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The single most important factor when choosing a web host is reliability. This is confirmed over and over again in surveys of webmasters and online entrepreneurs.

The concept of reliability is complicated. One can suppose that the majority of web hosting firms meet a minimal level of technical competence, have regularly invested in upgrades to their computers, and offer decent pricing plans. Based on these assumptions, a major component of web hosting reliability is delivering traditional, high-quality customer service.

The important question becomes, "How can I get a quick, direct resolution for problems with my website?" Unfortunately, fast and simple solutions can be hard to come by.

If you have ever talked to a web host technical support person you get the impression they are handling three or four calls all at the same time. That's because they have thousands of clients, and often the problems come in waves. And that can lead to frustrating conversations with your tech person.

Often, technical support staff will believe from the beginning that you are to blame for the problem. They will generally give you their normal response, "You've tried this? You've done that?" to suggest that you are at fault for your difficulty.

While sympathizing with this approach is not too far fetched, as it is, in many cases, a user issue. However, often it isn't and you will find nothing more infuriating than wasting time attempting to troubleshoot from the website only to discover that the host needed to reboot their server to fix the problem.

The sad fact is that many web hosting tech people do not understand the meaning of customer service. Many suffer from superiority complexes. This is how they manage to get away with giving shoddy, and unfriendly service because changing hosts is too inconvenient for their clients.

This is thankfully changing for the better. There's enough information out there now to change hosts without much trouble and some will even assist transferring your domain to their systems.

There, is, sad to say, no completely reliable way to ensure that you will receive the best customer service.

You can try looking at web host review sites to get some comparisons between hosts. But unfortunately many of these sites are themselves not reliable. For one thing, they are usually trying to resell hosting services, so the "reviews" are often tainted. For another, if they contain comments and reviews by the public, these can also be manipulated. Some hosts will post bogus reviews praising their own services and criticising those of their competition.

Web hosting forums provide a convenient place to read comments and recommendations. However, remember that web hosting forums are also open to the type of manipulation discussed above. Also, comments quickly become outdated due to the changing nature of the web hosting business. Nevertheless, comments and recommendations may be helpful and are generally reliable.

A great idea is to begin by examining the website of the host and if it is sort of perplexing or full of jargon, it may mean that the host does not care about communicating with clients. Usually, this tips you off to a problem that you might find navigation of their support structure difficult or that just getting a plainly worded answer to your questions could be extremely difficult.

A simple layout with a minimum number of customer-oriented products and an easily-accessed support system suggests the company is customer-focused. It is also good to contact the customer help desk in advance just to see what kind of reception you get.

A quick but thorough check of recommendations by actual web hosting clients would prove helpful if they include their names and website addresses. To be more proactive, try writing or calling these users yourself.

Considering how competitive the business of web-hosting is, finding an easy to follow, customer driven host is definitely what you should be looking for. But of course, none of this will be fool-proof.

Affordable web hosting by 2mhost provides the best hosting for the lowest price on the planet. We've got the testimonials to back up that statement. For article marketing that kicks butt, contact Howard Brule.