Choosing the right hosting company will easily seem like an overwhelming task - especially if you still consider yourself a bit of a web hosting rookie. Having been around for a while we know that for most people, it's better to keep it simple in the beginning. Don't start off with advanced and relatively costly options such as virtual private servers (VPS) or dedicated servers. There are  numerous settings and tweaks that you need to understand and you will probably end up spending most of your time and energy trying to manage the server rather than being focused on critical tasks such as building your business and website.

A shared hosting account is a good and inexpensive option for starting out if you plan on building one or a few sites. Consider a reseller account if you are planning more sites and would like to keep them separated - i.e. having separate cpanel and FTP logins. If you are working with other people on a site, but you would like to keep your remaining sites (FTP, database and Cpanel) private you should also go for a reseller hosting as this allows for much better separation and privacy.

For the more experienced webmasters things such as uptime, fast support, root-access and general reliability will be important factors. In a industry where all hosts claim to be the best, it can be a difficult task to sort through the mass and find the best company that is also the right for you.

For us personally, things like a server uptime of  at least 99.99% combined with 24-7 fast, professional and competent support are among the most important factors. If these things are in order, the rest seems to follow. For a more detailed account of which features are important, you should also read this article on what to consider before buying web hosting.

You should also look for reviews of the company online. Check multiple review sites, and ask in a hosting forum. You are likely to encounter current and/or previous customers of most established hosting companies if you ask in an established forum with a large member base such as webhostingtalk.com.