There are huge numbers of web hosting companies out there, all of them eager to secure your business. This can be a good thing when it keeps costs down and services fast, but it also has its drawbacks. There are more than a few disreputable scam-artists lurking in the wide-open hosting market. Here are a few things you can do to avoid getting taken in by them.

One of the first things you can look at in order to determine the reputability of a web hosting company is its contact information. Most hosting services are sold online, and the most common way of communicating with the companies that offer them is via email. You should try and find a physical mailing address on their website, though. If a company does not provide one, that’s a significant warning sign. If their only mailing information is a post office box, that too may be a sign of trouble.

A hosting company’s website should also tell you about their data centers. These are the physical facilities where their servers live. There are some hosting companies that specialize in virtual hosting services or re-selling hosting on servers that they do not own; in these cases the company might not have data centers of its own. Still, a reputable company should tell you something about the servers your website would be hosted on. If there is no information at all available about a company’s data centers, be wary.

The last bit of information you can gather from the content of a company’s website is a gauge of their English composition skills. Take a moment to assess their written words with a critical eye. You need not look for flawless grammar or stirring phrases; you simply want to see a basic familiarity with the written language. This can be an important clue because fraudulent hosting companies are frequently run out of foreign countries by non-native English speakers. Noticeably poor writing may be a clue that you’re dealing with this kind of outfit.

There are a few factors to look at in the services that a company provides that can tell you how legitimate they are. One simple fact that will tell you a great deal is whether or not the company offers commercial hosting packages customized for use by businesses. A hosting company that is simply out to rip off unsuspecting consumers will avoid dealing with merchants and business owners, because when they get defrauded, these kinds of clients fight back more frequently and more effectively.

Finally, one measurement of a company’s professionalism is the speed with which they respond to support requests from their clients. This might be the hardest thing for you to get a feel for; even if response time is mentioned on a hosting company’s website you can hardly take their word at face value. Consulting third-party reviews will be the best way to find out how quickly a company resolves problems for their customers. Long response times and unsatisfactory solutions will likely generate negative reviews and let you know that a company should be avoided.

Making a quick assessment of a web hosting company according to the points outlined here will go a long way towards protecting you from unscrupulous scam artists. Although you should be vigilant and cautious, keep in mind that the vast majority of hosting companies are legitimate. If you do run into a company that takes advantage of you, do not put up with it; seek redress through every available avenue.