Choosing a web hosting company is one of the most important decisions you’ll make for your online presence. Your host determines how fast, secure, and reliable your website will be. Here’s how to make sure you’re picking the right one — and not getting scammed by a fly-by-night provider.
1. Check the Company’s Website Age
Older, established companies are more likely to be trustworthy. You can check how long a website has been online using tools like:
- Whois Lookup – for domain registration and owner details
- Domain Age Checker – to see how old the domain is
- Wayback Machine – to view historical versions of the website
If a host is brand new and hides ownership details, be cautious.
2. Test Hosting Speed and Performance
Your host should be fast — no exceptions. Check how fast websites load on their servers using:
Test their homepage or customer demo websites. If the results are slow — walk away.
3. Review Their Uptime History
Good hosting companies boast 99.9% uptime or higher. You can verify uptime using:
Ask the host for recent uptime stats or real customer reports.
4. Look for Real Customer Reviews
Not all review sites are genuine. Focus on independent sources like:
Beware of hosts with only 5-star reviews and no negative feedback — it’s often fake.
5. Confirm Support Quality
Tech support is your lifeline when things go wrong. Test response times by sending a message before you sign up, and check if they offer:
- 24/7 human support
- Live chat or instant ticketing
- Real technical knowledge, not just canned replies
6. Bonus: See What’s Included
Some hosts advertise low prices but charge extra for basics like:
- SSL certificates
- Backups
- Email accounts
- Website migrations
With Wonderweb, we include all of these for free — because they should be standard, not premium.
