Here is an article I wrote a while ago but figured I would share this with other people for their convienence.

First thing I would like to discuss is that price is not everything! Doesn't matter if your paying .99c for hosting and your site is completely unreliable because in the end, you'll lose money over these problems. Let's go through the considerations that you need to ponder in order to ensure that you get what you need. You want to choose the web host that is going to provide your needs as they stand now as well as where they lead to in the future. Here we go:

1. Understand the differing types of hosts: shared, collocated, unmanaged dedicated, and managed dedicated. Is your site brand new with little traffic? In the event your site is a newer domain, you won't need the raw power of a dedicated server unless your site is resource intensive which can include: streaming, video's, proxies and even linking to videos as well can cause a high load on Apache and the CPU(s).

2. Go for stability, not just size. Just because the host if offering you unmetered and unlimited space, doesn't mean you should soley base your decision on that. What good is that account to you when your site is down or the server is overloaded? Research how long the hosting business has been in operation. See if they have recently changed ownership, and if they show positive cash flow.

3. The possession of fully redundant data centers. If you are considering doing business with a smaller hosting vendor, ensure that they have adequate power and connectivity capabilities. Inquire as to the number of lines the facility has. Do they possess an on-site generator? Does the generator receive regular checks and maintenance? What is the average utilization of the connections available?

4. How skilled is their staff? When you need customer service of a technical nature, you need it immediately, right? Find out the availability of their systems administrators. Send them a support ticket and see how fast they respond.

5. Other customer's reviews of the hosting services. Same as any business, the hosting vendor should be able to provide good references.

6. Is the potential host flexible? In the future, your needs may change. Can you upgrade services should the need arise?

7. This step of course, is optional. Make sure that the host does not have blacklisted IPs. The host that you want to do business with would not be one that promotes illegal sites, spammers, or other security issues. You are considering associating your business with this host. You could always ask them what web server they plan to put you on.

8. Begin with and maintain a clear and written understanding of all services and all charges for them. If questions still remain or some terms are unclear it is strongly advised that you ask for clarification before signing up for anything.

If you do your research before beginning business, you will find a better avenue to the successful hosting, and thereby promotion, of your online business. Take your time in making this important decision.

Hope this helps,

Really it will help a newbie who is in search for a host. This kind of posts should have a warm welcome. One point I can add is that the relevance of research and exploring reviews could have given a bit more importance. Otherwise i can agree with your points. Thanks for your effort.

One thing I would note in point 5:

Every host will have SOME negative reviews. You can't please ALL the people ANY of the time. Simple fact.

At the same time, please ALSO remember that the number of people who will post a NEGATIVE comment/review tends to outweigh those who volunteer POSITIVE comments/reviews about 10:1.

Think about it this way - when you deal with a business who gives you horrible service and ticks you off, how many people do you tell about it? Usually anyone who will listen. Even though others may have excellent experiences with the same business. But when you have an outstanding experience with a business, generally you just carry on your merry way in life, don't tell anyone, and continue doing business with that company.

Same goes for web hosts. Someone violates the TOS for hosting, gets banned, gets mad, spouts how terrible they are ... they're not going to tell you they got the boot for being a serial spammer and porn king. They're going to tell you to avoid that host because they'll simply "ban you without notice".

It can be helpful to look at sites dedicated to actually REVIEWING different hosts than just reading comments. I just did a lot of this in the past few days before choosing a new host. Found a lot of bad comments about hosts I've personally had very good experiences with over the past 3-7 years. If I didn't have my own experience with these companies, I might have believed they were as terrible as some of the comments said.

You can't believe everything you read on the internet.

You're not going to know how a host is, before you actually try it. As Chris said, it's all based on your own experience!

Just find a decent host, with some kind of money back guarantee, and "press your luck". Of course, some research may be required, however you shouldn't really base your opinion upon the opinions of others.

I think that also better to have presales conversation with the host, and better make sure that they will allow what you are going to host etc. That will save time as for web hosting company as for you

All really great points we have here! If a host wants your business, then they will more than likely even let you test drive the server giving you a period of time for free. Another good way to test responses would be filling out a support ticket and asking them a question. Do you get the run-around with ticket escalations or do you get a quick solid response?

Google is a powerful tool as well. Type in the company name, how many results do you see? If they are reputable, i'm sure you'll find a decent amount of reviews but as stated above, you get some customers who have violated your TOS and may be pissed off and want nothing but only to state bad reviews or even fake reviews of your services.

Nice article. Helpful especially to newbies.

Nice tips to learn and read, but I would recommend have own ones and follow only own rules.

It was interesting to read that article but I wonder what's the source?

yes they are great tips.

yes this my view as well do some checking before you got and buy a host if they have a support ticket system or an other way to get hold of them see how long they take to get back to you. have a look how long they have been in business. make sure they offer a 30 day money back so if they are not right for you then you can move away to someone else. yes the datacenter they are at can be very inportent as do they have a back up power source how fast is the download speed as what is the point of having a site up if its so slow people will leave.

make sure they offer a 30 day money back

. That is being placed on every web hosting site and I have heard some people have problems with that when web host refuse return money

I always look for reviews. Good or bad, I follow them up through more research. Yes, I check the customer service department, too. These tips are good. Thanks for sharing!