It depends on what you define a good host. Good server, good support, good price, etc... My recommendation is narrow down the hosts that meet your criteria and budget then get on the phone with them to share your expectations and see what kind of response you'll get out of it. Do not sign a contract to save a dollar or two, give them a try and decide as you move forward.

The best hosts are ones that meet your needs and requirements and are responsive when problems arise. When I look for a hosting I always look at how reliable the support team will be on.

Lots of clients don't care how much they pay for the service. They are more concerned that their site will be up, you will answer the phone and most of all - you will take care of them with their success in mind. You go beyond just providing answers to technical questions - you throw in a tip or two now and then to show them you care. In the end they want to stay with you and will spread the word to like-minded individuals.

If you want to compete with low price hosting - you'll get low price clients - who generally speaking are high-maintenance hosting clients. No offense to bargain shoppers, but those who are willing to put their entire business on the line for $3.00 a month - aren't really running a business. Low cost shared hosts are reserved for hobby, personal or non-used family sites - not for real businesses.

Money back guarantee is a good but not enough.

I heard many stories of people wanted to sue their web host because of downtime and loss in revenue. The answer from the host always look like "if you win you'll get back your $6.95 but no guarantee that it will cover court costs and time away from your business".

Unfortunately, until you run into problems, it can be difficult to differentiate the good hosts from the bad hosts. I've been running a number of websites since, so I've had some experience.

In my experience, the entire web hosting companies is good. It all comes down to the end-user, if they are competent enough to do what they do. I often see that customers blame the company after it was their fault to begin with.

It is very hard to differentiate between a good host and a bad host, because some of them are just fakes but some of them are a worth quality, I believe there is a great requirement of research and development in this regard.