What features do people search for?

[PierreB]

I want to hear what feature you people out there are looking for when searching for a web hosting account.

Any comment welcome as long it is respecting the forum rules.

[jadzia]

First and foremost is RELIABLE service. I look for a good uptime (with proof), fast support, and a company that puts its customers/clients first. Features come in second, like how many databases, bandwidth, storage space, ftp accounts, cpanel, etc. Price is my last consideration, because a really cheap account isn't worth it if my site is always down, or if my support tickets go unanswered.

[PierreB]

But cheap accounts can also show reliability, don't you think?

Thanks for the feed back.

[Thanol]

Originally Posted by PierreB

But cheap accounts can also show reliability, don't you think?

If you have proof it'll show reliability but a lot of people have been screwed over by cheap hosts that go down every so often. So to a lot of people really cheap equals crap.

I personally like speed (along with reliability and support), after years of being stuck on dial-up if a webpage doesn't load in 10 seconds the host is crap. Now I'm on broadband so I can't tell the difference anymore.

[PierreB]

good point.

However, even for being on broadband you want your site to be accessible 24/7.

[fishfreek]

Originally Posted by fishfreek

Uptime, server response, managment features, tech support, space, bandwidth, price

Thats the order I look for.

If a host has bad uptime then just move on. Dont even bother looking at their other aspects cause who wants to pay for something thats not available.

Response time, You want a host that has fast response time. not just low pings but quick to load pages.

Managment features, what good is a domain if you cant do anything with it other than upload files via FTP? Look for a host that provides the features you need and a easy way of managing those features.

Tech support, See if they have a support forum and look around at some of the messages in there. Do needs get addressed in a timly manor? Send them some 'test' questions or some general sales inquiries to see what kind of response time you get. Who wants to be waiting days for a response to a problem?

Space, Disk is fairly inexpensive so this is almost not even an issue any more but make sure the plans have ample space for your needs and make sure if your needs grow the host will be able to grow with you vs being stuck in a plan.

Bandwidth, Good bandwidth costs money. But there is a point where you can maximize the bandwidth allotment. Be VERY warry of anyone offering unlimited or unmeetered bandwidth. Cause its just a marketing ploy. U start using what they defined as excessive amounts (this limit is probably not listed any where) they will probaly kindly ask you to leave their servers or try to upgrade you to a more costly package with defined bandwidth limits.

Price, Way to often you get what you pay for. Free hosts you usually get low response time on the servers and usually poor uptime. Two of the most important factors. Tech support is often limited to community style support where your fellow clients are your help. By spending a little more money each month you usually get better uptime (because they can buy better equipment or put less sites on each server), better response time (again better equipment and less sites per server), and better tech support. Tech support costs money. And good tech support costs even more money so hosts have to spread this cost out over all their customers.

[adam2003w]

I look for good service. A reliable partner that can you call up person to person and solve a problem with. So many times a client wants to use a hosting company that we don't work with and 7 times out of 7 times the host turns out to be this unreachable mystery.

These hosts that are only available by email between 7 pm and 7:15 pm, or only work tech service through automated phone messages, or when you do reach them on the phone they really don't want to help. Frustrating.

A host that we have used over and over again is Agnitek.com. A small company, but reliable people that you can call up and ask for by name and they will help you. Anyways, after dealing with probably 6 or 7 hosts of all types that offered poor service, just thought you guys would like to know of one who was actually worth it.

Adam

[PierreB]

Fish thanks for the reply, quite good one.

Adam, I'm not sure if your reply was accurate, I understand the point of not being able to get in touch with the web host. but was not looking for a"plug" to another company.

[John Scott]

Financial stability. Quick response to support. Financial stability. 1-800 number. Financial stability. 24/7 support. Contact info, including physical address. ...