Cheap web hosting can be tricky and it definitely takes one with the technical knowledge and experience to be able to judge whether the host is good. More often than not, it is the bad experiences from using cheap web hosting that eventually leads people to lose trust in these low cost endevours and move onto more expensive options, which may not necessarily be better.

Here are few things you should consider when you are looking at a cheap web hosting plan. This should save you from having to go through the things I went through to find the ideal host.

1. Testimonials from existing customers

See if the host has testimonials and check the validity of these testimonials. Many times, the testimonials are from old customers that have already left the host. To find out if that is the case, try visiting the website that accompanies the testimonial and see if it is working. If there is no website, the testimonial is invalid. Find these using the search engines from external sites as those are usually unbiased.

2. Bad Customers Sharing the Same Server

Remember this - bandwidth and diskspace have a limit, no matter how much it seems a web host may have. If you take this fact into account that the host can actually run out of either of these, consider what will happen if another person on the same server abuses this abundance of the two most valuable assets of a web hosting plan. They may do things that get your server blacklisted by the search engines, or cause problems with website loading speeds.

3. Long Term Benefits

Will the web host be able to survive long enough for you to eventually build bonds with them as a loyal customer? When your business has to grow and move forward, will they be able to accomodate with the growth of your company? To gauge, use testimonials to see if they have clients with successful websites that have been with them for more then 2 years.