What is a Web Hosting Directory?
Web hosting directories are marketplaces where products, plans, technical specifications, and prices are detailed of web hosting companies (services that allow web pages to be posted to the Internet and viewed). Customers may evaluate various web hosting company offerings and compare the information to their own specific hosting requirements, in order to choose the most suitable plan for their purposes.
In addition, web hosting company rankings are usually provided that may be used as a kind of “consumer reports” guideline to assist a customer in weighing the best overall effectiveness and reputation of web hosting companies. What makes a good web hosting directory?
A good directory will focus on diversity, as well as quality.
A comprehensive web hosting directory will provide a platform where clients may determine vendor stability, cost, performance (technical service) and security. One very important feature of web hosting directories is rankings, which can be an invaluable tool to any prospective web hosting company consumer in determining which web hosting company to patronize.
Typical resources that a web hosting directory may include are: tools to locate and research all kinds of web hosting, dedicated servers and collocation; along with web hosting news, information, constructive articles, and interviews.
Some of the most popular web hosting directories available now are:
The Web Host Industry Review (http://www.thewhir.com)
The comprehensive Web Host Industry Review’s resources include editorials, news and feature articles, along with its “Find Web Hosts” search tool.
TopHosts (http://www.tophosts.com)
Founded in 1997 by Rob Laidlaw, VerticalScope Inc.'s web hosting resource for the small and medium enterprise market features resources for small business owners, developers, webmasters, and e-commerce businesses with news, information and tools.
The Website Hosting Directory (http://www.websitehostdirectory.com)
In addition to the customary website hosting directory resources, The Website Hosting Directory also features daily deleted and expiring domain names, and Google tools for webmasters and existing or potential web page hosting consumers.
Host Search (http://www.hostsearch.com)
HostSearch.com offers a directory of web hosting providers and their services with an advanced search tool, reviews, hosting news, informative articles, interviews, and its ''Host Lab'' tool.
Cheap Web Hosting Directory (http://www.cheaphostingdirectory.com)
Cheap Web Hosting Directory features daily expiring domain names, deleted domain lists weekly with traffic, pagerank, Alexa traffic and other links. It also offers Google Web Hosting and website hosting updates, interview archives, and links to articles, forums, free list sources, other hosting directories and web designer tailored information.
The Rank and File of Web Hosting Directories
Any good web hosting directory should provide access to information from the industry leaders; professionals who have been in the business for many years, and, as such, are in a position to provide meaningful insight into web hosting that can save a novice a lot of time and money in the long run.
It may seem as though web hosting company rankings can be easily manipulated if a directory's sole purpose is to generate revenue. However, one way to determine the validity of web host rankings may be to establish if they are based upon customer voting and have provided their remarks with a website address to verify statements made. However, it is important to keep in mind that, even if that is the case, the information cannot be relied upon as a thorough examination of any given web site hosting company.
It is important to remember that just because a directory's content is provided by anonymous or apparently non-partisan visitors, that does not make the information any more credible. All it means is that those particular individuals took the time to express their opinions on that specific forum at any given time.
Realistically, it is not possible for any web hosting company to have 100% positive reviews. The truth is that satisfied customers rarely remember to express their opinion. In contrast, however, biased customers who have had a less than adequate consumer experience may be very quick to broadcast it. What this implies is that a negative review doesn't always reflect an accurate capsule of what a web hosting company really has to offer in terms of services and customer support. And this applies to information provided in forums, as well.
In conclusion, rankings on web hosting directories may be very useful in comparing web hosting companies. The important thing is to realize that the information provided is only going to reflect what has been provided to a particular source. That is to say, there is no way that each and every customer's experience will be reflected in a given ranking. Therefore, it may also be prudent to check other resources, such as forums, to get a more comprehensive view and make the most intelligent choice possible.
The bottom line is that web site hosting directories are a useful tool in determining which web site host to choose. They offer a much more comprehensive view than a person conducting independent research can assimilate on their own. And, given that time is money, the resources that they provide are more than worth the time it takes for a web site hosting company consumer to utilize them.
Susan D. is a writer and editor for Website Hosting Directory. A former editor for Disney's GO.com, her background includes media development for varied creative industries, as well as legal and business professionals.