The webmaster-Talk forums receive tons of spam related to hosting companies but a fair amount related to review sites of hosting companies. To answer the question, think about what they are getting out of it.

There are 2 things to keep in mind when you are browsing any review site:

1) What are they getting out of this? Review sites seems to be split into 2 groups of their own - ones that make money from advertising banners and text link ads and ones that make their money from affiliate links (some sites do both). If companies are making money from affiliate links, they tend to be biased (obviously) towards the hosts that offer the biggest payouts per signup. Tread carefully when going through these sorts of review sites. On the other hand, ones that show advertising rather than affiliate links are less biased to recommending a single host as they will probably not get any commission from a signup. (You can often tell an affiliate link by hovering the mouse over the link and looking at the URL at the bottom of the browser - affiliate links are often similar to somewebhostingcompany.com/af-id=84882382 or somewebhostingcompany.com/referer=webhostingreviewcom etc.)

2) Are the opinions of the review site backed up with reviews from customers - this is very important. You should not just accept what the review site says, but make sure there have been plenty of customer reviews. Expect there to be one of 2 negative reviews if there have been quite a lot of customers as of course, people will have different opinions about the same company sometimes - just see what the general attitude towards the services of the hosting company. Also bear in mind that not necessarily all of these reviews were actually written by customers - some may have actually been written by the hosting company themselves!!!

Combine both of these points when searching review sites to ensure you choose the right company for your needs and search several review sites to build up a wider picture of the experience of customers and of the reviewers, of the hosting company. Of course, first hand experience is important so try contacting the hosting company with a few questions and see how in depth their answers are and how fast they respond - if it takes a while when they don't have your business, imagine how long it may take when they DO have your business! For a few more tips, try here as well

well its a two way street, i know of only one of two sites that really do independent reviews... most of the sites seem to have some sort of angle going on....

Exactly. It's best to do the research you can yourself if possible

http://www.webmaster-talk.com/web-ho...osing-web.html

(Point 4)

So, the idea is it's always better to go to the site where there are banners and ads on the pages?

Well, there's another question, it's clear that hosting companies are interested in getting into directories as this is the way to advertize themselves, but only if the majority of reviews are positive. So how can they make these reviews themselves if reviews are verified, and even if they submit their client's site without him knowing it, later they face certain risks.

How does it work then?

Yes they may face risks etc. but I'm just giving this as a general guide - try to use sites that make money from advertising rather than affiliate schemes.

When I was first looking for a web host, I checked out the review site. Never again! There are too many that are making money from good reviews. If you are searching for a hosting provider, do research. Real research. Find out who they provide hosting for and check out there web sites at various times of the day. If they are independent sites (not just resellers, etc.) email them and ask questions. Do various searches on Google and go past the review sites in the results. Contact their support. If they don't respond in a timely manner or are not knowledgeable, move on and don't waste your time.

Make sure you have in writing a money-back guarantee. During that time test, test and test them.

Resellerratings.com - or maybe .org? - is a pretty good site all around. They don't specialize in any type of review subject, so they've grown pretty large. Anyone who buys any kind of photographic gear over the net visits ResellerRatings before / while deciding on a store.

Don't bother checking references; anybody will only give you good ones.

I think is it fine to get more information from the forum
But you may also search more information through Google in order to make your final decision

Of course it's good to get information from a forum I'm saying be careful when visiting review sites - just don't take their opinions and recommendations as gospel truth

yes, review sites lie sometimes becuase their paid to post something good about a company. Forums is where you can find people who have purchased from a company, or can find more info on them.

Some review sites are run by the main site owners them selves If you want reviews go for original and genuine customer reviews

Originally Posted by happy4u

If you want reviews go for original and genuine customer reviews

Well moderated forums being, arguably, the best places to find them.

Why do I need review? I always believe WHT about this, I will get many of good info to make my idea more better. But sometime reviews can be lie, but It's quite a good place for starters like me.

Review websites must check all websites are being reviewed.