The web hosting reviews published on this website are here for one reason and one reason only – to help you make a more informed decision about which web host is the right one for you. When perusing our web hosting reviews, you will quickly notice that there are certain factors we consistently examine, among them:

• Disk Space – the amount of storage space you’ll be allowed. Disk space is crucial because every element of your website – from your HTML code to your graphics – takes up disk space. This is usually factored monthly and expressed in megabytes or gigabytes. You want to make sure you have enough disk space that you can publish your website as it currently appears, and then expand upon your web design to further fulfill your site’s potential.

• Bandwidth – the amount of data transfer you’ll be allowed. Bandwidth is important because it is the way that visitors to your website and the servers that host your website communicate with one another. Think of web surfing like talking on a cell phone and bandwidth would equate with minutes. This is also usually factored monthly and expressed in either megabytes or gigabytes. You need to make sure you have enough bandwidth so that all those wishing to visit your site are actually able to.

• Upload & Download Speeds – When a visitor to your site requests a certain page, that request is uploaded to your web host’s server. When the server delivers that page, the information is downloaded to your site visitor’s computer. When you add new files to your website, you upload them to your server. When you make backups of your site, you download the necessary files. Web hosting reviews are always sure to examine how fast these two complementary processes take place because of one major reason – we web surfers are a fickle, impatient and -- let’s say it -- spoiled bunch. And if it takes too long for a website to load, we tend to move on, and never return.

• Uptime – The opposite of uptime is downtime, and downtime is bad. Continuing for a moment with the cell phone metaphor above, downtime is like having your calls dropped. Oftentimes this occurs through no fault of the web host, but oftentimes it does. Uptime is like having 4 bars on a clear and sunny day – “Can your hear me now?” “Loud and clear!”. Scour our web hosting reviews for the web hosting providers with the internet equivalent of the “fewest dropped calls”. This is usually expressed as an “Uptime Guarantee” of somewhere around 98 or 99%, often taken into the decimals (as in: 99.998%). The best Uptime Guarantees are the closest to 100% and those that offer recompense of some sort for failure to perform as promised.

• Security – Our web hosting reviews focus heavily on this critical aspect of web hosting, a factor that is really twofold: the security of your data (ie. from hackers, identity thieves, etc.) and the security of the data center where your web host’s servers are stored (from burglars, saboteurs, and the like). Check all web hosting reviews you read for information on spam and virus protection, firewalls, building security (personnel, cameras/monitors, entry procedures and protections, etc.). Also affecting the security of your data and the data center are the environmental controls (HVAC), uninterruptible power and backup power sources, earthquake protection (where applicable), and fire suppression technology.

• Customer Service – For many, this factor should be first on the list (and at the very top of all our web hosting reviews), but since our list is in no particular order, this most certainly qualifies as “last but not least”. Customer service is key. If you can’t easily access a human being (whether by voice or web chat) when you need them most, and if they are unable to help you resolve your website issues, then all the other benefits in the world won’t help you. If a web host you’re considering only offers email support, find out what their expected response time is, and whether they make a guarantees about it. Customer service is one of the most competitive areas of the entire web hosting industry, as it should be, and don’t let anyone tell you different. Your best bet? Talk or chat with a customer service rep from a web host you’re considering before you decide to sign up. If you’re dissatisfied with the result, disqualify that web host from the running. If you’re please with the interaction, then they’re still in the game.

Other factors worth looking at when evaluating web hosts – and therefore ones that are often cited in our web hosting reviews – are:

• Testimonials, feedback and references from existing and former clients. All the technology in the world can’t change (and in fact has only further validated) that word-of-mouth advertising is still the best advertising there is. And thanks to the invention of internet forums, you’re able to read not only the positive word-of-mouth feedback that the web host invariably publishes on their sales site in big bold letters, but the negative feedback disgruntled users have posted on forums. Whatever the web hosting reviews you read can’t tell you, a quick breeze through various internet forums can.

• Upgrade and downgrade policies. The trick here is to avoid being wooed by the web host that offers the most of all these things, even if you don’t need that much. It’s far better to scour our web hosting reviews for the web host with a plan that serves your exact needs (no less, maybe a slight bit more) at a competitive cost. Best of all, find one that also has a sequence of tiered plans through which you can upgrade and downgrade your services at will. There is no need to pay for more web host than you need if you can simply upgrade to a bigger plan when you’re ready.

• Money back guarantees. Many web hosts offer 30-, 60- or 90-day money back guarantees for those who try their web hosting services for the first time. These are often the web hosts that require membership for a set, contractual period. Other web hosts will simply forego the moneyback guarantee and the contractual membership obligation and instead allow you to cancel anytime with the promise of a prorated refund.

Our web hosting reviews are designed to help get you started on a path towards making an educated and informed decision about what web host to sign up with. The best web hosting reviews, however, will be those that you conduct yourself. So please help yourself to our launching pad, so to speak, and launch your search for your website’s new home.