Web Hosting Horror Stories Revealed!

If you’ve been doing business on the Internet for more than a couple of months than you’ve probably run into your share of web host meatheads.

It seems like the guys that start web hosting companies are the same ones that handled the audio video equipment in high school – or were fraternity secretaries in college.

There's nothing wrong with running audio video equipment or doing the books for a fraternity! So don’t send me any hate mail spam.

But geez.....I don't think most of the guys that run web-hosting companies could never run any other business on the Internet. Maybe it’s a “postal” mindset - I don't know.

Anyway, web hosting is much different today than it was in 1995

Today there are thousands of web hosts. You don't have to settle for the “postal” mindset, lousy service, inflated fees, microscopic TOS disclaimers, and incompetence.

What’s more, you can find web hosts in India that charge only a fraction of what companies in the US charge – and they’re THANKFUL for your business!

Forget about the perceived “language and cultural” problems when it comes to hosting overseas. Most of the customer service personnel can speak English better that you or I can!

Many of the largest web-hosting firms outsource their customer service and systems admin duties overseas too.  So don’t believe the lie that we’re “exporting jobs” when you host your website overseas.

Anyway, I’ve hosted so many websites, eBusinesses ventures that I’ve lost count – I KNOW what I’m talking about.

For example, one web hosting company in Seattle (who shall remain nameless) sent us invoices every month with misspelled words and wrong charges on them. I pointed this out 10 or 15 times and it was never corrected.

A Florida web hosting company was shut down recently (in the still of the night) and the owners locked the employees out of the building.

However, the Systems Administrator knew what was coming (Rule Number 1 – Never Mess with the Sys Admin) and he locked himself in the room with the servers.

Now that’s funny!

But it wasn’t that funny because one of my domains was “locked up” with this company for 6 months.

Always keep an up to the minute copy of your website and database in your possession at all times!

Web hosts are infamous for writing techno geek messages to customers.

Customers then become irate because they can't understand a word the tech geeks are saying, and of course the web hosts think its pretty funny and usually ignores them until they go away (there are plenty of idiot customers to go around they conclude).

Maybe the web hosts would be a bit more attentive if the customer showed up with a cattle prod!

Anyway, finding a reliable web host is not easy. But when you do find one it makes life and business a hell of a lot easier!

Here are some Popular Web Hosting Scams & Terms to be Aware of:

Unlimited Bandwidth/Space – It’s impossible for a company to offer unlimited bandwidth. Unlimited offerings are usually just an advertising gimmick. Think about it. You’ll often find clauses embedded deep in a company's terms of service (TOS – remember it well) contract that negate the unlimited offering. The clauses are usually arbitrary; such as excessive CPU usage will be grounds for account termination.

No Contact Info - Some hosts simply make it impossible to contact them! Finding an email address is next to impossible. Many cheap hosts prefer to keep communication down. Look – if you can’t contact them and they don’t respond in a couple of hours – believe me it’s not worth it!

Long-term Contracts Only – Granted, one-year contracts are fairly standard today and especially for cheaper, prepaid plans. But there is no that you will get 12 months of service even if you paid for it! I like month-to-month plans. But generally speaking I’ll cough up their one-year fee in order to get super cheap hosting.

Domain Registration in their Name – This is a very big deal. Some hosts offer to register you domain for you (how nice), but legally register the domain in their own name! Try moving to a new host if the domain name is registered in the name of the web host – not to mention if your eBusiness is successful and making money hand over fist. 

No Money Back Guarantee - Web hosting is NOT brain surgery. Granted, network administration takes some brainpower. But hosting static web pages can be done by a 14 year-old (I know for a fact!).  If they can’t deliver as promised you’re entitled to your money back. If the web host gives you a problem -- just send them three links: 1) The Attorney General for your state, 2) The IRS and 3) Internet Better Business Bureau.

Complicated Uptime Guarantee – A lot of hosts hide behind their TOS with complicated terminology regarding uptime. BS! A viable web host will guarantee a minimum uptime if something happens to cause a downtime. Just keep this uptime guarantee handy. Most web hosts don’t make any money online. Web hosting is really an industrial age business with a digital veneer. However, there are a lot of really good web hosts on the Internet today – you just need to know where to find them.

Another Great Resource for Locating Legitmate Web Hosts

My Web Hosting Recommendations