Web Hosting Questions

[ovi]

Question you should put when you choose a hosting company:

Do they offer fast connections?
Do they have a back-up system in place to protect your data in case there is a power outage?
Do they require you to make payments in advance?
Do they require a long-term contract?
Do they charge set up fees?
How is their customer support? Test them.
Do they provide you with free access to a secure server for order processing?
Do they offer shopping cart software to process your orders?
Do they provide you with an online Web Site Manager?
Do they provide you with an online support manual?

Then you should check if they have:

24/7 reliable tech support
Your own domain name (www.yourname.com)
At least 10GB of monthly transfer (traffic)
A minimum of 20MB - 50MB of server space
POP email accounts - name@yourdomain.com
Unlimited email aliases
Your own unrestricted CGI-Bin
Access to SSL Encryption for secure transactions
MySQL Database
Perl
htaccess password protection
Server Side Includes (SSI) support
Unlimited free access to your server via FTP/Telnet
Easy access to your log files
Statistics on visits to your site

[Duke]

This is great, I've actually been creating my own list as well and will post it later.

[stealthhosts]

Question you should put when you choose a hosting company:

Do they offer fast connections?
Do they have a back-up system in place to protect your data in case there is a power outage?
Do they require you to make payments in advance?
Do they require a long-term contract?
Do they charge set up fees?
How is their customer support? Test them.
Do they provide you with free access to a secure server for order processing?
Do they offer shopping cart software to process your orders?
Do they provide you with an online Web Site Manager?
Do they provide you with an online support manual?

Then you should check if they have:

24/7 reliable tech support
Your own domain name (www.yourname.com)
At least 10GB of monthly transfer (traffic)
A minimum of 20MB - 50MB of server space
POP email accounts - name@yourdomain.com
Unlimited email aliases
Your own unrestricted CGI-Bin
Access to SSL Encryption for secure transactions
MySQL Database
Perl
htaccess password protection
Server Side Includes (SSI) support
Unlimited free access to your server via FTP/Telnet
Easy access to your log files
Statistics on visits to your site

I think it's worth pointing out that the above features are dependant on need. Also, any web host should be able to prove that the things they are saying are true, perhaps providing current client contact details (where agreed) as evidence.

For example, traffic and space needs are dependant on the use of the site. in addition, everything stated is linux biased, some people will have no preference as they simply want to serve html. Database and CGI-access again my be superceeded by the need for a stable non server-side oriented site.

Secure certificates and order processing are gain very restrictive to certain types of consumer.
I did do a list of questions to ask in the hosting section which I think are a bit more generic. Otherwise people may think that the questions here are what everybody should expect and that really isnot the case. For reference, we provide all of the above and a lot more most of which at standard, so I am not talking from the point of view that I would try to offer anything less. Perhaps putting it into context:
If you are wanting to run a small family site you should expect: X
for a small business without a shopping cart then : Y
for a larger business with shopping cart then : Z

Might make it a bit more generic?!
IMHO