This has got to be one of the biggest scams going. If a host provider registers YOUR domain for you, make certain that their information only appears as the technical contact at most and NEVER as the domain owner. If a host provider controls your domain you are theirs for life and are held hostage.
By no means is this a complete list and we will most likely be adding to it as we discover more You really need to do your homework and talk with sales people, customers, or others who have experience with the Webhost you are looking into.
Don't associate top positions in search engineswith respectable companies or companies that havebeen in business a long time. Most top positionsare bought and those that are not still havenothing to do with the stability of the companies.
Look for telephone numbers and contact informationon the Webhost's site. Never do business with anycompany that hides telephone numbers. Remember, ifit is too good to be true it probably is.
Wednesday, May 30, 2007
Free web hosting?
Ahhh, the word "free", used so often and abused even more. Why would anyone give away free hosting? In most cases, your site is required to display some banner ads and generate revenue for the host provider. That is fine and many customers, especially customers with personal Websites who can live with that sacrifice.
However in some cases, signing up for free hosting is like selling your soul to the devil (ok maybe not that bad) and here is why. Your personal information and your e-mail address is sold to many, sometimeshundreds of "opt in" spammers. You have essentially opted in to receive all their spam when you signed up for the free hosting and pretended you read the host provider's 26 page of terms and conditions.
At times, the service is so poor it actually costs businesses large amounts of money in loss revenues. The same can be said for very cheap hosting.
However in some cases, signing up for free hosting is like selling your soul to the devil (ok maybe not that bad) and here is why. Your personal information and your e-mail address is sold to many, sometimeshundreds of "opt in" spammers. You have essentially opted in to receive all their spam when you signed up for the free hosting and pretended you read the host provider's 26 page of terms and conditions.
At times, the service is so poor it actually costs businesses large amounts of money in loss revenues. The same can be said for very cheap hosting.
more info on web hosting scams
C) Hosting Term Contracts.
This is where you sign your life away for a long -term commitment hoping the service you expect is everything you were told. See reason #2 above.
With the exception of very custom high-end dedicated server solutions that are build especially for the customer, term contracts in this industry are history so don't be talked into signing one.
D) "Unlimited" Bandwidth. Or unlimited anything forthat matter.
Think about this, with the exception of Outer Space itself (and perhaps love), everything has a limit. Without being too literal the word "unlimited" in the hosting industry really means that there is no set number that can define the limit, and the real limit is determined by other factors.
Most providers who advertise unlimited bandwidth use that "feature" to suck prospects in and make a quick sale knowing that only about 1% of Websites will ever use a large enough amount of bandwidth to cause problems for them.
These unfortunate 1% are simply told that their sites are either "killing the server" or given another excuse as why they cannot host them.
This is where you sign your life away for a long -term commitment hoping the service you expect is everything you were told. See reason #2 above.
With the exception of very custom high-end dedicated server solutions that are build especially for the customer, term contracts in this industry are history so don't be talked into signing one.
D) "Unlimited" Bandwidth. Or unlimited anything forthat matter.
Think about this, with the exception of Outer Space itself (and perhaps love), everything has a limit. Without being too literal the word "unlimited" in the hosting industry really means that there is no set number that can define the limit, and the real limit is determined by other factors.
Most providers who advertise unlimited bandwidth use that "feature" to suck prospects in and make a quick sale knowing that only about 1% of Websites will ever use a large enough amount of bandwidth to cause problems for them.
These unfortunate 1% are simply told that their sites are either "killing the server" or given another excuse as why they cannot host them.
Here are some of the more common "scams" practiced by fly by night Webhosting companies
A) Deceiving Price Advertising.
Some hosting providers will advertise a very low and attractive monthly price. You will be lured to their site and overwhelmed with flashy graphics and follow the order links only to find out that in order to get that low price, you must prepay 3,6, and sometimes 1 year in advance.
B) Yearly / Advance Payments.
Some hosting providers encourage and heavily promote advance payments for hosting services. Some even offer such tempting discounts that it is hard not to give in to their ploy. This can be done for one of two reasons.
1) the hosting company is barley hanging onfinancially and needs all the money they can getto pay their bills for the month or
2) they know that their service is less than acceptable and without an advance commitment the customers are sure to leave.
Some hosting providers will advertise a very low and attractive monthly price. You will be lured to their site and overwhelmed with flashy graphics and follow the order links only to find out that in order to get that low price, you must prepay 3,6, and sometimes 1 year in advance.
B) Yearly / Advance Payments.
Some hosting providers encourage and heavily promote advance payments for hosting services. Some even offer such tempting discounts that it is hard not to give in to their ploy. This can be done for one of two reasons.
1) the hosting company is barley hanging onfinancially and needs all the money they can getto pay their bills for the month or
2) they know that their service is less than acceptable and without an advance commitment the customers are sure to leave.
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