Web Hosting Directories – Can You Trust Them?

Posted By: Dimitar A. September 10, 2006

The answer is yes but we the world is not in black and white so we have to make a difference! You can find thousands of web hosting directories today. Most of them have been created after the web hosting boom in 2005 when thousands of new web hosting providers emerge. There are a few things that can make anyone to trust a web hosting directory or a review web site.

Content

Any web hosting directory is a medium. A real media provides information about web hosting, works hard to publish news, interviews, and produces content. Listing a few web hosting companies doesn’t make a web hosting directory. When you load a web site that claims it is a hosting directory, the first thing to do is to take a look at its content. A content-rich web site means that there is at least a few people who work to publish useful information and to update the web site. Remember that the media is not made to sell. It is made to inform and educate. The popularity, the rating and the audience makes every media an important place to promote a service or product.

Concept

Like any other media web site, a real web hosting directory is also a commercial enterprise. So it has to state that and must not mislead its users that it offers an objective view. There are many web hosting directories that are build to fish for prospective customers to one or another web hosting provider. A clear example of a “hosting directory” that advocates to a particular interest is 10-cheapwebhosting.com. It heavily promotes Bluehost, Lunarpages and Ipowerweb but does not say that those are advertisers. This directory states with big bold letters that one of those companies is ” the BEST Cheap Web Hosting” provider. I might not comment any web host but I can definitely say that this directory is made to fish for customers.

Unlike this one some well-established web hosting media such as WebHosting.info, TheWHIR, Tophosts, WebHostDir, HostSearch and some of the contenders like Best 10 Web Hosting, Ratemyhost, Hosting Review, Websitehost Directory, and etc. are offering more than web hosts’ advertisements.

It is very important, web hosting media to offer choice and dfferent options to consumers. Those who don’t are not reliable resouses and it can not be trusted.

Years In Business

It is worth to go to www.whois.sc and to check the domain name of a web hosting directory. If it is a more than two years old and if the directory works like real media then you can follow its suggestions about web hosting providers.

But if it is just a few month old web hosting related web site with some ads than it is better not to trust it.

Diversity

It is very important that any web hosting directory to present a wide variety of services, products, and providers. There are some of the above directories that give more exposure only to a few web hosting providers. It is understandable that media feature those who pay more for advertising but they need to balance commercial with non-commercial listings.

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About the Author

Dimitar A.
Dimitar is founder of the global Cloud & Infrastructure Hosting provider HostColor.com & European Cloud IaaS company RAX. He has two Decades-long experience in the web hosting industry and in building and managing Cloud computing infrastructure and IT ecosystems. Dimitar is also political scientist who has published books "The New American State" and "The New Polity". "The New American State" is one of the best current political books. It is focused on the change of the American political process. It offers a perspective on how the fourth industrial revolution, also called the Digital Revolution and Industry 4.0, marks the beginning of an era of deterritorialization.