Web hosting guides can help by providing a single resource to compare the services being offered by various different hosting companies. The big advantage to is the elimination of the need to visit different sites to obtain the relevant information. A single site compares services by bandwidth, by price, by disk space, or other relevant criteria.

However, before utilizing a Web guide it is important to define the specific needs in question. Will the Web site need one gigabyte of space or ten? What is the estimated data transfer per month? Would a Unix environment or a Windows server be preferred?

The additional services needed, such as e-mail aliases, URL redirects, Web control panel, FTP access, FTP accounts, sub-domains, auto responders, and so on should also be quantified. Consider the need for support, promotional aid, shopping cart, chat, and anything else that can be determined. It may be advantageous to employ the services of a professional to finalize these details.

Armed with the detailed needs it is possible to start searching for a hosting service. Many use one of the popular search engines, like Google or Yahoo to find a suitable Web guide.

By comparing the results on the hosting guide to the defined needs of the Web site, the field of choices can be narrowed to a few suitable hosts. It is ideal to look for a hosting service that is located close to owner's office. This makes it possible to meet the host company's representatives and inspect the facilities that they offer. This also makes it possible to discern between actual hosts and those who simply resell the service of Web hosts.

Check and compare the hardware specifications offered by the hosting services. Eliminate the hosting services that don't meet the requirements and send the remaining hosts a request for specific information relating to their ability to host the proposed Web site. More important than the answers to the questions is the determination of how promptly the hosts respond to queries. This can then become a useful benchmark. Those who take too long or give unsuitable responses can then be safely removed from consideration.

Finally a connectivity test should be conducted. Visit a few sites hosted on the servers of companies that are still in the running. Check download speeds and eliminate those that do not make the grade. After all this the remaining choice or choices should be worthy of hosting the proposed Web site.