tech-in-server-room-image-03Most consumers use the Internet to locate information about products or services they would like to purchase. This includes site owners, web masters, and developers interested in learning more about hosting plans. One of the best ways of learning about reliable hosts is by reading reputable and unbiased hosting reviews. Here are six main things discussed in most web hosting reviews:

Hosting Plans

Although most hosting companies focus on providing hosting and domain registration services, some companies offer extras such as SEO. With this in mind, make sure a hosting review has a section covering the packages/plans on offer. This is important because it makes it easier for one to have a good grasp of what is on offer at a glance.

Cost

For many web consumers, cost can make or break a deal. As such, most hosting reviews touch on the prices of the available plans. Such plans could be from either a single host or multiple hosts. In fact, a review with a price comparison chart/table makes it easier for consumers to choose see what is on offer as well as choose plans they can afford. If it also contains information on price discounts, the better.

Tech Support

Web hosting reviews written by knowledgeable authors should cover technical support in detail. Consumers have a right to know if a hosting company has a technical support team in place or not. Technical expertise comes in handy when a hosting company’s clients need help on issues such as downtimes, data breaches, upgrading hosting plans, or purchasing domain names. If a company does not have experts who can competently resolve such issues, it shows that it is likely to provide sub-standard services.

Customer Relations

Before proceeding further, it is important to note that customer relations and tech support are quite different. The former essentially focuses on how a company handles/responds to communications to and from its clients. Web hosting reviews should contain information on ease of getting in touch with customer relations personnel. For instance, the availability of communication channels such as email, phone, instant web chat, and accounts on social networking sites such as Facebook or Twitter.

Service Reliability

One of the key pillars in the web hosting industry is reliability. If a site suffers regular downtimes, visitors are likely to head elsewhere. For this reason, it is necessary for a hosting review to touch on this facet as well. The gold standard on this front across the hosting industry is minimum uptime of 99.9 percent. Look for a review that compares reliability standards across various companies. Furthermore, it should have information on server speed because it determines how fast webpages load.

Features

A web hosting review would not be complete without a paragraph or subtitle dedicated to features. Savvy consumers scrutinize available features carefully to determine if hosts suit their hosting needs. For example, a host who does not offer dedicated IP addresses (necessary for SSL) is not the right choice for an ecommerce entrepreneur. Other important features that should be in such a review include programming technologies, control panel functionality, operating system, and data security systems.

Summary

A brief summary at the end is a great way of reminding readers about the information they have been going through. However, some reviews have summaries while others do not. It all depends on writing style of writer.

Web hosting reviews play a big role in informing consumers about services offered by various industry players. They should contain information on product prices, available products, technical support, customer relations, service reliability, features, and a brief summary. Armed with this information, a consumer can make an informed decision.