7 Easy way to choose a Web Hosting Company

I recalled the inexplicable joy i had just staring at the sparkling application i built on my development box, until the thought of hosting came into the picture i started having goose pimples.I realised that one bugging question when it comes to hosting a site is something like Where can i find a good hosting company that is relatively cheap? The issue is not exactly the cheapness of a hosting company rather it is the features that are offered-The services, the effectiveness of their customer care service,their promptness in resolving technical issues, an FAQ knowledge base system, the availability of a real person to address your questions and a community of already registered members that you can consult to gain first-hand knowledge of their experiences.Below is a technical check list you can use in determining if a host company is worth giving a try.The generic checklist below should serve as a guide for selecting a hosting company especially if your platform is Linux/PHP/MYSQL, it is still applicable to other platform.
1. PHP INSTALLATION TYPE
Check that PHP is installed as an Apache Module,This provides much better
performance.
2.PHPINFO() OUT PUT
Check if you could get the output of the function phpinfo()on the server you will
actually be assigned.Some hosting company claim this is a security risk but
expert hosts know that security by obscurity is no subsitute for real security.
The information provided by phpinfo function is not a security threat to hosting
providers that know what they are doing.

3. CRON UTILITY
Check if you could run routine batch jobs(with crons)for tasks like
backups,mailing you php error logs, scheduling periodic updates etc.

4.EXTENTIONS PROVIDED
For those that build their application with a mixture of technology like XSLT,XML
check if the extentions for processing this technologies are available.

5. APACHE SETTING
Check if the Apache setting AllowOveride is set to Options or All. This will
enable you to modify php ini files settings with a .htaccess files.

6. CHECK THE UPGRADE POLICY OF YOUR HOST
Ask the host how many warning you will get before upgrades are performed.
Check that they will provide you with a copy of the php ini file they will be
using for the upgrade before it happens.The number of host that, overnight switch
from register-globals=on to register-globals=off is considerable.Make sure you test
your applications on your development system against the new version before the
host performs the upgrade.

7. LAST BUT NOT LEAST,THROW IN ONE OR TWO QUESTIONS THAT WILL TEST YOUR HOSTING PROVIDER'S KNOWLEDGE OF PHP.
Although it may not be their job to write PHP code, when you find yourself in the
position of knowing a lot more about PHP than your host, the end result is
depressing. it's important to have a host that understands your needs.
I humbly hope that this will save some of you out there some research time and of course some money. In the main time have a nice day and happy coding.

I will make a comprehensive list of good hosting companies in a short while