Most web hosting reviews are full of crap. Fact is many web hosts pay website owners to shower them with accolades. Who cares if the reviewer never used the hosting service?

The “don’t use these hosting services” articles are just as bad. Many of them just spew generalities and never actually name names. Instead, they dive into poorly-disguised sales pitches for their “top web hosting pick”. Well, this article is different.

First, we’ll to touch on actual web hosting services that are known to rip clients off. As in, money lost… domains cancelled… and clients driven to the brink of insanity. And yes, names will be named.

Next, we’ll roll into two of the best web hosting I’ve personally come across. As in, I’ve used them or trusted friend have. This way, you can make your own intelligent web hosting comparisons. So, let’s get started:

Exhibit A: WebServe

John Gomes is a savvy webpreneur. After a bit off prodding around the Net, he came across Webserve and decided to give them a try. Things were fine at the beginning,. Then, his website went offline for no reason apparent to him.

A bit dismayed, he gave them a call to get it sorted out. And then bad turned worse. His calls went unanswered. More than three weeks passed, and Johnny’s traffic continued to hit a 404 error. Dollars were lost. Being diligent, he continued to log support tickets… which continued to be ignored.

Distraught, he opted to transfer is domain name but found it impossible because he couldn’t get a return call or email. When he did get a call back, the rep told him he’d have to cancel his domain name and reregister it if he wanted to move it.

Exhibit B: AIT

Sue Salary was sixteen when she signed a “contract” for three months with AIT. As three months were coming up, she opted to discontinue the service and transfer her domain. Apparently, AIT had other plans. AIT gave Sue a call asking for $250 for the next 3 month installment.

Appalled, she mentioned that she had cancelled, and wanted her transfer code immediately. AIT took a “it’s your problem, not ours” tone and promptly changed the WHOIS data for her domain to their company details. They’ve been holding the domain name hostage ever since.

But enough horror stories…

Two of the Best Web Hosting Companies

Hostgator isn’t the cheapest. They are, however, one of the best hosts you’re going to find. I personally use their shared hosting for a handful of blogs, and I’ve yet to experience any down time in the 3 years I’ve been with them. When I do have issues, they are available by
web chat any hour of the day or I can call toll free.

Liquidweb is another rocking web host. I work with various Internet Marketers, each getting thousands of visitors monthly, and they rave about the service they get. No down time and superb customer service. It’s more expensive than Hostgator, but you get what you pay for… I’m looking into a VPS with them as I write this.

All of these stories above (minus the names) are completely true. One might say these are isolated cases, but you can do a search for yourself to see the raw data for yourself.

The moral of the story is this: buyer beware. When doing your web hosting comparisons, seek out unbiased reviews written by actual users. The extra time spend doing research will save you headache and money in the long run. You’ve been warned.