How To Be Sure A Web Host Has A Good Foundation
So you found a web host that you think will give you the service
and quality you want, at a price you think is almost too good to
be true? If this is the case, be very cautious as there are so
many "web hosts" out there that are not what they appear to be.
So how can you tell, other than a fancy website and a possibly a
few testimonials on their site, how do you know anything at all
about this web hosting provider? First, make sure they are a
primary web host. In other words, make sure they are not just a
reseller which is nothing more than a middle man between you and
a web hosting provider. Go to www.domainwhitepages.com, type in
their domain name and make sure they trace back to a reputable
datacenter, like GNAX or ThePlanet. If so, most likely their
uptime and quality of servers stand a better chance of being
quality, provided they are kept up in good efficient condition.
Also, you can go to www.whois.sc and do a search on a domain
name or an IP address, it will even show how many websites are
hosted on that particular server or shared IP. Also, look for
hosts that use reputable hosting control panels, like cPanel,
Plesk or maybe even DirectAdmin. Click through most of their
website...are there any online tutorials and knowledgebases? If
so, do they appear to be helpful? And by all means, watch those
prices where they offer tons of space and bandwidth for very,
very little. This is called overselling and if a host does this,
you could end up on server that is slow and struggles to keep up
with it's load. This would result in lost web site visitors due
to slow page loading times or even worse...downtime! Take your
time and look, and unless you really get a good feeling about
the web hosting provider you are checking into, move on. You can
also do searches on web hosting providers online at
www.webhostingtalk.com