How to pick a Web Host

November 18th, 2008 | by Conrad Walton |

I don’t know how you can be sure about your web host without going out and trying them all, which I’m not going to do.

I’ve been through a few web hosts. Some have been good. Some have been bad. Price is usually not the issue that makes one “bad”. The problems that you’ll have with web hosts have to do with service, both technical and customer support.

Find out what unlimited bandwidth really means by reading the fine print.

Find out what unlimited bandwidth really means by reading the fine print.

I own a very popular web site, survivor.com. I would get huge spikes in my traffic on Thursday nights, when the show was on. One host saw the spike and extrapolated that out over a month and decided that I would be in violation of my bandwidth for the month, since every day was Thursday night, so they shut me down.

No warning. No email. I came home from work one day and checked my days stats. I had no traffic. Poof. Just like magic, it all went away.

I emailed them and got a notice that I was in violation. I begged and promised and they turned me back on again. I bought a second account and linked things back and forth to balance out the load. What a load it was.

So, look for reasonable terms of service. Find out what “unlimited bandwidth” really means by reading the fine print. Ask around and see if they have good customer service. Do they answer emails quickly? Getting along with them is key. You hope it’s like a good friendship and that you’re not dating a psycho who’s going to steal your car.

Oh, and my personal recommendation? That would be the web host that I use now, Powweb. There’s a button over there on the right that you can click and sign up with. If you use my button, I get a commission. I could have a lot of other affiliate links over there, but I only have the one. They are the only one I’d recommend. They advertise “unlimited bandwidth” and it’s not, but it’s probably more bandwidth than you’ll ever need. I like them.

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