What to look for in a web host
Ten checks, in the order that catches problems earliest. Most take under a minute and several are things hosting companies would rather you did not do — including this one.
- No card to start
- No setup fee
- Then £0.99/month
Most hosting advice is commission-funded
Choosing hosting is unusually hard to research because the search results are dominated by affiliate content. That does not make the recommendations wrong, but it does mean the ordering reflects commission rates rather than quality, and the criticism is generally absent.
The alternative is to check things yourself. The list below is ordered by how quickly each check eliminates a bad option, so you can stop early. Run it on us as well — a checklist you are not willing to apply to yourself is marketing.
Ten checks, in order
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Find the renewal price
Not the advertised price. Look for it on the pricing page, then in the terms. If it is not findable in two minutes, that is itself the answer. The renewal figure is what you will pay for years two onwards, which is most of the money.
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Check whether the limits are published as numbers
“Unlimited” always has a limit written into a fair-use clause; the difference is whether you are allowed to see it. A host publishing 3GB is giving you something you can plan against. A host publishing “unlimited” is giving you a number you will discover by being suspended.
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Read what support explicitly does not cover
Every host has a boundary. The good ones publish it. If the support page is all adjectives — expert, friendly, 24/7 — you will find the boundary at the worst possible moment instead.
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Check the PHP versions offered
If the newest available version is more than a couple of releases behind, the servers are not being kept current. This is one of the fastest proxies for how well a platform is maintained.
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Confirm SSL is free
Basic certificates have been free industry-wide for years. A host charging for one is either unusually behind or is deliberately monetising something that costs it nothing.
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Find out where the servers are
Not for speed — for the fact that a host willing to say tells you something about how it communicates generally. “UK hosting” marketed with no stated location is worth a second look.
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Look at the control panel
cPanel and DirectAdmin are the standards, and skills transfer between hosts. A proprietary panel is not automatically bad but it does mean what you learn is only usable there, and exports are sometimes less standard.
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Check how you get your data out
Before you put anything in. Standard backups you can download yourself are the right answer. A host where leaving requires a support request — or a fee — has told you something important.
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Read the uptime guarantee properly
Specifically, what it pays out if breached. Most pay a service credit you have to claim, worth a fraction of a month. That is not a reason to distrust the host; it is a reason not to treat the badge as meaningful.
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Test the trial before committing to a term
A free trial or a money-back period exists to be used. Migrate something real, watch the resource usage, open a support ticket and see what comes back. Thirty minutes of that beats thirty reviews.
What is checkable and what is not
Signals that genuinely mean something
- A published renewal price identical to the advertised one
- Resource limits stated as numbers
- A published support scope, including exclusions
- Current PHP versions available
- Free SSL as standard
- Self-service data export
- A stated server location
Signals that mean less than they appear to
- “Unlimited” anything
- Uptime percentages with no meaningful remedy attached
- Awards and badges, which are frequently self-issued or paid for
- “24/7 expert support” with no stated scope
- Customer counts and years-in-business figures
- Being top of an affiliate-funded comparison list
Neither column is about honesty exactly. The left column is checkable and the right column is not, and checkable claims are simply worth more when you are deciding.
How this host scores on its own checklist
Applied to Traxio, this checklist produces a mixed result and we would rather print that than not. Renewal price identical to advertised: yes. Limits published: yes. Support scope published: yes, and it is narrower than a managed host's. Current PHP: yes. Free SSL: yes. Server location stated: yes, Montreal, Canada. Uptime guarantee: none offered, deliberately. Trial: 30 days without card details. The full honest assessment.
Choosing a host
Keep reading
Hosting Red Flags
The warning signs that reliably predict a bad experience.
Is Cheap Hosting Any Good?
What a low price does and does not tell you.
An Honest Comparison
Traxio measured against named alternatives, including where they win.
How Much Do You Need?
Work out your requirements before you compare anything.
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