Anyone who has ever browsed a forum related to web hosting is sure to have seen a topic or two on how to choose a quality web host. These articles are generally written by someone who has some experience in the matter, but are seemingly always written by hosting clients, or the people that are purchasing the hosting. This article will be different, and will provide you with another perspective on choosing a web host – the web host’s perspective.

There are quite simply only two major attributes one need to look for in a web host: Server speed and uptime, and the quality of customer service. While we all want our web sites to be up and available to our viewers at all times, it is crucial to choose a host with a quick and knowledgeable customer support team.

When viewing a web host’s site, check to see if they have a link to a third party uptime monitoring site. Examine how long the server has been monitored for and what the monthly uptime average is. If you don’t find a link to such statistics available, contact the web host and ask them if they have such monitoring set up.

The most accurate way to evaluate a web host’s customer service is to call them, e-mail them, or open a support ticket two or three times at different times of the day and week. Be sure to ask some technical questions, such as, “do you have the IMAP module compiled into PHP,” when contacting the support department. Evaluate how long it takes them to answer your question and decide if this is quick enough for you.

It also never hurts to do a Google search on the web host’s name and search for the host in popular web hosting forums such at WebHostingTalk.com. - If a certain web host takes too long to respond to your inquiries that should be a big enough sign to look elsewhere. Do not sell yourself on the first host to come along, there are many out there that will suit your needs, all you need to do is take the time and look.