Today's market is saturated with both supply of and demand for web hosts. Indeed, once only generally sought after by businesses, almost anyone with something to say seeks to have a web presence of some sort. With so many choices available, selecting a reliable option is a challenge. Here are a few ways of finding a web host and, once found, of evaluating its reliability.

It is first necessary to find web hosts to evaluate, for which several tools are available. The most obvious source of such choices are search engines. Broadly speaking, using a search phrase like "how to find a hosting company" (and variations on that phrase) will return two general categories of results.

First are directories of web hosts, sometimes with added value. Such directories are not only good places to start, as they will link directly to hosting providers, but sometimes such databases provide feature comparison matrices, reviews, helpful articles and other useful information to help determine your requirements, as well as which providers may meet them.

Next are web hosts themselves. Direct links to hosts are great in that you have direct access to costs and other vital statistics, but you are of course reading information designed to sell you whatever the company itself may be offering.

Even so, much can be learned by examining a host's website. Does it load quickly? Is its presentation professional? Does it offer a blog and, if so, is it full of posts about service outages or feature improvements? If the host features a forum, are there many problems reported, and how are said issues addressed? Even on sites filled with sales information, much more candid impressions are often available for those who take a few minutes to look beneath the surface.

Once you've found a few hosts, search the web again for reviews. Many web hosting consumers review their experiences with companies and, while individual reviews should always be taken with a pinch of salt, patterns in reviews are certainly notable. In today's age of blogging and social networks, consumers are generally eager to publicise experiences both good and bad with the services they use regularly, and thanks to search engines, those experiences are generally quite easily located.

Another potentially more expensive way to find a reliable web host is to work with a web designer or developer. Those who develop for the web generally experiment with a variety of hosting providers and scenarios to find their favorite platforms, and if they're designing your site then they're likely interested in that site actually functioning reliably. As such, it is usually in their best interests to recommend a reliable host for the site that they've developed. In a similar vein, word of mouth is another effective means of locating a reliable host, and asking friends and colleagues may indicate other companies worth evaluating. Of course, you should still do your own research following another's recommendation, as the host you'll ultimately choose must meet your own needs.

While choosing a reliable web host may seem like a challenge, fierce competition has resulted in a market slanted dramatically in favour of the consumer. Unless you've signed an extended contract, taking your business elsewhere is usually fairly easily accomplished. By keeping the previous points in mind, however, selecting a quality host for your needs should be vastly simplified.

Derek Rogers is a freelance writer living in the UK. He regularly contributes articles for 111WebHost, an industry leading Web Hosting Company.

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