Oops! The Technical Anti-Web Hosting Scam Questions You Will Regret Not Asking

Don't fall victim to the oldest web hosting scam in the book: The Technical Trap. It's true - so many unscrupulous hosts defraud unsuspecting customers by making an attractive, cheap offer, only to scam you out of your money with missing "extra" features.

It happens all the time. You get offered a free domain, only to discover that if you want to leave, your web host will tell you "oh, by the way, your domain is registered under our name, so if you want it, it'll cost you. Bigtime." And, yes, this is an actual, perpetrated scam - with multiple complaints.

Or a web host will offer an unbeatable price, with a 30 day money back guarantee - now what could be better than that? Only on day 31, [or 2 or 3...] you run into a problem - and guess what? Customer service? Oh, yeah, they don't, like, answer. But the web host will helpfully offer you "premium" service, for a premium price, of course. Again, this is a real scam, with real complaints - not hypothetical.

Luckily for you, you've got me on your side. And I'm packing - granted, they're double D's, but packing's packing. I've got the key questions that you will need to ask your web host about - those simple details that will make all the difference and help you avoid getting scammed. And to make it even easier, I'm not only including the proper answers AND an explanation, I'm even throwing in "catch all" questions - those simple queries that indicate so much more about a web host. So you don't have to get lost in a sea of technical jargon. Talk about getting a cheat sheet.
Oh, yeah, and do me a favor: please check out my recommended host - hey, a girl's gotta eat. Somehow.

One more note: ask all the questions, verbatim if necessary, even if you have zero idea what's being said - even if the words are effectively gibberish to you. These are semi-technical questions that you will regret not asking later on.

Got it? Good. Now lets jump in.

The Questions:

• How many gigabytes in uploads and downloads do you offer per month? If you're running a blog: 100gb upload/download per month is fine.

If you're running any other kind of site: I recommend unlimited downloads/uploads. This is necessary because while your site's text may not amount to much, if you have graphics, photos, or ads, you may run out your bandwidth much sooner than you think - and end up paying the price.

• How much disk space comes with an account? Its best go for unlimited disk space; photos and videos can eat up an unexpected amount of space - even on a blog. You don't need surprises.

• How many domains can I host on one account? If you're starting out, you probably think: wait a minute; I'm only doing one site, so why would I need more domains? With some sites, you won't. But wait.

Once you have some success, you may want to buy up domains that are similar to yours; buy up domains that have particular keywords, so you'll rank higher in searches; perhaps start similar sites, etc. Basically, 20 domains is usually sufficient for a small business or hobby site; if you are running anything larger, go for unlimited.

• How many emails am I allowed with each domain? How many employees/email accounts do you expect to have? If you find a host that offers, say, 25 emails, and you only have 2 full time employees, you may think to yourself "25! That's waay plenty!" Only it's much closer to full than you realize.

How? If you're running a business and want to seem professional, you'll want separate email addresses for things like hiring, sales, customer service, management, etc; then everyone will want an email with their own name@yourdomain.com. And what happens when an employee leaves? You have to keep their email working because old contacts will still send to him/her. Add to this temporary employees, special emails, project accounts, emails for newsletters, no response addresses, filters, etc., and you'll discover that 25 names can be used up pretty quickly.

So, generally, for small companies - 25-50 could be adequate, depending on number of employees. Anything bigger, cut it short and go for unlimited email accounts.

• Is an ftp account included? This is critical to upload your website. Don't accept a host that doesn't have a free ftp account included with their service.

• Is webmail included? Webmail is where you can access your account from the web. Although some people like to have their mail in their company server, I find it necessary to have webmail access. Bottom line: if you're already set up and use outlook/similar exclusively, then lack of webmail is ok; otherwise, it's a must - don't leave this feature out.

• Do you have any spam protection/filters? Without spam protection, you'll be wading in a morass of ads for a certain blue pill, and the like.

• Do you have any malware protection (for the site)? Not only should they have malware protection, but also they should have a frequent scan for malware (usually daily).

• Is a shopping suite included - including ssl and a shopping cart? If you think you'll ever want to do something like this, even down the line - sell t-shirts associated with your site, for example - then get the proper tech specs now. You'll save yourself so much trouble later.

• What tech support is included? Standard tech support should include a 24/7 toll free number [NOT a sales line - ask specifically, and check out, to ensure that the phone number is for TECH SUPPORT - so many people see an 800 number and think "alright!", when in fact it's closer to "all wrong;"].

Other points to watch out for are excessive "premium" support [more than just bumping you up in line] and average wait time. Trust me, when your site is finally starting to take off - after so much work, and then the whole thing comes crashing down, and your host won't answer your emails for days on end, you'll wish for a working number - if only to curse someone on.

• What's your money back guarantee? I tell everyone who will listen - go for a guarantee that allows you to cancel anytime, and get the remainder of your money back. This one point by itself will almost ensure a smooth hosting experience - more than anything else. Why? Because a host that can lose a customer at anytime is a host that's working hard not to all the time.

Words of wisdom to live by.

OK, so there you have it. Now you know the technical details and questions that you need to ask your host. And with this knowledge, you also now know how to avoid getting scammed on technicalities by a web host.

For a quick overview of everything else, you can check out my Web Hosting Bullet Point Breakdown.

Or cut it short, and check out the Best Host anywhere - and this is from someone who weeds out scams, no less - here http://www.ipage.com. They are not just good on technical points, but they have the best customer service, the best price - $3.50! -and the most Free Stuff, including over $100 in free google/facebook ads. I spent over a month weeding out the scammers, and this one is definitely the best - check them out!!

So anyway, enjoy your life. Make money. Go home happy. Oh, yeah, and don't forget about me, thank you very much.