Using Web Hosting Reviews to Make Your Choice
It is never an easy task to pick the right web host, even if you’ve done it before and you’re familiar with what you should be looking for, the many various hosts out there are continually changing their features and pricing structures.
There is also the added complication that more and more web hosts have come into the market and it is always important to keep an eye on recent reviews to check whether their ratings have taken a nosedive. A host that might have been performing well and getting great reviews last year may have has some recent issues leading to an inability to deliver the same level of service. This is why it is not as simple as finding any review – always check for the latest reviews.
It is easy to get sight of the features and pricing by visiting each web host’s website but obviously this can be time-consuming so you are better trying to find a review comparison table from a reputable technology expert. Again, it is important that the source of the comparison table isn’t biased, so look for a source that is totally impartial.
One of the review comparison tables that regularly get updated is the one at pcmag.com. The editor of the page updates it every few months or whenever a considerable change takes place, so it is one of the closest to a real-time overview that you can get.
There are other ways to find reviews for each web host, most hosts will display their customers’ testaments that will all look very good but bear in mind that they will have cherry-picked the best ones and left any negative ones out so not a good way of getting an accurate account.
Techradar also gives a regular review of a number of web hosts and advises which host is the best depending on the circumstances i.e. best value deal, best WordPress hosting deal and best small business web hosting deal. If you don’t want to spend a lot of time trawling through various review sites then the information provided by these two sources are definitely a great starting point.
Of course, these reviews are quite generic. By this, we mean that whilst one host could be the best for most small businesses, without having spoken to and discusses you particular business/website requirements they are merely giving a high level indication.
When you are looking at reviews, the key things that you should keep an eye out for are: type of packages available, pricing, storage, Uptime, bandwidth, CMS compatibility, security features, customer support and other features that are relevant for your circumstances.
Remember that the most expensive is not always the best option for you so don’t throw your money away on features that you will never need to use. Get the deal that represents best value for the features that are important to your website. If you’re not an expert in WordPress and want to make sure that you have support available when you need it then make sure that the web host that you opt for scores highly in the comparison tables for customer support. They should also tell you various channels you can use to contact them, so if you would rather use an online chat facility then check that it is included in the host you are looking at.
