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The primary reason for selecting a particular company to host your web site is their reliability. Web publishers and online business owners have verified this fact repeatedly.

But "reliability" is not a simple thing. If you assume for the moment that most web hosting companies are technically competent, have been consistently upgrading their systems, and have products that are reasonably priced, then a major part of web hosting reliability comes down to good old fashioned "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.

This kind of troubleshooting is understandable, since the user side can be the source of the problem. The frustration arises because, in many cases, the hosting end is the trouble. Hours can be wasted looking at the user's website even though rebooting the host's server is the proper solution.

Unfortunately many web hosting tech support people just do not understand the importance of customer service. They often consider themselves superior to their clients. And they have been able to get away with shoddy, unfriendly service because it is just too inconvenient for clients to change hosts.

Fortunately, this is changing. It is not too difficult to change hosts, and there is much step-by-step information out there to help you to do so. Many hosts will be happy to help you transfer your domain to their systems.

When searching for quality, dependable, user-friendly service you will find that there is not a totally guaranteed method to know in advance if you have found it.

It is hard to find honest reviews or comparisons on the various web hosts. Most of the comparison sites are not reliable because they are trying to promote their own site and may even doctor "reviews" to be favorable to them. Public opinions that are posted may also be may be fictitious and praise the site they are posted on and criticize their competitors.

Forums on sites about web hosting can also supply reliable information, though they may be subject to the previously mentioned manipulations. However, the rapid pace of change in the web hosting industry means that comments over a year old are probably no longer applicable.

One good suggestion is to look closely at the website of the host itself. If it is overly technical and confusing that may indicate the host is not particularly concerned with communicating with clients. That usually spells trouble. You may find it difficult to navigate their support system, and getting plain and simple answers to your inquiries may be next to impossible.

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.

You should also look for testimonials from real web hosting customers. Make sure they are clearly identified with names and website addresses. If you really want to be aggressive, you might contact some of these people directly.

Of course none of this is fool-proof. But given the highly competitive nature of the web hosting business, all other things being equal, a simple, straightforward customer-focused approach is what you should be looking for in a web host.

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