level 1 techs, able to handle only the basic issues. It's a costs management thing, much like outsourcing to call centers based in poorer countries.

Tech Support and Phone is OXYMORON

It will take for technician at least 10 minutes to open Ticked on the phone because it will take so much after you stop blabbering about your problem and technician write everything you said into ticket.

Then he have to find and fix the problem and that may take another 10 minutes and if company gets 20 calls per hour then that company will need 6 technicians to work the phone with total cost to company in amount of $90.00 per hour.

Now because you paid only lousy $5.00 per month for services and it cost company $15.00 to answer the phone, then do your math and guess why 99% of companies won’t provide phone service. Did I mention phone line cost?

On the other hand EMAIL support will take only 1 minute for technician to read your mail and then copy and paste content into newly opened Ticket. First available technician will then pick up work order and start looking for solution and in most cases your problem will be solved in less than 10 minutes.

When you talk on the phone, you don’t talk to problem solvers but to the middleman somewhere in India whose job is to get information and who in most cases has no idea what you are talking about. If any of us stupid enough to believe that WHC who offers Phone support can or will deliver quality service then good luck and go for it


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I highly recommend customer driven review sites. They are out there. Stay away from 10 ten sites that a host can buy their way to the top.