Choosing the right web hosting provider is critical to the success of your online venture. As a brand doing business in a competitive environment, you should not be dealing with speed and performance problems, poor customer support, security loopholes, and other unforeseen situations. These issues can be serious headaches and a huge drain on your resources. It will also pass the wrong message to your users and cause you to lose search engine rankings.

If you are spending your own money to pay for web hosting services, then you want the best possible service from your web hosting provider, and that means making sure that you choose the right company from the get-go.

This article contains common mistakes people make when searching for a reliable web hosting service. Take note of them, so that you don’t make any when choosing a website host.

Looking for cheap deals
If you are just starting your business, it is understandable that you will be looking for opportunities to cut down expenses and save some money, but this does not mean you should choose the cheapest hosting service you find. When you pay too much attention to price, you may end up with the wrong provider.

Quality comes at a price, and just like everything else, in web hosting, you will get just what you paid for. If you choose what the cheapest service is, you may find out later that you are stuck with a provider that cannot provide the features you need for your website. Unfortunately, it may be too late then.

A cheap web hosting service may be an attractive option in the beginning, but you may end up spending more, when you are eventually forced to move because of poor service.

Failure to read online reviews
It is very easy to find web hosting providers. In fact, Google web hosting in your location and you will get millions of results. Unfortunately, that you found a web host on Google is no guarantee that you have found the right one. Most of the names you see on Google search result pages end up there simply because of good SEO, not because they offer quality service.

To get the best idea of what you are getting into, go online and read reviews about the company you are considering.

Pay attention to the following when reading web hosting reviews:
●    Customer support complaints
●    Downtime issues
●    Performance problems
●    Security-related complaints

You should also avoid falling prey to raving reviews. No business can get 100% positive reviews all the time, when you find one that does, know that something fishy is going on.

Web hosting companies sometimes pay people to write positive reviews for them, so take raving reviews with the proverbial pinch of salt.

Choosing the wrong hosting package
If you are designing a simple site for your small business, chances are you will not require special web hosting features. But where you are creating a blog, an eCommerce website, or a large database driven website, you will need special features.

Another common mistake people make when choosing web hosting is to settle for any package without finding out if the web hosting package is a fit for their website. For example, choosing a shared hosting plan for a large website that will attract tons of traffic is not a good idea.

Every web hosting provider offers a number of web hosting packages, making it easy for customers to choose the one that fit their needs. If you have never bought web hosting before and don’t know what web hosting packages look like, the packages at www.domains4less.co.nz will give you an idea of what to expect.

You should also find out if the web host you are considering can provide the server requirements and resources needed to power your website. For instance, WordPress server requirements are different from that of a static website, and unless your web host can meet the minimum requirement to run a WordPress website, your site will experience performance problems.

You should also seriously consider live technical support, domain privacy, security, and a host of other features that is a must for today’s websites.

The key is to know what you need before going in. Thankfully, most hosts make it easy to upgrade to a bigger plan as your site grows.

Ignoring the with no refund guarantee
What happens when you choose the wrong web hosting package? Will you be stuck with that plan or can you get your money back so that you can choose the right package?

Reliable web hosting companies offer starter customers a money back guarantee. In fact, this guarantee is not just for when you choose the wrong hosting package, for some companies, it also activates when you are unsatisfied with their service.

Choosing a web hosting provider that does not offer money back guarantee is dangerous. It means they don’t trust their own services and would rather you are stuck with them, whether you like it or not.  
When choosing web hosting, look for one that offers money back guarantee. Note though that the duration of guarantee differ by hosting provider. Most companies offer anywhere from 30 days to 60 days, but don’t be surprised when you find the ones offering less than 30 days, or up to 90 days.

Believing a top web hosts list
We have already talked about avoiding raving reviews. You should also steer clear of, or be careful of believing any article that contains a list of the top web hosting companies on the internet.

Most of these lists do not research the names they are advertising. In fact, some of the names on the list actually paid the author to appear on the list. Even if you like any of the names on a top web host list, be sure to do your own research and not rely on an unknown endorsement.

If you are already hosting your website and discover that you made the wrong choice, all is not lost. You can easily move your website files from your current web host to a new one you will choose. Just be sure not to make any mistakes this time around.