In my opinion, the worst thing that could ever happen for the web hosting industry as a whole would be if Google bought GoDaddy. Now before you write me off as being some crazy anti-corporation loon let me explain the web hosting industry’s doomsday scenario.

The Merger Begins

Lets say in this alternate reality, Bob Parsons (the man in charge over at GoDaddy) gets an offer he can’t refuse from the Google team. He decides to sell to Google for (well, insert large dollar amount here) and Google is now the world’s biggest search provider and the world’s biggest domain name register all in one smart business move.

A few months down the road, Google announces it will get into the web hosting game. They have the money, servers and resources to start doing serious web hosting at any given moment now. Some might say they already are with their page creator service - but I don’t really count that as it has yet to even really get any decent buzz. If they needed a base for it, they could always use GoDaddy’s hosting business as a starter. Yes, ladies and gentlemen we now have Google Daddy.

Google Daddy Takes Over Web Hosting

With their two tier plan, you can get unlimited disk space, bandwidth and resources for free. Then they charge you five dollars for a domain name and your web site is up and running. Where is the catch? Well Google’s main business is not search - it is advertising. To pay for the hosting, you will agree to put Google AdSense ads on your web site and split the profits with Google 50/50. They get half of your ad revenue (on top of what they take from AdSense profits already) and you get reliable free hosting.

The End is Upon Us

Over the next few months, web hosts would start to drop like flies. Nobody out there can compete with Google Daddy and in one year or so down the road (after that acquire the Planet, Rackspace and a few other dedicated server hosts) they control seventy-five percent of the hosting market. What Google was just a little over a year back for just search they are now for search, domain registration and web hosting.

That would be the ultimate doomsday scenario that would bring the web hosting world to its knees. Google Daddy controls the three things that pretty much defines the Web as we know it and there is not a major force that can stand in their way.

I won’t lie to you, web hosts do some pretty annoying things sometimes to get your business.

I hate it when… the “Live Chat” link hovers over the web site content!

Dear web hosts, if I wanted to chat with your sales representative I would be more than happy to click the link on the side. I do not need the option hovering in front of my face like I am a moron who couldn’t find it located in a static spot. If your live chat link reminds me of a “punch the monkey to win an iPod” ad your not making a good first impression.

I hate it when… the words free, unlimited, or little green check marks in every single comparison chart box!

Any sort of comparison chart usually tends to make me angry just because if you have looked at enough web hosts they are nearly all the same. The top two or three comparisons (with things like disk space and bandwidth) are useful. The fact that you offer WordPress on every single plan or FTP access is not. If it is a comparison chart, give me some differences between the things you are offering.

I hate it when… web hosts list meaningless “services” they offer that make no sense or that are overly obvious!

This goes back to the idea that the web host thinks you are a total idiot so the sell you services that you know you are getting. Think of this as a shoe salesman selling you on the fact that your new pair of sneakers also come with shoe laces! Need some web hosting examples? Here are some obvious hosting features you’ll get that I have seen advertised:

• Support! - “Yes, every web host supports their customers”
• Hosting with a Domain! - “You need something to point people at, right?”
• A Real E-mail Address! - “Not like those ‘fake’ ones you get with other web hosts?”

I hate it when… meaningless flash covers the top 1/4th of the web host’s web site and does nothing at all!

Oh this one grinds my gears the most, because there is no reason to have that huge flashing flash logo on the top of the page. Does it do anything for you? No! It is useless eye candy that somebody told the web host would “look pretty”. Give me the basics - don’t give me a flashing picture of servers with a sunset behind them.

What annoys you about web hosting or web hosts?

One phrase that gets tossed around a lot in web hosting is “oversold”. This is what happens when a web host is selling more server space than they actually have got, in the hope that their clients will never actually use the full offer that they bought into.

Take this as an example. Tom had a pie that he cut into six pieces. Tom’s problem is that he wants to give pie slices to twelve of his friends. When all of his friends show up to eat some pie, he gives each of his twelve friends a half of a pie slice and promises them if they need more pie they can have it. Tom’s problem?

He only had one pie - so he hopes his friends get full off that half a slice.

Now why does this happen? Well with prices for hosting getting cheaper and the offers for hosting as far as disk space and bandwidth go getting bigger, some web hosts don’t have any other choice.

From a purely visual side by side comparison if one place offers you 50 GB of space for five dollars and another offers you 150 GB of space for five dollars, most people are going to take the bigger offer.

Is there a real future for overselling? In the long haul - I don’t think so. Eventually web hosts are going to run into a bottle neck of what they can really promise in comparison with the technology that is out there. My hope is that people actually start to grow suspicious of such offers and rise up against it. When your getting a gift though - you don’t want to ask why or how your getting it, you just take it and smile.

For that one simple fact, the future of overselling might be a little longer in the tooth than expected.

Have a look around, web hosting is getting cheaper and cheaper by the minute. Have you ever stopped to think what price you are really paying though when it comes to these discount prices? Now I am not looking to paint every low cost web host with a broad fraud brush.

There are some providers out there that have the business plan in place to handle it. They just might be harder to find.

Do You Pay for it in Perks?

Some web hosts will get you in the door with the low prices, and then when it comes to addons or accessories to your shared hosting account they stick you with the true costs of hosting. This can often happen with upgrades for JSP and ASP support and other upgrades some, but not all, will need.

Keep an Eye on How Long Your Signing Up For!

For an example, lets say Dummy Example Web Host is offering you a hosting deal you can not beat. It is $3.50 a month for 500 GB Disk Storage and 5 TB of Bandwidth. Now when you get on the order page you notice that this $3.50 a month price is only good if you sign up for the 10 year hosting plan. To get this, you must pay up-front: $420. Now if you know they are good then you have no worries but if you have no history with the company do you really want to sign up with them for the next decade? Better yet - will they even be around that long?

The one thing you have to remember (and I have said it time and time before) you have to do you homework when it comes to signing up with any web hosting company. Don’t be fooled by the special deal - and find out if they really are the best of the best or just another guy with a server in his basement trying to make a buck.

Do I Blame the Web Hosting Companies? No!

I can not blame the web hosting companies, because they need to compete with the next guy down the street and make money while doing so. Thanks to the fact that we have so much competition out there for the proverbial bottom dollar; almost everybody undercuts and over-provides. The secret of cheap hosting is to find the one that does so the best.

Got a little ‘bit of something for everybody on today’s show. From a recap of RegisterFly’s mess to the price you pay for really cheap web hosting the shock and awe Web Hosting Show campaign starts right now. No caucus needed, but plenty of topics that should stir debate.

Download the Web Hosting Show, Episode 136!
Running Time: 15 minutes | File Size: 6.80 MB

Here are just a few topics from this week’s episode of the Web Hosting Show.

• How can RegisterFly keep registering domain names?
• Tip on how to use Google Calender to organize your hosting mess!
• Mitch’s web hosting new year resolutions!
• Learn how to create a static web site using WordPress!
• What is the price you pay for your cheap hosting plan?
• No midgets and/or fairies were harmed in the production of this podcast!

From coast to coast and over the seven seas the Web Hosting Show is back to broadcasting the feel good web hosting talk, tips and so much more. Little known fact - but in 2007 the show you are listening to right now was downloaded by people in 160 different countries!

Diving into networking when it is related to web hosting is a little tricker than it might seem. There are a lot of confusing terms and even more confusing explanations of them all. I figured I’d take some of the most often used hosting network terms you might here and try to break them down.

Propagation - It takes 24 to 72 hours for domain name prorogation to take effect. What does that mean? Well this is the time that it takes for the ISPs to update their cached DNS records so that they learn that your new domain (or old changing domain) now points to the new address.

Traceroute - This is a network tool used to determine the route taken from when you type in a domain name till it reaches the web hosting server the web site is hosted on. You can think of this as following the breadcrumbs, and watching how your domain gets resolved to the place it is hosted.

Whois - Whois is the protocol that is used when asking a database to find out the owner of a domain name or an IP address on the Internet.

Ping - This is another networking tool tht use used to test if a particular server address is reachable across the Web. A good example of this would be if your house was a domain and I came knocking at your front door. Now where it comes in handy to ping is to find out how long it takes for you to come answer the door.

DNS - This stands for Domain Name System, and it is the system used to translate Internet domain names to IP numbers.

As you can see, once you break these down and explain them - all the pieces start to fit together in your head and make a little more sense. The important thing to remember is to do some homework when it comes to terms you don’t know in hosting so that you are better informed about what your web host is doing or what your hosting clients might want.

From free file hosting to images and even video, in 2007 we saw a lot of new an innovative ways of sharing your information. So since this is the first year we have seen so many different players in the free hosting game I thought I would divide things up by category and pass out some awards to the best of the best.

Best Free Image or Graphic Host?

Winner! Photobucket - This service isn’t just for the MySpace crowd anymore. Although that is still a main audience of theirs, there is no doubt that Photobucket is gaining major ground when it comes to free image hosting. I would consider it an alternative to Flickr, would you?

Runners up: Flickr, Zooomr, & ImageShack

Best Free File Host?

Winner! Box.net - There are tons of file hosts out there, so what makes Box.net the best? They have the most respectable name in my opinion, and they have been around a while so I do trust them as well. They also have the easiest upgrade path if you want to move beyond your free file hosting space.

Runners up: Megaupload, Rapidshare, & MediaFire

Best Free Video Host?

Winner! YouTube - Google’s powerhouse video sharing service has left just about all the others in the dust. Just like Google is looked at in the search engine world, when it comes to free video hosting or sharing it is hard to compete with YouTube.

Runners up: Revver, Dailymotion, & Veoh

Who are your picks for these categories? If you feel like your favorite was overlooked be sure to let me know about it by leaving a comment or dropping me an e-mail.