Despite the fact that web hosting review sites are scattered all over the internet, most of them earn commissions, so they’re not unbiased. However, they’re still a useful resource. I’ll also show you how simple it is to get truly unbiased web hosting reviews, so you can make an informed decision about your web hosting company.
Web Hosting
Selecting a web hosting provider can be confusing. When you type ‘web hosting’ into a search engine, you’ll see literally millions of websites. Some of them are real web hosting sites, but most of them are probably ‘review’ sites and other ‘best web hosting company’ type listings. There’s a reason why there are so many review/directory sites: most web hosting companies charge a commission to site owners if they receive a sale from a site they’ve reviewed. Don’t get us wrong, review sites can be very useful. First, there are some real review sites that aren’t commission-driven.
It is not uncommon for review site owners to not list companies with a bad reputation. Bad web hosting companies quickly become known among webmasters, and people will not hesitate to ignore a review site if they see a high rating for a known 'problem'. Review site owners need to maintain credibility in order to make commissions. Web hosting companies that are able to pay large commissions to review sites must be doing well in order to be able to pay these commissions. Companies that are not doing well, or those that are losing customers, usually cannot pay these commissions because they are too high due to the competition in the market. It is easy to determine if a company's reputation is good or bad for those who know about it.
First, check out a few review sites and make a list of companies that consistently rank in the top ten and provide the features you’re looking for (that’s a topic for another time) and are within your budget. Then, use Google or another search engine and search for ‘first web hosting provider’ and the word ‘forums’. You’ll find mentions of this web hosting company on internet message boards, where, unlike review websites, most of the content is just people’s honest opinions. Generally, you’ll also find messages on webmaster or other specialty sites, where the users are more likely to know what they’re talking about. While it’s best to look for positive reviews of the company you’re interested in, it’s also true that ‘nothing new’ is better than ‘bad news’. If people aren’t posting negative reviews, then you know that the company doesn’t have a bad reputation. In contrast to happy customers who post positive reviews, unhappy customers who post negative reviews are more likely to do so because unhappy people love to vent.
Read through a few of these and you’ll have a pretty good idea of the company’s reputation. Do this for every company on your list; you’ll be able to confidently choose a web hosting company with a good reputation.