I know that there are a couple of dated ones I used to look to for reviews and ratings on web hosts, but they haven't added anything new in years. I know that there are forums like this one that have webhosting reviews available also, but I want a comprehensive and current list of every host that is alive and kicking, including the new and the old.
Are there any such resources out there that I'm just not finding? You'd think that someone would have bunched all the hosts together rather than make a blog about 10-20 of them and then stop altogether.
If all you want is a list you might try something like DMOZ:
http://www.dmoz.org/Computers/Internet/Web_Design_and_Development/Hosting/A/
But, as others have said, I think you may get quickly overwhelmed. There are so many, you'd have to give up your day job to research them all.
Having gone down this road, much like you (I am not a hosting provider, but just a lowly neophyte
) I have run the gamut wallowing through the 'top 10', but I have come to find that every one I've seen is nothing but a paid shill. I'm not convinced that it means any of those 'top hosting companies' are bad (some are, imo, some, who knows? - and I am with one now that I am so far happy with) it just means that you can't necessarily choose a host based on the recommendations of them.
Then there are forums, like this one. Once again, you need to be careful. I found my last host on a forum where I thought I was getting objective input, but the host wound up being the worst hosting experience ever (Monte Carlo Hosting) and having written a review there, I come to find that the owner moderates that area of the forum and pretty much brow beats anyone who dares to post a negative review. I've also come to understand about that forum that there is no room to even discuss going to an overseller, because they are painted with a broad brush as being inherently bad, 100% of them, 100% of the time.
I can only surmise that there must be other forums like this one out there, web review forums that are run with integrity, but frankly, after long searching, I haven't found them. I'm pretty new here, but I've gotten some very good advice here and I don't feel like anyone was criticizing my questions or trying to browbeat me into a specific host or type of host.
That said, I think one of the best things you can do when looking for a host - because it is an extraordinarily difficult and stressful process - is to arm yourself with knowledge.
Here is my best advice:
1. Decide on your needs
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How much disk space do you need? ie: how much space do your files take up?
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How much bandwidth do you need? ie: how much traffic do you get on a daily basis?
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Do you need a dedicated host or can you go with a shared host? (You budget may be the deciding factor here.) If you are a relatively small site, which it sounds like you might be, you probably can go with a shared host. If, however, you think your site might grow very large, quickly, you may want to choose a shared host that also offers dedicated hosting so that if you ever decide to upgrade, you can do just that ... upgrade rather than change hosts.
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Do you need add-on site availability? ie: Do you have just the one domain or do you have other domains that you run now, or may in the future?
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What kind of support do you need? ie: 24/7 phone support? 800# phone support? Business hours phone support? 24/7 live chat? Business hours live chat? Just email/support ticket support? This is a BIG question to answer before you start looking. Host vary widely in this respect. You need to decide how you use support and how quickly you feel you need it.
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How much 'hand holding' do you need? ie: when you narrow down your choices, contact them through their support systems and find out: how quick is their response time? How technically competent are they? Are they Mac knowledgeable if you are on a Mac? How courteous and helpful are they?
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Do you have any special needs like databases for forums, or quicktime streaming, etc. Think ahead. Where do you want to take your website.
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Do you want unlimited space or a host that has tiered plans? As I've mentioned before, oversellers (unlimited space) have a terrible reputation, some for good reason, but the upside is not worrying that you will suddenly need more space, for whatever reason, and not be in a position to go up in price.
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How long have they been in business? Do they have a history behind them? Will they be going out of business soon? Are they struggling enough that they might not be honest with you about your needs, pushing you into higher plans than you need so they can make more money?
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What kind of uptime do they have? This is a hard one because they virtually *all* say 99.9%. That's not always true. Do they 'guarantee' it? Ask how many servers they have. Ask how long their longest outage was and how long ago it was. Look for independent reviews speaking specifically to downtime (and customer service, for that matter.)
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What is your budget? While this seems like the most important, ask yourself the other questions first and then see what the budget spread is like for hosts that offer what you need. The question is not 'how much does it cost?' The question is "how much value am I getting for what I'm paying for?" And, believe me, no amount of money saved is worth getting into a host then having to deal with not having what you need.
I'm sure I've missed something, but if you answer these questions for yourself, you will be well armed (and we're not talking crosshairs on a map here
) to get a host that most closely fits your needs. Whoever you chose, will not be perfect, usually because we can afford only what we can afford, but the best you can hope for is someone you can stay with a long time and not have to worry about.
I hope this helps.
Good luck,
Caat
