How WHSR Hosting Reviews Work?

Article by Jerry Low . .
Updated: Oct 12, 2018

Hey guys, I’m Jerry – founder of Web Hosting Secret Revealed (WHSR). I made this page so you can understand how this site works and how we make money.

You can find a lot of web hosting review sites and directories on the Internet. But, not every one of them are the same as WHSR.

Our hosting reviews are written based on our own usage experience and actual server data. Host rankings, such as our best web hosting recommendation, are based on objective analysis.

We use third party applications and software to test sites setup on host in review, including: Uptime Robot, Bitcatcha, Webpage Test, Google PageSpeed Insights, and Pingdom.

Unlike many other review sites, we rarely use users input unless their identity and account ownership are proven. This is to avoid getting stuck in the war between two hosting companies.

Review factors: Things We Evaluate

There are six main aspects we look into when we assess a web host:

1. Server performance
2. Essential features
3. After sales support
4. User friendliness / customer care policy
5. Company reputation / feedback from legit users
6. Price / Value for money

We setup test sites at different web hosts and ask questions from a user’s point of view:

• What is the average 30 days server uptime?
• How quick / slow is the server loading?
• Is the user control panel comprehensive and easy to use?
• Is the pricing and refund policy fair?
• What are the limitations written in company’s ToS?
• What other users are saying about the company?
• Is the support staff friendly and knowledgeable?
• Is the host value for money in *long term*?

There’s no rocket science in finding a hosting service that matches your needs. You are more than welcomed to learn from our web host choosing guide and make your own call.

How WHSR Star Rating Works?

At WHSR, hosting companies are rated based on a 10-step, five-star-rating system – with the highest mark as 5-star and lowest 0.5-star.

The star-rating can be seen in every hosting review article we published (sample) and in the large table we built in our review index page.

To determine this score, we use a 80-point rating checklist to rate a web host and benchmark it against their long term (we use four years span) cost.

The idea is to compare hosting services with different price ranges on a leveled ground.

The simple maths behind this:

X = Hosting score at 80-point check list 

Y = (monthly signup price x 24 + monthly renewal price x 24) / 48

For Y < $5/mo, Z = Z1

For Y = $5.01/mo - $25/mo, Z = Z2

For Y > $25.01, Z = Z3

Final star-rating = X * Z

Review Samples

* Click to enlarge image. 

How WHSR makes money?

WHSR make money from affiliate commissions and web advertising.

WHSR is run by a small team of full time writers and web marketers. Our livings depends on income generated from this website.

We get paid, in form of cash or other form of rewards including free hosting credits, Amazon gift cards, or links.

That said, however, our reviews are based on objective analysis and we do not compromise our host ratings based on ad revenue.

We believe that there’s a market for every hosting company out there. Our job is to provide the best information to our users and match them with the right hosting service.

How affiliate program works?

If we have an affiliate deal setup with a company and you click from our site or use our promo code to purchase, we earn a commission.

Purchasing via our affiliate link does not cost you more. In some occasions, our affiliate links can help you save money as some brands offer exclusive discounts to our users (due to WHSR’s unique position in hosting market).

How advertising works?

Ads maybe displayed in form of banners or listing on our website.

I hope this clarifies things.

If you are still in doubt, you can learn more about Team WHSR here or read our boring Official FTC Disclaimer.

See you around!