When looking for a web host provider there are some things that you need to consider. Before you make your first google search, you should ask yourself this question. What type of hosting do I need? When approaching the market there are many plans available and many companies that will attempt to sell you whatever you are willing to purchase. You dont want shared hosting, if you have 100 sites you need to host with several different IP addresses. At the same time you may not need a dedicated server either. Before you go to the market you need to do some homework, and evaluate your needs.

Next you need to look for a company that has a good track record. I am not sure if reviews always does a company justice, but nevertheless many trust in them. Call the company, send an email, etc. Make sure to ask questions.

You should consider how they handle technical isssues. How frequently does their sites go down, or how often are links broken? If your site is down how eager are they to get back up and running? How do they treat you as a customer? Are you just another hosting customer, or are you someone they appreciate having as a customer?

I would look at the price last. Not all low cost web hosting service is bad, but sometimes you get what you pay for. Look for a money back guarantee, and finally plan on a long relationship with a great company.

This list is not conclusive and I am sure many can add some other things you should look out for, but I would say this is at least the starting place.

The point about companies good track records can be truly accurate all the time. Usually the top service providers are trusted by many satisfied customers and their domains too are actually old, having been functioning for years.

Of course this does not mean that all of the hosting firms that began their careers in the year 2000 are reliable but one matter which is important is for how long the companies have managed to remain online.

Before going for any hosting service, analyze your requirements. There is no such thing as a best hosting service. The best depend upon the type of business. For some, shared hosting suits best, while dedicated is best for some others. Price is not always the matter. If more space and security is required for a business, shared hosting may not prove to be the best one. In that case, dedicated hosting will be the best choice, although its cost is more.

"You get what you pay for", so one should keep in mind when going for very cheap price hosting provider.

Support is the basic prospect of hosting business and it always differentiate between good and bad host. So, you should test their customer care departments very calmly.

Always, only consider hosts offering money back guarantee. It is the best tool to test a provider's services in real time.

While selecting a web hosting provider, the customer should read all the user reviews and past of the service providers. That should put the vision onto the service they are providing.

When looking for a hosting company the person should do their "due diligence" and research the company a little..

More so if you are purchasing hosting for a business website as stability, up time and should be very important because if your site is down you are losing business.

Also there are to many fly by night hosters these days and most close up shop and run leaving you dead in the water and no backup of your site usually. (hopefully you kept backups)

Anyone remember CIHost? They were huge but they had a horrible rep. Even companies like 1and1, the largest webhost in the world, has dissatisfied customers and a lot of bad reviews. (Although I think they're a good company)

Best to do your own research and make sure the company fits YOUR needs. Don't rely solely on fancy marketing or disgruntled reviews.

Yep I remember CIHost... Unfortunately.. My experience was not that good with them either..

But that has been so many years ago..

In my opinion, researching on key elements have more importance while choosing web hosting company. A person who is looking for a web hosting services should compare prices, features, compatibility, performance record, reliability, and flexibility of the web host's after sale customer services. In addition, whether you wan shared, VPS or any other hosting plan, but don't forget to ask web host about configuration of the server where your hosting hosting account going to set up.

Free webhosting is great for individuals or for new businesses with a small budget for their web presence. Paid web hosting is more suitable for established businesses, and provides more space and features for the hosted website.

Best thing is not to view other reviews you just have to find what you need they are offering or not coz decent members are not facing any problem and not going to write review about any site these are those people whose accounts are terminated by many of companies.

"You get what you pay for" - it's not always the case, especially for a newly setup service, they always configured a cheap plan to get customers but their service is still good. I think justhost is the example.

First of all you have to define your requirements, what you site actually persist and the make a survey. Find top web hosting provider compare their services and pick the plan that best suits you.

* support
* environment
* response times
* technical ability
* friendliness

5 things that you should evaluate, and lastly - *PRICE for what you're getting considering the 5 stars (dont go expecting a $1 VPS with 5/5 for above criteria).

New doesn't mean bad. Small companies could spend money in more efficient way, so they could offer lower prices and personalization of a service.