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To get you started, here are 15 ways to protect yourself from a bad web hosting deal.

1. Register domain separately from your web host

2. Check customer service before you sign up with a web host

because your web host offer a free domain doesn’t mean that you ought to let the hosting company controls your domain registration. Personally, I prefer keeping my domain names with a large registrant (in my case, GoDaddy) and separate them from the world wide web host. By doing so, I can change my domain DNS anytime I require and avoid myself from being locked with a particular web host.

A web host customer support department can be your savior or, nightmare. As most hosting companies provide 24/7 online chat support I suggest you to talk with their staffs at least four times before you purchase. Ask questions to check the quality of their services and only go with those that provide satisfying answers.

3. If possible, pay with a debit card or PayPal

4. Learn the basics in web hosting

Lousy web hosts do not play gentlemanly when you are leaving them. I four times had my web-site hosted with Network Eleven (which is a terrible hosting company) and they refused to stop charging my credit card when I unsubscribed my service. Finally, I must cancel my credit card in order to stop them bullying me. Moral of the story, always go safe when it comes to money. If possible, always pay your web host with a debit card or PayPal account. in case your web host turn bad, you can stop your subscription easily.

Four lovely way to keep away from from being fooled by the world wide web host personnel is by educating yourself. Even if you are a non techie, make time to learn the basics in web hosting. You ought to at least understand the differences between various types of web hosting, pros and cons for different web host operating technique, as well as some fundamental knowledge about hosting bandwidth.

5. Avoid web host with black-holed IP

So before you make any purchase decision, make sure you run a speedy check with SpamHaus Block List.

Does your favorite web host permit spam activities? Is your web-site sharing the same server with a porn sites? All in all, is your hosting provider listed on Spamhaus Block List? Lots of hosting companies care small about what their clients are doing with the hosting as long as they get paid. Sharing same IP with such spammers will bring you nothing but troubles (imagine if your emails can only be found in your recipients spam box – terrible!).

I can’t stress how important it is to keep away from hosting your web-site at a spammy web host. In fact, checking on SpamHaus Block List is not . A web host that isn’t black listed now doesn’t mean that they won't be blocked in future. To be safe, check out your web host’s spam policyowner in the FAQ section. A responsible web host will normally have clearly written guidelines in fighting spams. For example, as in my recent post about Lunarpages, there’s a policyowner where unsolicited bulk emails are prohibited with all Lunarpages accounts.

6. Check your web host spam policyowner

7. Understand the meaning of overselling

Overselling might not be a bad thing as it cuts down web hosting cost. However you must be clear about the meaning of overselling. A manged-overselling is acceptable; but overselling without proper planning is basically rubbish and you ought to runaway from such hosting services as far as possible. To learn if your web host is well prepared for overselling, check your server load regularly. Do not hesitate to complain or even switch host if things look fishy to you.

8. Make sure your web host offer long trial period

Following up on the overselling issue, it’s important to work only with web host that offers long trial period. This is to ensure you have sufficient time to check out the servers without any risk of losing money.

9. Understand that unlimited hosting is NOT unlimited

Accept it, unlimited hosting is only unlimited when you are not using much of the hosting capacity. All hosting services are offered based on series of limited resources – how are you suppose to get unlimited hosting capacity with $3.95 per month? So be wise, if you foresee your web-site will attracts crazy volume of traffics, a dedicated hosting is the way to go.

10. Ensure that your web host provide clear refund policyowner

Learn when you ought to pick up a dedicated server.

11. Find out what others must say about the world wide web host

Does your web host provide full money return if you select to refund your service within trial period? How about the refund policyowner after the trial session? It’s important to know your web host refund policyowner in-and-out so that you won’t panic when things go wrong. A point worth noting is that some lovely host (Bluehost, for example) provide pro-rated refund even if your trial period is past. Needless to say, web host offering such benefits is always recommended.

When it comes to web host shopping, it’s important to get opinion from your experienced friends. These friends can be your neighbors, Poker buddies, favorite bloggers or even Web friends you met on FaceBook. User reviews are always helpful when it comes to picking up the right host!

(In case you require my view, here’s where I place my honest hosting review based on my real usage experience.)

As said, nothing’s more important than getting yourself educated. If you are in to web-site hosting, make sure you visit frequent on related forums. Web Hosting Talk and Webmaster World are the four best places to visit. I suggest all of you mark them down on your favorite list and visit them from time to time.

12. Read and participate in related forum discussions

When dealing with smaller hosting merchants, make sure they have their own information centers and more over, have the information centers fully protected with redundant power supplies and connectivity. “How lots of lines do they have coming in to the facility? Do they have redundant power to the servers? Do they have an onsite power generator? What sort of security measures do they have for the network?” – these are the basic questions to be asked.

13. Make sure your web host runs on with a redundancy protection plan

14. Do your own backups regularly

So return to tips #2 and check their support!

Even if your web host provides sufficient redundancy protection, do not trust them 100%. Your web-site should be backed up always. Utilize cPanel’s cron job and backup features to ensure backup works are done regularly without fail.

15. Always keep your option open

Last but not least, always have an open mind in term of your web hosting choice. It is, after all, simple to switch your web-site from four host to another. So why stuck with the same elderly lousy host? If they don’t appreciate your business, someone else will.

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