4 Tips to Keep From Getting Scammed by Your Next Webhost

So you’re looking for a web hosting company to host your great new site? Well you better be careful on your quest for the best deal … the web hosting scene is full of unscrupulous businesses. We put this article together to help you navigate the landmines and pitfalls of web hosting scams starting with the 4 tell-tale signs of a bad host…

Check their support before you buy. One way is to call in and test out their phone service. You may also try to contact their online support and make sure the host actually handles their client questions quickly and professionally. Hosting is a big business; there is no reason for a major webhosting company to miss your call.

Do not believe it when they say you will get unlimited space or bandwidth. No host is going to offer you unlimited space or especially bandwidth for an ultra low price. It just isn’t going to happen. So if you see this anywhere, make sure to read the fine print or steer clear.

Please note that while a hosting company may offer you unlimited space or bandwidth for a month, your fees will likely skyrocket after that. The last thing you want is to have your site shut down because you went over your bandwidth quota for the month. This will cost you in customers and frustration. So remember that there will be a finite cap on your space … and that’s a good thing (otherwise they’re not being honest with you).

Just like with virtually anything else out there (health clubs, phone services, internet providers, etc…) you don’t want to jump into a hosting plan that requires you to sign a contract. After all, if you do that, your host really has no incentive to keep you happy and can offer you mediocre services. For this reason, you should not choose a host that forces you to pay yearly.

Of course many reputable hosts will offer a lower rate if you do pay for a year up front, but it’s best if you try them out for at least a month first. If you are happy with the service, go ahead and sign up for a year if there’s a discount.

Uptime is the amount of time a site can expect to be fully functional and online with any particular host. Uptime is usually expressed as a percentage. In reality, your site should be available to surfers on the web very close to all of the time.

But beware, there is no such thing as 100% uptime. All hosts will experience problems from time to time. So don’t believe a host that promises 100% uptime. Respectable hosts will often say 99% uptime (sometimes it may be a little more, like 99.5% uptime).

Ask the support what the uptime is if it isn’t listed right on the site. A host’s uptime is a very important aspect when deciding which web hosting company to use. You can find web hosting comparisons at http://top-5-web-hosting-charts.com/

Make sure take the time to find a reputable company who will ensure that your site will be online as much of the time as possible. It is expensive enough to pay for advertising, therefore you need to make sure your site will be up and running or you’re throwing advertising money down the drain. We’ve given you 4 major criteria to look for to steer clear of bad hosting companies and hosting scams. Again, these include; scarce customer service, unlimited anything, web hosting contracts, and uptime myths.

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