I review a lot of offers, and over the years I’ve learned that some things are just bad signs. My radar isn’t 100% (as the community reminds me), but I do filter out a lot of sketchy providers that either aren’t ready or aren’t professional enough for our community.
Here are some things I scrutinize and some red flags to watch out for.
Testimonials
I’ve never written a testimonial for a hosting company, but maybe it happens. I’ve certainly never submitted a photo so they could use my comments on their web site.
Reverse image searching the head shots that go along with testimonials often reveals that it’s the same stock art used everywhere. Joe F. on one site is Mike Z. on another.
Also read the testimonial language. Sometimes that’s repeated, too, or it’s just very fake-sounding “amazing host” blurbs.
Sometimes placeholder testimonials come with the templates. Speaking of which…
That Same Template Over…and Over…and Over…
I once said I’d never buy service from a company that had artwork of a rocket on their home page, because I’ve seen that damn template so many times.
There’s nothing wrong with buying a template for your site but …then again, how cash-strapped is the provider that they can’t afford a designer to throw together some pages?
Terms of Service Issues
It’s not unknown to look at the TOS or AUP for ExampleHost and see it reference SomeOtherHost all throughout, because the TOS has been ripped off from another web site.
Or sometimes the generator was used. Avoid!
Look to see what the TOS/AUP restricts. You should always do this, just to make sure what you want to do is allowed. But if there’s a non-disparagement clause, in which you agree to never say anything bad about the host, forget it.
But also, look at what isn’t in there. If the TOS/AUP doesn’t say anything about prohibiting spamming, how seriously did they review this legal document?
No Story
I hate providers whose web site is just pricing, TOS/AUP, and nothing else.
There are thousands, nay, tens of thousands, maybe hundreds of thousands of hosting providers. Why should I pick you? Put some effort into convincing me! Tell me what makes you unique, what great features you have, and how you stand out from the crowd. Otherwise, I’ll think you’re lazy.
No Geographies
Believe it or not, I see offers all the time from providers who list all their great VPS deals but then never tell us where they’re located. Or they use generic geographies like “USA” (so is that Fairbanks, Alaska or Miami, Florida?)
Really, if there’s no Looking Glass or test IPs, you should look elsewhere.
Broken Links
This should be pretty obvious. If the host doesn’t have the attention to detail to make sure all the links on their site work, how much attention to detail are they going to have when setting up your server?
What else did I miss? Are there things that immediately turn you off to a provider? Share with our community in the comments below!
Raindog308 is a longtime LowEndTalk community administrator, technical writer, and self-described techno polymath. With deep roots in the *nix world, he has a passion for systems both modern and vintage, ranging from Unix, Perl, Python, and Golang to shell scripting and mainframe-era operating systems like MVS. He’s equally comfortable with relational database systems, having spent years working with Oracle, PostgreSQL, and MySQL.
As an avid user of LowEndBox providers, Raindog runs an empire of LEBs, from tiny boxes for VPNs, to mid-sized instances for application hosting, and heavyweight servers for data storage and complex databases. He brings both technical rigor and real-world experience to every piece he writes.
Beyond the command line, Raindog is a lover of German Shepherds, high-quality knives, target shooting, theology, tabletop RPGs, and hiking in deep, quiet forests.
His goal with every article is to help users, from beginners to seasoned sysadmins, get more value, performance, and enjoyment out of their infrastructure.
You can find him daily in the forums at LowEndTalk under the handle @raindog308.
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