Hasn't quite made the big time

I was with HFW for a very long time 5+ years. In that time they moved their server twice and it was a nightmare each time they moved data was lost and DNS were way out of wack. So much so one site was blacklisted. Still is to this day.
Support knowledge is rushed, they just do not listed to what is being asked. I recently came back and tried them again and they still can not get it right. The packages are very misleading as to what you get and what is offered. And they are happy to upgrade you for a new fee to fix your problem.

The positive aspect is Alex and Max both run the place and have hands on the operations, the downside is Alex and Max still run the place and they are stuck in their ways of doing things, Which has hurt them growing. I noticed over the years many new names of techs they seem to come and go which makes it hard for them to learn the customer base. I ended up with Godaddy, I swore wouldn't go to the big market supplier, but HFW just couldn't provide the simple things I needed.

Biggest Pro: Nice people
Biggest Con: To old school, just do not meet todays needs and standards

not sure what happen to the service

I have been with hostforweb for roughly 5 years, in that time i had minor problems which they fixed quickly, however in the last year i have been having major problems with their service and ability to help resolve problems. I was on a their Supreme shared server plan, which worked out fine, just within this year i got a server overload and they stated it was a script in my site causing it, when i ask if they can help me to pin point the script causing it they said they can not help. So i went through my site and did not find any thing out of the normal. They un-suspended my page and back to normal operation on the shared server, in November time frame a server overload happen again, seem to be that same problem yet they where still unable to help and recommended i upgrade to a VPS even suggest that their HFWVPS-1 would work fine. They did the migration well so i though, because my site was up and running again. Here it is January 2010 and i get billed for the Shared server i was on after paying for a VPS. Come to find out they never migrated my site over to the VPS. So they finally begin the migration over to the VPS and know the site does not even load or work correctly. They are claiming i am using to much memory and i need to upgrade yet again to a higher priced VPS package. I asked if my site has been running fine for the last few months without server overload, why can't you get it running on the VPS if the VPS is better than the shared plan. There was no clear answer. I must say this is back for business for the last three days my site has been down loosing customers. they just continue to bounce my tickect (s) from one level to another without any answers what so ever. I am leaving this company and would not recommend them to anyone. Bad customer support for long term customers, they are un-willing to help you resolve problems. For small businesses like mine go to another hosting company.

Biggest Con: force upgrades with no support

always there to help

All hosts I had been a part of before HostForWeb had abysmal technical service and caused me so many problems.

Since moving to HostForWeb, everything has been perfect. On the occassion that there is downtime, they are always there to explain what is going on and when it will be solved. If I need help with something, someone is always there to either answer my question or help me open a ticket. Problems are resolved swiftly.

Uptime is very impressive, there has never been a period of downtime longer than an hour that I have ever seen. The servers are fast and are never slowed - and I believe this is because they do NOT oversell their packages. Many hosts will offer "unlimited" bandwidth and space. This is obviously impossible and can be easily abused. I think HFW could increase what they offer for the price a little more, but I am glad they do not boast these ridiculous "unlimited" packages. Because of this their service is stable and fast.

Biggest Pro: great staff, 24/7 tech support
Biggest Con: more space+bandwidth for the price

4 years and no problems

I'd say as a hosting company they are great, I've had a reseller account for years now, The only draw back is due to shared servers you sometimes get your mail accounts blacklisted due to something stupid the other users did but thats the nature of shared hosting.Down time has been minimal , I've had a few billing issues usally on my part not theirs they haven't shut me down due to lack ot payment anytime. They have been quick replied for most tech support issues. I like them would use them again and I still use them

Matt

Biggest Pro: Cost / flexiblity
Biggest Con: not able to get a live person on the phone

Worst web host ever

This company is utterly abysmal and completely incompetent, even at the manager level. My billing ticket is still unresolved after nearly 6 weeks and they continued to charge me after cancellation and lie about making the refund. Even the managers do not read the tickets. Worst customer service I have ever experienced in about 10 hosting companies during my lifetime. Avoid like the plague.

Biggest Pro: None
Biggest Con: Customer service are idiots that do not read your inquiry at all.

Impressed with Hostforweb

2007 is my third year with Hostforweb (HFW) and I have nothing but praise for them. I find their prices to be very reasonable, and I am satisfied with the level of uptime I receive (close to 100% from my experience).

Their support staff are the best I have experienced, with the problems I have faced (maybe a couple a year) all being resolved in quick time. Their live help is very efficient and the majority of smaller issues they are able to resolve. For other (larger) issues, an email is usually required to be sent, and from personal experience, response times would be, on average, under 30 minutes. Sometimes I have received replies within minutes.

HFW have online forums, and while I am not a regular visitor to them, when I do occasionally drop by, I am impressed to see the HFW staff asking the customers what they would like to see improved, for new ideas, and then taking on board what has been suggested.

My only suggestion to HFW would be to introduce a VPS plan that is lower than $40 a month, as it would lessen the gap between the most expensive shared plan ($20/month) and the lowest priced VPS plan ($40/month).

I would recommend Hostforweb to anybody currently looking for a webhost!

Biggest Pro: Support