A successful business always depends on its website and choosing a reliable host is extremely important. It can be complex to select an efficient host from the look of their home page. There are literally multitudes of web hosting companies to cater to your needs. They offer numerous attractive packages at varied prices. But is it easy for you to identify a real host and a reseller? This little piece of knowledge may help you to make a difference.

Let us first understand the distinction between real host provider and a reseller. A real host provider is the one who sells services from his own servers. They are the ones who maintain the machines, networks and the uplinks and provide you the support directly.
A reseller is a merchant who sells the web space, belonging to somebody else’s server. It acts as an agent and a marketer for the parent company and the service is advertised by the reseller. Any technical problems are relayed to the actual host.

Does it really matter as to who provides you the service?

No. Not as long as you are happy with the service. But, what if the service deteriorates?
If your website generates a huge traffic, it is always beneficial to work with an actual hosting provider as they can help you effectively during the time of crisis. Most resellers do not disclose that they are selling under some company. Here are few tips that might help you to find the truth.

•    Verify the ‘who is’ directory.

•    Use a tracer. It is a tool that shows the path of all the computers that are used to access a particular machine.

•    Check the domain register for the domain names. If they differ it is likely that they are resellers.

•    Visit the host’s site. This will give you the necessary information about the host provider.

•    Give a call. You can directly ask the host and clarify your doubts. If you are not satisfied with their answers then they are probably a reseller.

A real web hosting company has the right to suspend a customer’s access to the services provided by them. They may ban a site for illegal material or adult material. Another major area is the uptime and server stability. Resellers do not have direct access to the root servers. Due to this if the server goes down for certain reasons, there is very little that the reseller can do for their client. There may also be situations when a reseller fails to make their payment to the true host. Since resellers do not have to make a huge investment they can very easily disappear, leaving you to face a miserable situation all alone.