Web hosting has been around for years and years. Just like any service provided to man, someone always finds a way to exploit it, or scam on it. Web hosting has become a very large industry and very lucrative industry at that. More and more we see these one man shows pop up, and then disappear. While the industry is becoming saturated, it is also becoming a big playground for scam artists. Along with the hosting companies that like to scam their clients, there are also other types of sites dealing with hosting companies that also are scamming the user. We’ll touch on the major subjects dealing with Hosting Scams and other types of sites that are scamming the user.

Customer Service

There are many different things a user should look for when trying to find a legitimate host that will provide a balanced set of resources and good customer service. One of the main things to do when trying to find a good host find out what type of customer service they might have. This means emailing them and asking questions. Clock how long their response time is. Then check on their site and find out if they have a response time deadline, like 24 hours or something similar. If it doesn’t meet what is displayed on the site, I normally will stay away. Customer service is one of the largest things to look at when search for the right host. If you can’t get your questions answered quickly, then there isn’t any need of paying for the service. If a company offers 24/7 support and/or a telephone number try it out. E-Mail at different times of the day, call at different times of the day. Find out if their advertisement of support is true or false.

Unlimited Bandwidth/Space

Hosts that provide unlimited bandwidth/space are normally false advertising. Most will clearly state in their TOS (Terms of Service) that you can not use more then a certain amount. Or it will give strict guidelines of what types of resources that can be used. Be sure to read a company’s TOS (Terms of Service) until understanding each part completely.

In one case I had found a host that provided unlimited bandwidth, after reviewing their TOS (Terms of Service) closer I noticed that it was for sites that had text only. That means no images, scripts, or anything else other then raw text. The reason behind this was clear, text could not generate enough bandwidth to hurt the company, and advertising unlimited bandwidth would clearly increase their client base.

There isn’t any such thing as unlimited bandwidth or space. Servers are just like home computer, could it have unlimited space? The answer is no and bandwidth is very expensive, so there isn’t any such thing as unlimited bandwidth. The only thing that could measure up to unlimited bandwidth would be an un-metered connection. Which come in different sizes, 10mbps, 100mbps, and 1,000mbps. This is where a hosting provider will connect a server up to a 10mbps connection or more, and will not meter the bandwidth usage monthly. While is sounds like a good idea, it some times isn't. Larger sites will not benefit from something like this. If for instance a site has a 10mpbs connection and 5 users are downloading at 200kb/s the sites connection to the Internet has now become maxed and other users to the site will have a hard time access the site, if at all.

No Contact Information

Most hosts will provide an email address, along with a telephone number to call for support. Hosting companies are also utilizing help desk software, which works like an online email form but submits it to a database and employees will be able to answer accordingly. If a host doesn’t provide any type of contact information, then it will be a complete waste of money. Remember customer service is the biggest part of finding the right host, and if there isn’t any way to contact them, then they have no customer service. Be sure that the host provides at least an email address to contact them in case something goes wrong.

Long Term Contracts

Most hosting companies will offer long term contracts for a really cheap price. While this seems like a good idea, it’s something that needs to be considered greatly before acquiring services from a company. Most companies will include something in their TOS (Terms of Service) which will state they are not held responsible if they cannot honor their packages. This basically means anything can happen and they aren’t held liable for a users money, and do not have to payback any money received. There are plenty of hosting companies out there, that are legit and do offer a legitimate service like this. It still isn’t a good idea, especially if it’s the first time using the company. Web sites are opened and closed on an hourly basis. While it may seem like a good idea and seem cost effective to save money and lock into a year or more contract, it really isn’t. Keep to a month to month contract to be sure the services and resources are always available and stay the same. If something changes in a few months, it wouldn’t become a problem to change hosts. Wait till the end of the month, and switch to another host. Switching hosts isn’t hard at all; more information on switching hosts can be found here:

How to Change Hosts and Avoid Downtime

Domain Name Registration

Most hosting companies today offer some sort of domain name registration. Be very careful when dealing with this sort of service. If the company doesn’t have ICANN accreditations and registers the domain name under the customer’s name, then it will not belong to the customer, it will belong to the company that registered it. This can cause many problems if a customer decides to switch hosts and would like to transfer their domain name over. Since the company that registered it, registered it in the companies name and not the customers, it legally belongs to the company and the customer has no say so in the matter. Be sure to read a companies TOS (Terms of Service) very carefully and understand each part completely before giving information or signing up for a service. Allot of companies will try to write a very complicated TOS (Terms of Service) in order to confuse the customer. Remember if it’s confusing and not understandable, stay away.

No Money Back Guarantees

If a company offers a money back guarantee, more then likely the company is legitimate in their services. But this isn’t always true, so be sure to read and understand everything completely before proceeding. The most reputable companies will offer a money back guarantee. All companies do not offer money back guarantees. This doesn't mean it's a bad company to go with. But it's always a good idea to have a money back guarantee, just in case services aren’t provided the way it was anticipated. If they do not offer any type of guarantee, then the company itself can’t guarantee its product or service. This should give a good understanding of what type of company they are, if they can’t even guarantee their own product or service. Allot of companies offering dedicated servers will not provide any type of money back guarantee; this is to protect them from spammers and users trying to abuse their service. Dedicated servers normally start at $100 a month and go up from there. It would be too expensive for a host to build and setup a dedicated server for a customer and at the end of the month the customer cancels their account and asks for their money back.

Complicated Uptime Guarantees

Some companies like to put complicated uptime guarantees into their TOS (Terms of Service). Most will require some sort of notification in order for an uptime guarantee to be activated. Normally hosting companies will reduce a monthly payment, or issue a free month of service if a site is down due to the hosting company’s server. Some companies will put in place a complicated uptime guarantee that basically states that if some sort of notification, sometimes a specific type of notification, isn’t received then a uptime guarantee is null and void. So be sure, once again, to read all documents provided from the company and be sure to understand them completely before paying for a service or product from a hosting company, or similar sites.

Hosting Directories

While hosting directories are a great and easy way to find that perfect host, the market has become saturated with directories pushing affiliate links and selling top positions in each directory. Now this may seem like a good idea for the person running the site, but it’s a very bad idea for the user. Most directories are setup where a user can search for specific features, bandwidth limits, and space. All of these are major parts in choosing the right host. Let’s say a user searches for a host, and is looking for a specific amount of bandwidth. 9 times out of 10 the user will choose the first site they see from their search query. If the directory is selling top listings in their directory, then the company that bought the listing will show up first. Meaning that what a user might be looking for could be further down in the listings and if we, by nature, choose the first one. Then we could be purchasing something that is totally opposite of what we want.

These types of directories are easy to pick out. Normally they will have small image buttons indicating the companies that have purchased positions on the site, and the rest that haven’t will be displayed with a text link. Also if each search turns up the same set of hosts, over and over again, then the directory is selling positions in the listings. This isn’t a good thing because a user may rely on the search results to rule out the hosts their not looking for, and bring the ones they are looking for to the top. There are also a lot of "fake directories" out there. These types of directories do nothing but push commission based sales and nothing else. These are site owners just looking to get paid and not help the user find what their actually looking for. There are however a few good directories out there, that do not use these types of scams to promote other hosting companies or make money from their users.