Web Hosting Deal Too Good To Be True? Stay Away!

Stay away from Web hosting deals that sound too good to be true. Why? Well if it sounds too good to be true, chances are it is. There are too many good Web hosting companies out there trying their best to run a good company. Too many out there to be ruined by one snot nosed brat who thinks he can make a few bucks by telling folks false promises. One of the main reasons I got into Web hosting writing was so that I could warn people about these sort of shifty characters on the Internet.

That is right, not even Web hosting is free of low life scammers who want nothing more than to make a few bucks off of you. Thankfully though for every one low life there are ten good companies that know what it takes to really run a Web hosting business. I was reading around on digg.com the other day and saw that somebody had posted a link in the deals section for an unlimited Web hosting plan. This was nothing new to me since I have seen the word "Unlimited" used over and over in Web hosting marketing. There were a few other things that bothered me though.

Number one was that none of the Web pages on the site seemed to work. Now that should be sign number one that you do not want to do business with this company. If they are having a problem getting their own Web pages working, do you really think they are going to be concerned with yours? Well maybe I caught them on an off day. So far I have gone back three days in a row, and on all three days none of the pages seemed to work. Well, let me correct that. The Paypal link for you to pay for Web hosting seemed to work. Funny that this would be the only working link hu?

It is always great to see that a Web hosting company will take PayPal. This is often a quick and easy way of paying for your Web hosting. However, if the only thing they accept is PayPal, and you see a link on their front page to pay for your account right there, run. Most good Web hosting companies will push your sale through a secure server using their own billing software. This way they can keep a record of you in their database, and you can be sure your payments are up to date through that software. I'm not saying there is anything wrong with using PayPal, just be careful when you see these "Buy Now" buttons. Do your research first.

The next thing that got under my skin is that they were offering a "lifetime" membership for the low price of fifty dollars. Pay this, and you would never have to worry about paying for Web hosting ever again! Remember what I said about things that sound too good to be true? This falls into that category, face first. There is no way a Web hosting company can keep a server up and running this way. You have to rule in costs for running the server, support, and other business expenses. Now true, they could be aiming for bulk orders. That way they'd have enough money coming in to cover their backside.

The problem with this is, you are "never paying for hosting again!" so there is no future income for the Web host. This is a bad business model, unless you are a big enough company to where you could eat the costs it would take for such a promotional gimmick. That is right, it is a gimmick and nothing else. Do not fall for places that say you can pay an up front price then having hosting forever. In a best case scenario it would be for the life of the Web host, not the life of your Web site.

So remember, it is best to watch out for the fly by night operations when shopping for Web hosting. There are folks out there that only want your money, and not your business. Thankfully though there are a lot more honest and hard working folks that hate these practices as much as me. Even if it takes a little longer, or costs a little more, take the time to find an all around good Web host. Do your homework, and you will be happy for many Web hosting years to come.


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