Over the last few months I have looked at a few web hosting directories. Today I will be looking at a web hosting directory called Web Hosting Top.
As many of you know from previous reviews, I’m not a big fan of web hosting directories which simply push hosting companies which pay out good commissions to them. I do realise that the primary reason for someone creating a web hosting directory is to make money however I believe they should still offer good advice and provide a good resource to visitors.
My first impressions of Web Hosting Top were not great. The design would have been fine 10 years ago but it looks very dated now. Thankfully, the directory is very easy to navigate. Down the left hand side of the site you will see an A to Z of web hosting companies. Reviews are also split into different platforms (e.g. Linux/Windows) and hosting categories such as shared hosting and dedicated servers. There are also lists of the best web hosting companies of each category type such as best blog hosting and best VPS hosting.
It’s a good thing that reviews are split into categories on the left column as the site lists a whopping 14,789 web hosting companies. I can’t recall ever visiting a web hosting directory of this size.
Hosting Reviews
As the old saying goes – ‘The proof is in the pudding’. And the ‘proof’ in web hosting directories is in the information it provides to visitors.
The web hosting companies are explored in detail in the review page for each company. Though the word review is a little misleading. There are customer reviews at the bottom of the page and these are incredibly useful, though the information above it is mainly factual rather than a personal opinion of the positive and negatives of the hosting company.
I can understand that it isn’t realistic to expect unique reviews of 15 thousand web hosting companies however I would have liked more in depth reviews of popular hosting companies.
In each ‘review’ there is general information about the hosting company like the data centres it uses, background information about the company and contact details. There are also web hosting coupons listed in this area, which is handy as most hosting companies don’t list discount coupons on their own site.
Each plan for the hosting company is also listed in a table and listed according to price and features. I found this particularly useful as most hosting companies split this information over several pages, so it’s good to see everything on the one page for easy comparison.
Statistics for the site are also displayed on the page including Alexa traffic, incoming links and domain name server addresses. I don’t personally find this information useful as you can always check this info yourself. More importantly, it’s not information which would sway my decision for choosing a web host.
It also displays the number of domains which the hosting company is hosting, which will give you an idea of the size of the company.
The reviews from customers are fantastic though. Customers can give a rating for their web hosting company and tell others their experience with the company. The only problem I saw with this was that well known hosting companies had lots of reviews but most of the lesser known hosting companies had no reviews at all, which is understandable with around 15,000 web hosting companies listed on the site.
Overview
Web Hosting Top is not the best looking directory out there and the reviews are more factual rather than covering the positives and negatives of the company. Though I found the reviews of popular hosting companies useful, particularly because of customer reviews and the price plan comparison table.
Worth checking out if you’re on a lookout for a new host.
Link: Web Hosting Top
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Looks like a good resource, but I agree that it could do with a redesign!
Nice to see that there might actually be one of those stupid hosting directories that has real info on them. I've been to a bunch of them in the past and as you mentioned they tend to be horrible. Will be sure to give this dir a look next time I'm shopping for a host.
It seems to be useful for web hosting.'Web hosting top" reveals more factual reviews.
Maybe good resource but when i see first opening the site i feel thats very old reviews
I'm not a big fan of directories either, but you wrote a decent review. Thanks!
nice directory site.. is list webproxy hosting?
gravitytechnologies are focusing on business solution and people development so that we can alwaysprovide adge service & solution our customers at an affordable cost"Technology for all is our motto
I'm starting to get absolutely frustrated. I can not seem to find a good shared web host for my web sites. I am using ixwebhosting, however they are down every other day! Could someone assist me?
The site design is quite OK but not the best. They could do better.
I submitted my site ti web hosting top unlike other web host directories that don't accept submissions but rather display companies with their affiliate link.