There is not, necessarily, one best web host.

If you have looked for a web hosting company you surely have found there are many web hosting companies out there.    So, how do you choose the right webhost for you?  There is not, necessarily, one best webhost.  Rather, there is likely one that is the best fit for what you want and need.  

Here is a list of five things to look for in a webhost, so you will be armed with a sensible way to pick the right one for you.

1.Reliability - A standard measure of reliability for a web host is the availability percentage.  What you may find surprising is that if you don't have an availability percentage of 99% or higher, you may be a very unhappy camper.  A 99% availability percentage translates to 1.68 hours your website may be down in a week.  Go lower and the downtime skyrockets quickly, so don't even go there.

2.Customer Service / Support - This is a very important thing to evaluate.  Chances are you will have a need for support at some point.  You will most likely need it in the beginning when you are getting things set up.  Make sure you check:

a. Hours of availability

b. If they are available by phone, not just e-mail

c. What typical hold times are for phone support.  The better webhosts show the expected wait time for a phone support call to be answered by a live operator (as opposed to hold music or automated menus) right in your account page.  

d. The communication skills of their phone support staff.  If you can't understand them because their first language is not the same as yours, that could be problematic.

3.Plugin / Add-on Support (shopping carts, SSL, etc.) - If you will have a need for any type of functionality other than just a basic text web page you should find out if they support what you need.  Things like different types of shopping carts, credit card processing, Wordpress and many others are typical and very common examples of things to check.

4.Ease of Use / Management of your domain/site - While most web host user interfaces might look similar at first glance, they are not all the same.  Make a list of the things you will need to be able to do on a regular basis.  Ask how you can accomplish this with their interface.  It may seem like a minor point, but a clunky interface will cause you wasted time.

5.Price - Cheaper is not always better, and better is not always cheaper.  And, you generally get what you pay for.  Affordable website hosting is what your looking for. Consider that the price difference for web hosts in absolute dollars is not all that much in the big picture.  Don't get too hung up on price.  A high quality host is still very affordable.  Do not let marketing hype, like 10% cheaper than XYZ hosting, distract you.  I don't pay my bills with percentages, I pay them with dollars.  If that 10% difference is only a few bucks a month, I am not going to worry about the percentage, but this distracts many people.

So, now that you have a checklist to use let's step back and talk about the human element.  One of the quickest and easiest ways to choose your web host is to contact them.  Ask web hosting companies your questions.  If you feel comfortable they are answering you honestly and not hedging, they should move to the top of your list.  Remember, you will likely have a long-term relationship with that company, so the people you have to deal with make a difference.