|
MY
OWN EXPERIENCE
When I started looking around for a web host for my business,
a close relative who worked for one of these shared hosting
companies recommended I give theirs a try. I did, and found
it was good but not easy enough for a novice like me. So
I poked around and found there were literally hundreds of
other web site hosting services to choose from.
At
first, I thought the biggest might be the best, so I started
there. I figured since they already had over a million people
signed up they had to be the coolest. Well, they were good,
but after several frustrating attempts to get started I
couldn’t even get through the process of selecting a user
name without running into trouble. Turns out since they
had so many users, all the user names I wanted were already
taken. So I made up a silly name that was finally accepted
only to find out that it became my domain name as well.
Just
when I was beginning to feel like this wasn’t such a good
idea after all, I happened on a few other hosts that were
truly a novice’s dream. I chose one that led me logically
through a series of understandable steps until my own site
was successfully up and running. It let me make changes
and preview my work. When I was sure the site was ready
it put me online. It worked for me.
DIFFERENT
SITES FOR DIFFERENT NEEDS
So why aren’t all the Web Hosting sites like that one? Well,
for one thing, each site caters to a different audience.
They don’t try to be all things to all people.
I
found out there are tons of people out there who are already
web savvy and they are not looking for an easy interface,
but more web space. They already have a domain name, and
a site already built. They just need more space at less
cost. Still others are looking to join an on-line community
with like interests.
The
real trick is to get matched up with the web hosting service
that most closely fits your needs. That’s where the “Web
Hosting Guide ” comes in. After enlisting the help of others
we started this site to assist you in finding a host that
will guide you to the web site of your dreams.
WE
CHECKED THEM ALL
We’re here to narrow the choices based on your needs.
And we feel like we are in a pretty good position to know.
Our researchers have scoured the net and personally reviewed
hundreds of sites. Researchers? Okay, so it’s not actually
a laboratory, but we have enlisted real live people ranging
from absolutely rank beginners, to regular net users, to
real web pros to help us. And we get new reviews from our
readers every day. We listen to the real-life users, and
we really want to know what they think.
We
have personally checked every site listed here. If our initial
review is positive, we actually register a user name and
build a test website using their own site building tools.
The results have been very enlightening. Some are so easy
you can actually have a web site up and running in 5 minutes.
(They claim one minute, but that’s a little too optimistic
for a beginner.) However, some are so painfully difficult
that we can’t believe anyone would actually use them.
SO,
WHO'S THE BEST?
Naturally you want us to cut the talk and get down to who’s
the best, right? Well, we do have our favorites, but they
are changing constantly. And although the big guys are obviously
good, they don’t always come out on top as you will see.
Some smaller sites even have bigger advantages, such as
shorter domain names with your name first, instead
of at the end of some huge URL.
WHY
ARE SOME MISSING FROM THE LIST?
Painfully, there are a number of sites we have left off
because they are just plain not worthy of your attention.
Plus there are many hosts we just haven’t discovered yet.
Help us out and let us know. You are our eyes and ears out
in the trenches.
If
you put in the time to build a site using one of the hosts
on our list we want your opinion and we’ll share it with
the internet. This site is based on real world experience
not hype.
Put
simply, if a best friend was asking us for advice, this
is what we’d tell them. Let us know what you think!
|
