Do We Really Need More Web Hosting Directories?
Do We Really Need More Web Hosting Directories?
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The Internet is a great place to find information about everything, including web hosts. But can you trust what you find anymore? Are independent directories really as unbiased as they claim to be? The creator of the Internet’s first web host directory ponders the state of the field today.Back in 1996 I created the Internet’s first web hosting directory, called The Ultimate Web Host List (www.webhostlist.com). It was the Internet’s first vertical web hosting directory, and it was designed to help webmasters find the right web hosting company for their client. I thought it was a nifty idea at the time since I was doing programming for numerous clients, each of which had different hosting needs.
Back then there weren’t nearly as many hosting companies as you can turn up with a Google search today, and they didn’t offer the kinds of services we take for granted now. In fact, having a web site which could process data on the fly via calls to a database was mostly considered black magic and hocus pocus. If you actually found a hosting company that could serve up your site reliably and had a clue as to how to offer database connectivity, you almost felt as if you hit the lotto.
So needless to say, locating this kind of host was extremely valuable to the developer community at large. It meant they didn’t have to go through the same trouble you did when trying to locate the right host to meet your needs; they could simply take your advice and use the same host you did. After all, no developer wants to go through the process of reinventing the wheel; why do the research when someone else has already done it for you?
At that point in time I was programming for well over 20 companies, each with very different needs. It had gotten to the point where I was spending more time locating the correct host for each client and making sure they were competent. It wasn’t just an issue of their personnel being on the ball; I needed to know about their hardware, software, backbone ISP providers, and more. I had an entire questionnaire that I put together, and I would grill each prospective host and I took detailed notes on each and every one of them.
Do We Really Need More Web Hosting Directories? – Making Money from Chaos
Even after I matched a hosting company to a client, I continued to log my experience with them from beginning to end on note pads. In that case, if I ever needed a similar hosting service I could recollect what the pros and cons were when dealing with a particular company. As you could imagine, I ended up with an awful lot of dead tree material on my desk!
My notes were all over the place; honestly, it was getting really out of control. It was then that I decided to put it all online. In the beginning I really intended it more for my own personal use, so that I could access the information from wherever I was located at the time. As it turned out, this became a novel idea. I’m sure you can see the application for it; just consider the convenience factor. When you are traveling across the country meeting with prospective clients, and discussing their requirements for a given online project, it’s handy to be able to bring up a well-researched list of web hosts that could meet their needs.
After a few months time, other developers started to stop by to visit this very rudimentary site and I began to receive a lot of positive feedback on it. I really enjoyed keeping the site up to date with all of my notes on each of these hosting companies. I even began to rate the hosts depending on several factors such as customer service, hardware used, ISPs used, response time, and such. The site looked great on a resume, and helped me land a few larger clients such as Honeywell and US West telco. But one side benefit I had never intended also happened – I was contacted by several hosting companies that asked whether they could advertise on the site.
I thought this was an interesting proposition. I mean, why not? I put all the work into the site, it would be nice if I could pay a few extra bills with the advertising dollars. Things started slow at first, but in a very short matter of time I had a waiting list of advertisers and their budgets were growing rapidly (as was the Internet in general). I quit my full time job as well as my other programming gigs and ran the directory full time. But soon I was in a quandary – hosting companies who were advertising with me wanted special favors in the way of better ratings on the site, in return for them continuing to advertise. With a large wait list I was able to turn those people away and stay true to my feelings on each of the hosting services.
Do We Really Need More Web Hosting Directories? – A Growing Concern
In 1999 I sold that business to CNET and now I am running the Developer Shed network (www.developershed.com). But somewhere in between my last business and this business something happened. There could quite possibly be thousands of similar types of web hosting directories out there.
Big ones, small ones, fat ones, tall ones. All shapes, colors, and flavors. Some have their own gimmicks, such as a spotlight on a web host of the month, a top 25 of web hosting companies, a so-called independent panel that rates and tests hosting companies, bandwidth testing, so on and so forth. Some of these directories only have a top five as their specific picks for the top web hosts, and wouldn’t you know it, those are the same five companies that are advertising on their site. Coincidence? I don’t think so!
I recall a year or two ago, there was actually a directory of the hosting directories! Say that ten times fast. That particular site has since folded up shop, but the hosting directories continue to go strong. And while some of them may in fact be legitimate, I would venture to say that a great many of them are not. You almost always see a direct correlation between who they rate as a top host and who is the largest advertiser on their site.
As a matter of fact, I know for certain that there are a couple of rather large hosting “directories” that are owned in part by a hosting company! I will venture a guess and say that they probably are rated very high on their own site. In fact, I’m amused to note that they usually rate themselves second or third. I guess they figured that being rated first all the time would be just a little too obvious.
As with anything in life, and particularly on the Internet, caveat emptor applies. Putting aside my own start in the field, it is no longer a good idea to rely solely upon a web hosting directory when choosing a web host. My personal suggestion would be for you to examine a combination of a few of the remaining reputable directories, read some feedback on a few forums, check the Better Business Bureau in the state in which the hosting company does business, and try to compile all the information together before deciding who to chose to host your business.
This kind of “fake” information is pretty prevalent on the Internet these days. I see it across our own sites here on our own network. I can’t tell you the number of times I have deleted/removed bogus reviews on one of our sister sites (www.scripts.com) when it’s obvious that it is simply the web development company puffing up its own software. We have several methods we employ to detect this, but when a business owner can promote their own business or slam a competitor’s business for free and all it costs them is the time it takes to make a post or leave feedback on a forum somewhere, how can you really expect them not to try?
Review sites, even big sites such as Amazon, Yahoo, eBay, CNET, are all susceptible to this guerrilla type marketing, and it is extremely difficult to weed out. It has to be done manually, which is very time consuming and costly from a monetary standpoint. Perhaps the cheapest defense against this new type of spam is to enlighten the Internet community to its existence. Then fewer people will rely upon these types of sources of information as the sole basis for making a decision regarding a significant purchase of any kind of product or service.
One point worth noting is that the most dangerous form of propaganda is the kind that appears to us in the form of a valuable piece of information, a hint or tip, a recommendation from a “reliable or trusted source.” Many are aware of all of the different kinds of scams perpetrated upon the Internet community in the way of direct email spam, viruses and the like. But there are more and more sites popping up each day that promise to provide insight into which camera to buy, which politician to believe, which hosting company to choose. There is no solid substitute for doing the leg work needed to make any kind of decision, no matter how big or how small the matter.
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Do We Really Need More Web Hosting Directories?