Okay, I've had to change web hosts half a dozen times in the last year and I've noticed a pattern. It's a very clear and simple pattern, actually a series of behaviors on the part of web hosting companies. These behaviors cause these companies to lose customers and gain poor reputations.
To sum it all up in a single word: ethics. Web hosts need to act ethically. As long as they are ethical towards their business and customers, they thrive. When they become unethical, they will fail.
What are web hosting company ethics? This is a code which all hosting companies need to follow if they want to stay in business for the long term.
The most important goal is up-time - Almost anything can be forgiven as long as sites are up and running, as close to 100% of the time as possible. Every feature provided by a hosting company needs to be working and working properly. A small amount of downtime (an hour or two in a month long period) is acceptable, but more than that is not.
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