As I listed other times on this blog, there are many dishonest web hosting review platforms that will support a single host based solely on their commission structure and nothing else.
Many of these blogs and sites are just about to make a buck, so they won’t tell you how it is! I wanted to make CybersGuards exclusive, which is why I give honest recommendations that are not swayed by distributor fees in any way. Sure, you may see affiliate links on this website in this site’s sidebar or other sections, but remember that they do NOT impact ratings or control them.
To help people understand what web hosts I think should be avoided, I built this article. You will find that some of the hosts on this list (such as iPage) have massive fees ($105 per referral) but I don’t suggest them at all. If you’re searching for “web hosting ratings” online, you’ll find iPage at the top of most review sites— I think it’s based purely on the fees they’re charging for, NOT because I think they’re a good web host.
The list below includes a variety of web hosts which I think people should avoid
I have used each of these hosts individually and can testify that they are a poor choice based on my experience and in some instances the experience of my peers who have had a bad experience as well.
Without further ado, here are the hosts I thought everyone should avoid: I’ve never been more disappointed with a web host in my existence when I was laughing Squid. We have terrible hours of service (9-6 p.m., what is this a bank?) and it took months for them to get a real response.
We accepted payment from a mine customer and then, despite multiple emails and calls, never received passwords for the hosting account. We ended up having to delete the credit card from their billing system just to get them to stop attempting to receive further fees, and that was the only thing that got their attention ultimately. By then, we didn’t want to do anything about them. I don’t know how they ended up on the suggested WordPress hosts list, and they seem to think more about their blog posts and social media accounts than customer service. Evite them at any cost.
iPage and iPage-like domains (FatCow, PowWeb, Netfirms, Globat and others) It’s quite insane for me that the same company owning HostGator and Bluehost (EIG) still controls iPage and related clone hosting companies. HostGator and Bluehost are great hosts, but iPage stinks totally. FatCow, PowWeb, Netfirms, Globat and others I’m probably forgetting are what I call “iPage-like properties” because they all use the same crappy interface and all belong to the same company.
Top 10 Host that Experts Don’t Recommend
They’re sluggish, pricey, their service sucks from my perspective and the perspectives of my friend, and collectively we’ve had the most places compromised on iPage & iPage-like assets than anywhere else. For the money, there are so many better hosts and I can’t recommend them at all. I truly believe that the people who sign up with them at this stage probably come from an associated company or are not really informed about the hosting opportunities out there. They have a clunky, cumbersome interface, and just plain stupid.
Please consider another host if you are considering iPage or an iPage-like domain.
1&1 Hosting
Their hosting interface is just the crappiest thing ever, while they’re ok for domains (free privacy for winning). It’s so complicated and confusing that I just had to call customer support to figure out simple things.
They’re not bad if you’re looking for a domain registrar, but there’s a lot of better hosting companies out there.
Deluxe Hosting
I had the chance to find out about Deluxe Hosting after their shared hosting arrangements were scrapped.
Liquidweb rocks
Liquidweb rocks, and for years had a successful shared hosting service. Recently, though, they decided to stop providing shared hosting and immediately moved all their customers to Deluxe Hosting. Let me reassure you that this was an enormous mistake. I had some of my own pages and colleague’s sites that were down for days, and they were unbelievably incompetent with their service.
Having admin keys was a huge pain, and Deluxe Hosting turned the pages off. Liquidweb could have done a much better job of choosing a provider and it was a big mistake to choose Deluxe Hosting. Liquidweb rocks though, just stay away from Deluxe Hosting. Fast servers, poor service, and an app that is troublesome.
Valice
They’re a tiny hosting service in Idaho and while their help is relatively sensitive, they’ve been extremely rude— probably the rudest software people I’ve ever been interacting with.
Their servers were great, and the service response time was decent, but they were so arrogant that I would suggest that I stay away from them.
Acorn Host
You’re funneled through multiple people to get in contact with someone who can solve your problem. In fact, they are arrogant and have a number of hurdles you need to go through to apply for their non-profit web hosting (which is completely subjective).
In comparison, they are more costly than SiteGround and other common shared hosting companies with service that is much worse at other rates. Keep out.
HostMetro
I have been in several fights with HostMetro over renewal prices because they are completely inflexible on renewal levels (which is unheard of in the hosting industry) and they are extremely rude. When you try to negotiate with them, they will order you to get lost in an extremely harsh way. I had this encounter, and so did a mine colleague with multiple accounts.
WestHost
Their servers have been extremely slow in my experience working with a friend using WestHost and their customer support has been highly ineffective. By no way can I suggest them.
CrocWeb
They are, in my view, a “plus” host that costs far too much while better options are available. They kind of imitate the “HostGator” logo with the alligator which I think is a bit cheap as well. Their hosting was ok but when there are better options out there, their renewals are too expensive.
Hawk
Host In my view, they’re another “budget” host and I’ve had issues with places I’ve been hosting sharing the domain with too many spam pages. On their servers, I didn’t like the “neighborhood” and wouldn’t use them again. Help and results were fine, but I couldn’t suggest them because of the “neighborhood” issues.
