As far as I can remember, Philaahzophy.com is not new to me. I think I’ve seen and mentioned this site on this blog way before when I had a grand review about THC’s lifetime Rudolf hosting plan last February (which is now unavailable — unfortunately). He was still positive to THC that time — far different from his views now.

On Philaahzophy’s latest post as I checked it entitled "Top Hosting Center Can’t Keep Own Website Online!," I believe Aahz missed to read something from his H-Sphere control panel. I am not sure if he is on Rudolf hosting plan or Speedy (I didn’t have interest to research) but I know he is one of THC’s customers and claimed that he used to be a "big fan" of the web host. His post was a bomb to THC and considering that THC announced the event prior to their downtime, this blogger once again shooted blanks.

While it is true that the official homepage of Top Hosting Center was down as of this writing, I wasn’t surprised. I’ve read yesterday from the company’s H-Sphere control panel news section that they are going to change their IP address as they’ve always done in the past months (this is something Aahz missed to read). I’m not sure how many hours had it been in downtime status but I have asked some friends abroad and they told me that they can fully access the website (which makes me believe that DNS information propagation is complete on some places). I don’t know if other THC users noticed the advisory but for sure it is conspicuous enough to get noticed. Since I’m in the Philippines and THC servers are in North America, I guess I will have to wait for the site to go up. It is a good thing that this blog or any customer sites (and hosting functionality) was not affected by their downtime otherwise it would be real shitty.  

As far as I know based on my working Cisco networking knowledge, changing an IP address does not take effect immediately and unfortunately domains undergoing IP changes will experience downtime. Changes that undergoes downtime include IP updates, IP transition from shared to dedicated IPs and vice versa, and name server changes.

To THC: Aahz May Be Right, But Not Completely Right

I do not say that Aahz is completely wrong. He was just shooting blanks on some ways; he may be right, but well, not completely right on his claims since I highly believe he missed the advisory. Plus, he could be on a shared hosting — and you can’t expect a dedicated server quality on a shared hosting plan!

Now this is for you THC: like what he said on his first post,  I agree that there have been quite a few times that THC had problems with their hosting services. Although they are fast in responding to support and delivering solutions to problems, complaints like from Aahz’s is a sign that THC needs to be consistent and make their impatient customers feel what a good host is. It doesn’t feel good to defend something that doesn’t deserve to be defended. Fortunately, THC isn’t as worse as Aahz described it based on my experience. He was a bit too extreme. Perhaps he needs to get a dedicated server. Believe me, you will never find a host that doesn’t experience downtimes especially on shared hosting.

Bottomline

If Top Hosting Center wasn’t good enough, as it never became a perfect web host, I would have flown to other web hosting companies. I’ve got lots of sponsorship offers for this blog from other web hosts yet I’ve denied them all because I like the way THC handles its hosting services. Plus, I don’t need to worry about a thing because they have backups accessible. An anonymous hacker tried to devastate this blog earlier this month and THC was very, very quick to restore my database. I’m sure other customers can have similar experience as THC’s support is just a matter of clicks away. In my case, I write to them via email but I can also use their live chat for basic issues and trouble ticket on my H-Sphere control panel as well.

This company does web hosting a very different way. It offers a wide range of Quality Web Hosting plans priced from $2.99 per to $11.99 per month. The main shared plans are Blogan (Blog hosting), Content (CMS hosting), Social Web (Social networking plan), Web Mall (E-Commerce hosting service) and Multi Site (Multi Domain hosting service for up to 30 small websites). Besides them you can use between other 24 hosting service plans. Each of them features different software application – from WordPress and b2Evolution Hosting plans, through MODx, Drupal and Joomla hosting services, to Social and SSL hosting plans.

Host Color also offers VPS Hosting plans powered by Virtuozzo, a leading virtualization solution. VPS plans cost from $19.95 (192 MB RAM, 10 GB HDD, 50 GB data transfer) to $69.95 for very powerful Virtual Private Server with 1024 MB RAM, 50 GG disc space and 350 GB data transfer. Anyone who needs to use fully Managed VPS can purchase it for low cost monthly flat fee of $49.95.

The company also offers Dedicated Hosting starts at $99 per month. These commercial information however is far less important than a few other things about Host Color. Besides my current host which is the Top Hosting Center, Host Color possess the following qualities:

1. This is the only hosting company I’ve seen to show their senior management to customers. You can see who runs Host color on its "Team" page.
2. This is the only web host that express its business principles and says "NO" to overselling on its website (Check their "About Us" and "Philosophy" sections)
3. This is the web hosting company that has implemented the probably the best customer service approach I’ve seen – to build an Online customer center (Host Color named it "pZone") to enable customers to manage their accounts and to communicate with its customer care specialists. This approach to customer service means that the web host id focused not just to sell, but to provide a high level customer care.

There are a few other things that make Host Color very open hosting company. It updates its new section and blog very often and launches promotional campaigns.

Speedy Versus Rudolf

The hosting features of Speedy plan can be emphasized by putting it side by side with the infamous Rudolf plan which I believed to be one of the greatest hosting plans the Web has ever seen during its time.

As you can see above, Speedy is distinguishable by its enormous disk space and monthly bandwidth. Plus it comes with free dedicated IP address and a domain name, along with other hosting features Rudolf has. Perhaps one of the things you would care is that Speedy is regular hosting plan priced at $6.75 per month for 24-month subscription, unlike Rudolf which was introduced as lifetime hosting plan for only $95.

Like what I expressed in the post when I first experienced Speedy, honestly I was very excited for its features. My previous Rudolf plan felt great as is, considering that I don’t have to pay for its monthly fees and enjoy hosting for life. However, I wanted to have the best for this blog. So, when THC unleashed its Speedy hosting plan, I was one of the early people who were able to taste its glory.

The Glory of Dedicated IP

Other than the great bump of its figures in terms of disk space and bandwidth, it is the dedicated IP address that makes Speedy hosting plan rather distinctive compared to its competitors. THC is proud that Speedy is the best hosting plan with its level as shown in their comparison page.

Once you buy a Speedy plan and you gain access to THC’s H-Sphere control panel, you will get one dedicated IP address that you can use to any of your domains. Unfortunately, a dedicated IP address can only be used by one domain, so if you need more, you have to pay add-on for $24 per static IP address per year. Once again, THC offers the cheapest rate with this optional upgrade for your domains. If you don’t have any idea about the importance of a dedicated IP address, this post is a good reference for you.

Now, knowing that this blog run with Speedy’s dedicated IP address for over a month now – was it able to make any difference at all? My answer is a resounding yes. Other than extended FTP functionality, one thing I noticed is that this blog got better traffic from search engines. It was scarce before when I was still under Rudolf’s shared IP. Another thing I noticed is that my domain’s emails received less spams. As you know, having a dedicated IP address protects you from being affected by other abusing users on a shared hosting environment. Chances of getting unsolicited emails and damaging your growing business reputation resulting from shared IP being blacklisted are greatly avoided.

The Speedy Hosting Experience

At first, I was greatly thrilled of the abundance brought about by Speedy. With four times disk space capacity (1,000 GB) and ten times monthly bandwidth (33,000 GB) allocation than that of Speedy hosting plan, dreams and daydreams of having dozens of sites having large contents are definitely possible. More sites, more money – that is what I thought.

Later on, I realized that it is quite hard to take advantage the enormous disk space and bandwidth (well, for my case). Adding quality contents to each of your sites and managing them are more challenging than merely getting large margins of hosting resources. However for web entrepreneurs and webmasters who have multiple existing domains and rapidly-growing websites, Speedy’s resources are sure-fire advantage.

Adding quality contents to each of your sites and managing them are more challenging than merely getting large margins of hosting resources

The hosting experience in general is rather identical to that of Rudolf hosting plan except worries of having deficient disk space and limited bandwidth are eliminated – which is good, less stress.

Speedy is only available on Linux platform. THC found out in their previous hosting plan experience that customers favor Linux platform than Windows. This is seconded by them because Linux is more stable, faster, and secure. If you need a Windows plan, however, ask THC’s live chat representatives for a Rudolf Windows plan (I heard Rudolf is still available on demand despite being out of the spotlight).

As usual, Top Hosting Center still excels in the area of customer support – which plays a vital role of having a pleasant hosting experience with them. Their chat support representatives are responsive and well-informed. They immediately act when they get aware that a problem has struck to any of their customer’s websites. Same goes with their trouble ticket system – responses and solutions arrive in timely fashion.

Little Shortcomings

Shortly after Speedy hosting plan was introduced, THC announced the change of H-Sphere’s EasyApp collection. EasyApp is a set of one-click-install PHP applications similar to CPanel’s Fantastico. EasyApp applications include CMS, blog platforms, e-mail and chat applications, among others.

THC is not anymore relying on default EasyApp package from PSoft, the provider of their H-Sphere control panel and EasyApp. According to THC, PSoft failed to deliver updates on time when customers need them. So, they outsourced custom EasyApp packages from HSpherePlugins.com, a third-party developer for H-Sphere. Now, despite applications being up-to-date, the number of EasyApp applications kind of reduced. You don’t have to worry though; WordPress and other important applications are still there and would possibly expand in the future.

Another thing worth mentioning during my observation is that Speedy is not slowdown-free. My blog experienced several slowdowns sporadically within the month. It is good to know, however, that despite Speedy being so generous, it is still running on a shared hosting environment – a kind of hosting that is not totally free from hosting problems such as slowdowns and downtimes which is normal.

Related Articles From THC Speedy Customers

If you have tried THC’s Speedy hosting plan and you write a review, please inform me and I will add your review hereunder. So far, these are the customers who expressed their opinions regarding THC’s Speedy hosting plan.

• New Hosting For GrandmasterB.com

Conclusion: Is Speedy The Next Big Thing?

I remember THC calling Speedy “the biggest standard hosting plan” they’ve done to date when they unleashed it. By reviewing the page they made comparing Speedy versus the hosting plans from other big hosting companies, I would say Speedy is superb. It deserves the throne of Rudolf hosting plan, which however is still very good for thrifty and frugal online entrepreneurs.

Then again, I would like to emphasize the nature of shared hosting. Despite Speedy being so big and great, figures will not guarantee a problem-free and dedicated-hosting-like web hosting. However, its free dedicated IP is a consolation, and with THC’s quick-responding support department, you will get a pleasant hosting experience for you and your business.

Despite Speedy being so big and great, figures will not guarantee a problem-free and dedicated-hosting-like web hosting.

Now if you don’t bother paying monthly fees for your web hosting, and for the sake of abundance, better SEO and quality of hosting, Top Hosting Center successfully wipes off their hosting contenders with the striking features of their Speedy hosting plan – and that is a big thing.

Shared or Dedicated IP Addresses – Say What?

Most shared hosting plans from hosting companies by default offer shared IP addresses to run their customers’ domains.

To be clear, first let us determine the difference between a shared hosting plan and a shared IP address since these are two different things. A shared hosting plan is a hosting account that runs on a single, physical server shared by other users having similar hosting accounts – thus the word “shared.” A shared IP address, on the other hand, is a real address of a website or server. Instead of real IP addresses, a domain name is used for convenience to represent a website. Since a single server can handle multiple domains running on it, these domains could represent one shared IP address. By default, the domains of other users on same shared server are pointing to a common, shared IP address.

Domains hosted on a shared hosting account, however, are not restricted to use only a shared IP address. They can be as well configured individually to be assigned a static, dedicated IP address that is utilized only by a one domain.

For shared hosting plans, a dedicated IP address is usually a premium upgrade to most hosting companies which costs around $2.50 per month. Certain hosting companies like IXWebHosting and Top Hosting Center (to name a few), include dedicated IP addresses to their shared hosting packages which is excellent.

The Impacts Of Having A Dedicated IP Address

Acquiring a dedicated IP address for your domain brings the following benefits:

Scam and Spam Blacklist Protection – In a shared hosting environment, if someone you share with a common IP gets trouble for spamming or scamming, the shared IP address could get blacklisted or banned by Internet Service Providers (ISP) and it would affect all domains using the said shared IP address. When your shared IP address is banned or blacklisted on some ISPs, your website will not be accessible to some areas in the world and your emails get blocked. It would directly affect your online business operations, search engine ranking and reputation. Getting a dedicated IP address resolves this. A dedicated IP isolates your domain and protects it from being affected from the consequences of abuses done by other shared users.

Business Identity Support – With a dedicated IP address, online businesses can have the confidence of better identity. Customers feel unsafe doing monetary transactions on sites that use a shared IP address because of reliability and security issues. A truth about this is that security certificates like private SSL requires a website to run over a dedicated IP address before it can accept credit cards online. Although you can still run an e-commerce site using a shared IP address, through a shared SSL certificate, having your own dedicated IP will make things easier and convince your customers to avail products or services, and close deals.

Enhanced Search Engine Optimization – Search engines track websites through their addresses (domain name and IPs). It has been found that most search engines favor websites running over dedicated IP address. Sites with a dedicated IP addresses do better in ranking on Search Engine Results Pages (SERP). For online businesses, this concern is very important.

Extended Hosting Functionality – Certain functions on a shared hosting plan cannot be enabled if you are using a shared IP address. For instance, Anonymous FTP can only be enabled with a dedicated IP address. Anonymous FTP lets anyone using FTP client software to access the files in a special directory of your site. Also, having a dedicated IP allows access to your website by FTP even if your domain name is still inaccessible due to propagation.

Knowing the benefits of having a dedicated IP address, I strongly encourage you to have it especially when you are running business-related sites and even blog like this. John Raul dot Com just shifted from shared IP to dedicated IP with the coming of THC’s Speedy hosting plan – and it is great.

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Rudolf Hosting Plan Overview

Rudolf hosting plan was released by THC originally as a Christmas promotional package for people who are eager to start running their own blogs or websites. There were 1000 plans available and the promo would end when all plans are sold out. Each plan, which sits over Windows or Linux, boasts lifetime ownership (yes, for life) of a hosting account with 250 GB disk space, 3000 GB unmetered monthly bandwidth, unlimited database, a free lifetime domain name, among other professional hosting features – all priced at $95 one-time payment. THC stressed through Rudolf that “customers will never have to pay for hosting again” – a statement that shocked many informed bloggers causing them to move from their old hosts to THC.

Below is a detailed comparison of THC’s standard hosting plan, the Top Hosting Special, priced at $4.95 per month and the special Rudolf plan priced at $95 one-time for lifetime ownership.

The recent Yuletide season saw a lagging sales of Rudolf though, there were still over 600 plans left during the end of December. However, during the first few weeks of 2008, there was a surge of customers who bought Rudolf plans and eventually the remaining plans plummeted below 500. According to THC’s sales representative, they predicted that the Rudolf plans will diminish this February but may still have the chance to extend more due to changing market conditions. It was renamed to “Rudolf Valentine” carrying a theme “We Love Bloggers” to match the season.

Rudolf Under Scrutiny

Signing up for Rudolf plan comes in two different tastes: Linux and Windows. It can be found on the on the product’s landing page with all the information you need. THC even provided a FAQ page in an effort to clear the doubts of skeptic customers about their current flagship product. I see this effort “good.” THC uses only two payment gateways for their signups: PayPal and 2CheckOut. The latter one is good for credit cards that are recognized internationally.

Instructions about domain name registrations and domain name transfers associated to the Rudolf plan are provided in one of the steps of the account signup wizard. It asks new customers to send their domain registration or domain transfer request to THC’s email support. It would have been more convenient if THC was able put domain registration forms as part of their signup the process. Nevertheless, domain name registrations are usually completed from two to six hours upon registration (it could vary though) while domain name transfers usually take five days to a week to complete (without downtime). Since each Rudolf plan promises a lifetime domain name, THC will be the one to pay for the renewal fees as long as the customer stays on THC.

The EasyApp, a collection of ready-to-use PHP applications tied with the H-Sphere control panel, similar to CPanel’s Fantastico, boasts a rich number of useful applications (CMS, blog platforms, e-commerce, support systems, etc). However, the current version used by THC, does not allow installation on root directory through the control panel. This is troublesome to customers, for instance, who wants to get their WordPress blog installed on the root for search engine-optimized (SEO) permalink structure. However, the workaround is to install the application manually to the root. Manual installation is tricky and could be difficult to people who are not very technologically-inclined.

Rudolf also offers unlimited database, domains and subdomains which perfectly match the 250 GB disk storage and 3000 GB monthly bandwidth. Other hosts usually impose a maximum number of databases, and varying domain/subdomain limitations for their hosting plans. THC broke them with its 1000 Rudolf plans; the generous resource lineups allow customers to put more information to their websites due to its increased database storage and bandwidth.

Finally, with all the benefits Rudolf bring, THC placed a price tag of $95 to each plan. Of course, it is cheap and very affordable – a 12-month regular hosting would cost around $60 (excluding the domain name registration and renewal). I personally remark that it was “aggressively priced” which could be a risk to THC if their goals are not met and efforts backfire. However, I believe that the company is well-funded and that they have pre-calculated well the Rudolf plan. Hopefully with the Rudolf’s release, it would bring good returns to their investments in parallel with their generosity.

Rudolf Over Linux

I read from many blog testimonials that customers who acquired Rudolf hosting plans over Linux platform are overjoyed with the performance of their websites. Honestly, this did not shock me as Linux has always been the king in terms of web hosting regardless of hosting company.

PHP and MySQL combination in Linux platform is superb. Similar performance is also achieved by PostGreSQL database engine.

So while the rest of Linux features are excellent, there is only one apparent shortcoming I have to mention – domains on Linux can only run PHP version 4. This means applications meant for PHP version 5 may have problems running on Linux platform for the meantime. THC cannot be blamed for this, however, as the limitation was brought about by the current H-Sphere version. Future H-Sphere control panel upgrades foreseeable this year, are expected to wipe this out.

Rudolf Over Windows

Though in many ways Linux outperform Windows in the web hosting department, Rudolf over Windows platform is powered by multiple core Intel processors (same as Linux) to ensure a fast, stable and responsive website environment.

The H-Sphere control panel over Windows works a bit different than that of Linux. It offers support for ASP and ASP.net languages backed by MySQL, PostGreSQL and optional MSSQL databases. Currently, PHP is implemented as CGI on Internet Information Services (IIS) 6.0 available in two different and switchable versions for domains that run on Windows platform: version 4.4.7 and version 5.2.3. In all other aspects, Windows offer similar features with Linux.

However, personally I prefer getting a Linux plan (unless I need Windows-specific features). But generally in terms of web hosting, I trust Linux more than Windows.

Top Hosting Center: A Good Hosting Company?

Let’s make the article I wrote previously, “What Good Companies Are Made Of,” as a basis of judging the reputation of the company that hosts Rudolf: Top Hosting Center, a Montreal-based hosting company.

• Products competency over pricing. The specifications of Rudolf hosting plan and Top Hosting Special, in particular, passes the 200 GB disk space and 2000 GB monthly bandwidth competency requirement which I deemed sufficient for most hosting needs nowadays (though bigger is always better). Both plans are fairly priced except some would interpret Rudolf hosting plan as a bit “overselling.” However, I don’t believe because it’s just a limited offer and it is good while supply lasts. THC uses H-Sphere for web management for their hosting customers. H-Sphere is a highly sophisticated control panel developed by Positive Software Corporation that works similar but not graphically alike with other control panels, CPanel and Plesk. H-Sphere features EasyApp, a collection of ready-to-use PHP scripts which include content management systems (CMS), forums, blogs (e.g. WordPress), image galleries, and a lot more.
• Server performance, reliability and security consistency. THC’s CEO, Eric Vanier asserted in his blog that the servers behind their hosting plans, never experienced downtime for almost two years. However, seemed like a devil’s luck, it was followed by another post stating that they experienced an unexpected database issue when they applied a security patch requiring server reboot in the evening of January 11th. It broke their consistent uptime record but rather reasonable since unexpected downtimes usually happen when a new software is introduced during upgrades or if there are changes in its configuration (like the application of security patches). It was however resolved in timely manner and oddly brought server improvements that are assumingly expected to bring improved server performance and assured stability to all platforms. Other than that, THC also does nightly backups and imposes strict security rules to assure a secure environment to all its users (no SSH access on shared servers, etc).
• Support and management reachability. THC currently offers only three different modes of support: live chat support (which can be initiated on THC’s official website), e-mail support and trouble ticket support (an in-built feature in the account’s control panel). These are available 24×7, which means help is ready anytime you need it. I particularly liked the chat support system. Their chat representatives are real people and very friendly and responsive – good for product inquiries, problem reports, and basic technical assistance. They should, however, think about offering phone support (as other hosts do) to be completely competent in this part. However, they said such service is still not a “need” as of the moment as their existing support methods still suffice.
• Employee satisfaction. Just like what I mentioned in my previous post, employee satisfaction is tantamount to service and product excellence. Upon chatting with one of THC’s representatives, I learned that they are indeed very eager to deliver quality services toward customer satisfaction. This underlines the statement found of its CEO’s blog post “I Love Competition, So Do You.” I’ve also discovered that THC has partnered with Pamil-Visions, a Germany-based online marketing company that only promotes products they feel confident for.

Rudolf Plus Value-Added Services

Rudolf customers can also enjoy other THC value-added services: the THC online community forum, the THC corporate web hosting blog, discounted SEO services for their websites, and exclusive free website directory.

What Others Have To Say About Rudolf

I’ve done a Google search to find some customer reviews or any article related to the Rudolf plan. Here is the list of what I found (and there’s more out there):

• Affordable Lifetime Web Hosting Service
• THC Webhosting: Why It Is An Easy Option For Me
• Kinks Working Out At Top Hosting Center
• Brand Your Blog And Catch Rudolph Before He Is Gone
• One Time Charge For Hosting???
• First Impressions of Top Hosting Center
• Rudolf Hosting Plan Less Than 500 Left, Countdown Begins
• THC Rudolf: Globally Competitive Hosting Plan
• THC Unveils Lifetime Webhosting Account For $95 One-time!
• Why Is Rudolf The Hosting Plan You Need

Grand Conclusion

Now that I have uncovered Rudolf in most dimensions, it is now clear why it is one of the most amazing hosting plans I’ve seen on the Web. Where can you ever find a reliable host that offer 250 GB disk space, 3000 GB monthly bandwidth, a lifetime domain name, along with other standard hosting features – all subject only for one-time payment of $95? THC only rolled 1000 Rudolf plans (of course, they will lose their business if they dare to offer more) and those are meant for lucky people who are seeking for the right host.

Perhaps I didn’t tell in the previous paragraphs, but Rudolf bears one catch that could derail you from your decision of getting one: if you are dreaming of setting up an adult site for Rudolf hosting plan, forget Rudolf. THC strongly follows code of ethics and does not allow any illegal files to reside on their wholesome servers.

So, if you want to run your own blog or move your existing site to a Rudolf plan, you should do it now. Though their sales representatives won’t disclose the exact figures of remaining plans, I was informed that the numbers of Rudolf plans are rapidly diminishing. This is a threat for you.

Whew! Go get your own Rudolf hosting plan now and if you want to thank me for the great information, you can express it by putting this site in your blogroll or by simply subscribing to this blog through email or RSS.

Happy Valentine’s Day!

Braindump Exam: N10-003 was the first program introduced for webmasters so that they could qualify for 350-030 in first attempt. Majority flunks because of ignorance of 70-294 and 70-647. This is true for 640-863 as well.

In this article, I will discuss to you what a good web hosting company is made of – and should be made of. This is truly significant – there are traps out there that will make you lose your money’s worth, your digital assets, and break your site’s revenue potential if you are too gullible in hosting your files everywhere. Deriving from these consequences, I came up with a realization what a good hosting company is made of.

A good web hosting company is built from the ground with the following qualities:

Robust, competitive hosting features versus price.

Expensive hosting may give security to some people and assurance about the quality of hosting – but this isn’t really true at times. You have the chance to overspend your hosting allowance to an expensive hosting plan where in fact, there are almost myriad small to medium-sized hosting companies on the Web that offer similar hosting quality features and customer support excellence at lower prices.

A good hosting company would offer plans that the masses can realistically afford. If you are new to hosting and you want to start running a site (especially a blog or a forum), a shared hosting plan with at least 200 GB disk storage, 2000 GB monthly data transfer and a domain name is well suited for you – unless of course, your proposed website has “special needs.” Choose hosting plans that use CPanel, H-Sphere or Plesk, as the web management software. In addition, the hosting network should be running at 100 Mbps speed. A standard hosting plan should cost from $4 to $6 per month, and should come along with other hosting features.

Typically, hosting companies sell shared hosting plans, virtual private servers or VPS hosting, reseller hosting and dedicated server hosting solutions. They may also optionally have domain name registration services and other hosting-related services.

Ask your company where their servers reside. It is a good warning if you found out that they are running their servers at home and not within a datacenter’s server farms.

Consistent server uptime performance, security and stability.

It’s very common to read on hosting companies’ sites that they guarantee 99.9% uptime – but trust me it’s more like a part of their blurbs. Downtimes normally happen (even in large hosting companies) usually after server patches, control panel upgrades, and reboots. However, these “critical upgrades” rarely happen every six months.

A good hosting company understands the significance of server uptime especially to their customers who earn through ads and services. It provides solutions towards greater consistency of server performance and stability.

In shared hosting department, where customer accounts and their files reside in a single server, a good hosting company would implement necessary software configuration to wipe out vulnerabilities and protect the server from exploitation. Some functionality of scripting languages normally would be disabled to leave no chance for hackers of intruding the system.

Excellent channels of communication to the management and support departments.

Personally I like a hosting company that features proactive customer support service (though some find it irritating). I feel secure if I am able to communicate with real people from the company than being answered by machines. For me, a hosting company is a minus if they offer excellent hosting plans but fails to respond in timely fashion their customer’s hosting support needs.

A good hosting company should be able to deliver at least two different methods of support: email support, live chat support, trouble ticket support, and telephone support. This ensures customers that they would be able to get help whenever they need it. Support from live chat and telephone should be instantaneous for basic inquiries. For more technical problems sent through email or trouble ticket support, a good hosting company should be able to make a reply in less than 24 hours and should be able to come up with a solution or a follow-up in less than two days (this may vary though depending on the severity and scope of your problems).

What about outsourced customer support? If you ever found out that a company’s support is being outsourced outside first-world countries (or North America), don’t worry much but still remain highly skeptical. There are many others countries in the world such as India and the Philippines that boast a vibrant population of globally competitive IT professionals. If your concern is the language barrier, reach their management and inform them so it will be addressed. Discovering that their servers reside on those countries would sound more “alarming” than their outsourced support. So, remain wary and skeptic.
The company’s “hosting engine” is constituted of people happy with their jobs – not just mere high-spec machines.

How to know: If you have found a prospective web hosting company that lets you feel initially confident with their hosting features, try accessing their live chat support and throw a number of questions to the support representative regarding how he/she feels about the company’s management, products and services. If the representative is happy, it is a good a sign. Companies with satisfied workers usually translate to excellence in their products and services.
Good reputation, positive feedbacks from existing and previous customers.

A good hosting company that has been around for more than a year with a good reputation usually validates their legitimacy claims.

The most common method to do in finding out the reputation of a hosting company is doing an online search (preferably Google). Finding reviews of hosting company that has been around for years should be fairly easy. Never rely on feedbacks done by customers through the hosting company’s own forums and testimonial pages – unless you can personally vouch that they stand firmly in bringing “honest” reviews to the quality of their hosting.

I suggest that you use this Reverse IP Domain Check utility to find out the websites/blogs hosted on the hosting company’s web server. From there, you can experience the actual web hosting performance of the hosting company and it may also provide clues on contacting a real, existing customer for better advice.

Personally, I don’t trust much the reviews made by “hosting review websites.” I prefer reading blogs having independent reviews and participating web hosting forums in getting reliable advices from experienced webmasters. There you can throw comments or questions about a certain company and people will give you relevant responses. In the future, I will make a post about the best hosting forums I knew.