Avoiding Snake Oil Salesmen, or the Truth about Web Hosting Reviews

So you need a web host. You might - quite naturally - turn to Google to seek the information you need. What you will notice is pages-upon-pages of professional looking review sites.

Just what you need right?

WRONG!

The large number of reviews for web hosting companies is a reflection of the explosion of growth the web hosting industry has seen over the years since the conception of the internet.

It's also testament to the fact there is a considerable amount of money to be made selling web hosting services. Both the hosting companies and savvy affiliate marketers are endlessly vying for a piece of the action.The top hosting companies will proclaim endless examples of positive reviews and testimonials, why wouldn't they?

Many of these same hosting companies are at the top of the rankings on review sites for one reason.

They're paying for it!

As a rule-of-thumb, any web hosting review you see online is likely to be biased and slanted towards the hosting companies that are paying the highest commissions.

But what can you do about it?

While there is no silver bullet solution for finding the perfect web host, we can offer a few practical tips, that will help you separate truth, from hype.

Ignore the hype; be aware that most "reviews" are written by affiliates, web hosting companies themselves. Recognize that some paid directories rank hosts by how much they're pay in listing fees. In truth, to say all reviews are slanted is unfair, just be aware of the market reality and don't base your selection solely on review sites returned by Google.

When reading a review site, try and determine if the site is in any way affiliated to the web hosting company. Often viewing the page source will reveal the true nature of links. To achieve this select View-> Page Source in Firefox and View-> Source in Internet Explorer

Be wary of reviews that only list positive comments. Try and find sources with both positive and negative scores for a more objective comparison.

Reviews left by actual customers are more reliable than other sources, but avoid the testimonials on a web host's site. A host is naturally not going to post many negative reviews about themselves.

Some web directories can be helpful, especially if you want to compare price, features and service, but others accept advertising and so should be treated with a healthy dose of skepticism.

Always seek more than one source of information when doing research. General web hosting forums and blogs are good sources of information, as is reading other people's experiences in older threat. Post specific questions too if you like, just be careful that the person replying to your query is not in fact be pushing their own products onto you.

Spending some time in the forum of a hosting company can also be useful. Look for common reoccurring themes in the post topics. If a lot of people are complaining about the same problem, it reveals something about the host's true nature.

Finally - don't spend too much time over-analyzing. Choose one and go with it. You will soon learn through your own experiences. Consider any host that you sign up with on a "probation period", where they have to earn your trust. If you are not happy, quickly cut them loose and try another web hosting company.