One of the most attractive qualities in a Web hosting service is a low price. And in shopping for a Web host, you'll probably discover there is no shortage of providers offering hosting packages with more than enough power to meet your needs for extremely low prices. You'll sometimes hear "you get what you pay for," and "if it seems too good to be true, it probably is." And these sorts of sayings are valuable advice. But in today's Web hosting market, a simple Web hosting package simply is a low-cost service, and some of the largest, best-supported companies in the world are among the providers offering hosting for the lowest prices. 1&1 Internet (www.1and1.com) and Go Daddy (www.godaddy.com) both offer services that start at $3.99 per month. While a new but reliable provider is Mydosty.com (http://www.mydosty.com) offeringthe cheapest price of 99 cent/month only!



Reseller hosting programs make it possible for much smaller companies to offer pricing similar to the big players, while offering similarly reliable (and in some cases considerably more personal) customer service. But while reseller hosting makes it simple for small-but-reliable businesses to quickly set up shop online, it makes it just as simple for unreliable and poorly-run businesses to set up Web hosting services.

Short of sticking with only the biggest companies (a viable plan, certainly, but not the only alternative), it will be almost impossible to avoid encountering unreliable hosting providers altogether. So being able to distinguish between a credible shop and a fly-by-night outfit will be a valuable tool in shopping for a host.

It may seem obvious, but a poorly-designed or poorly maintained websites is often a giveaway when it comes to bad service. Browse your potential host's whole site. Look for badly functioning code or broken links. A host that doesn't properly maintain its own website can hardly be relied upon to provide the support you need in maintaining your own.

Check for contact information. Any company worth doing business with has a "contact us" link on its website, and a phone number on that page. Some hosts don't list their phone numbers or emails, providing only Web-based forms for making contact. It's not a sure sign of a bad service provider, but a phone number says "reliable" and "accountable" a whole lot more clearly.

Take that contact information for a spin. Get in touch with the host. Call its phone number. Send an email. Voicemail and email auto-responders are good things, signs that a company is determined to manage its customer contact, but you're looking for follow-through too. How long does it take them to get back to you?

Check out reviews online. It can be tough to find a reliable rating for a Web hosting company online, since most of the "ratings" out there are paid-for good press and most of the negative forum threads are the unreliable ranting of irate ex customers. But a good thing to look for is a company's own response to such threads. A reliable host will often take the time to respond to a negative message board thread, giving its side of the story and hopefully not getting drawn into the mud-slinging.

Go with your gut. If a hosting provider doesn't feel like a good idea, it probably isn't. Remember, if a cheap service is all you require, there are plenty of highly reliable hosts that can meet your criteria.