Top Five Common Pit Falls in Web Hosting

There are pitfalls and traps in every walk of life, and web hosting is no different.  If you're not aware of these pitfalls, it can cost you dearly, in time, money, and perhaps even your business reputation.  A little research beforehand, however, can save you a whole lot of trouble further on down the line.  In this article, we'll look at the five most common web hosting traps that await the unwary.

Traps you must avoid in web hosting

Hidden Fees

It's a good rule in life to check the small print, and this is especially true with web hosting.  There's something about large chunks of online text that makes us want to skip right over it.  However, you do this at your peril.  Go through the terms of service and make sure there are no nasty hidden charges or fees on top of your monthly fee.  For example, are all hosting software features included as part of the deal, or do you have to pay for things like site stats or design templates?  Also beware of monthly fees that are liable to be increased with no warning.

Poor Customer Support

Every web host says they provide good customer and technical support, but the reality may be very different.  Check out the comments on the customer forums, since this will give you a good idea of how the host responds to real requests from real people.  Look for things like speed of response and ability to fix things.  It's also a good idea to look for discussion forums on the internet, where you can get a similar overview of people's experiences with a particular company.

Guaranteeing 100% Uptime

This is simply a lie.  Nothing in life is guaranteed, least of all a technical operation involving man made machinery and human operators.  There will always be mistakes, technical malfunctions, and power failures.  Be very, very wary of any hosting company that claims to be perfect.

No Refund Policies

Although a trial period and a money back guarantee tend to be offered as standard, there are still a few companies out there that don't offer these things.  This should immediately make you wary, as it doesn't say a lot for the company's confidence that it can provide a decent service.

Obsolete Systems

Some companies cut costs by running outdated servers and software applications.  Not only are these more difficult to use, they're more vulnerable to viruses and hacker attacks.  Obsolete servers are also more likely to crash, taking your website with them.
In the end, ensuring a good experience with your web hos