Features

Bear in mind that when you get in touch 'cold', you'll usually be talking to a salesperson, so don't try to plough into a technical quiz. But if you explain that you want to go through some issues in more depth before signing up, it shouldn't be hard to get transferred to support, where you can suss out how easy it is to get through and how helpful they are.

If there are any specific features you know you need to get right, try to get answers to your questions in writing - that's one benefit of email over phone - to avoid any confusion. Should unexpected charges or limitations rear their heads later, it's good to be able to refer back to what you were told.

Finally, use the Internet for what it's good at: trawling for other people's opinions. We can advise you on what you look for, but the only people who can tell you how a particular web host performs in practice are existing customers. Search for 'web hosting reviews' on Google (remember to choose 'pages from the UK' so that you get relevant local results) and you'll find plenty of comment and insight, as well as adverts for many more hosting companies that you may want to check out.