Stealth Hosts

Stealth is the name given to the technology that makes an object more difficult to find. Even though the Lockheed F-117A Stealth fighter is as big as a bus flying through the sky it will look the size of a small bird to a radar.

You have no idea where it came from before it is too late.

Some Web Host companies work the same way. That is, they don’t like anyone to know where they came from until it is too late.

They operate online in a digital world but their physical presence is almost non-existent. They want to be noticed digitally, but they remain intangible. They have no building, no address, no phone number, and no person to contact. They choose to hide all of their contact information from anyone visiting their site as if they didn’t have any.

We call these Stealth Hosts.

Why would anyone want to buy Web Host services from a company that does not give out adequate contact information? I come across Web Hosts all the time that will not give me their address or phone number. I won’t say it angers me, but I find it highly suspect and I do not regard them as a viable business until I can establish a positive track record. And that isn’t easy.

Call me old fashioned, but I believe that when you take someone’s money for products or services you had better have a legitimate business address. Yes, EVEN in the age of the Internet and cyberspace. If you are a real person running your Web Host services on real computers somewhere and you are taking real money from real people, then for gosh sakes, have a real address!

Who wants to give money to a Web Host that operates invisibly? They operate under the radar. Their identity has a radar cross section of an ant! These are true Stealth Hosts.

I err on the side of caution in these cases. I will always assume a Host is hiding something when they do not provide adequate contact information. And I tell that to every single person that emails us for advice on a stealth Web Host company.

The first thing I do when I look up a Web Host is go to the contact information page (if they have one) and I look and see if they are trying to hide something. Once I determine they are not hiding anything up front I go on to check the rest of the site with a positive outlook. Otherwise I suspect everything.

I have a bad habit of wanting to email every Web Host I find that doesn’t provide contact information to ask them why. Unfortunately, some of them don’t even provide an email address. They only provide a contact page with a form. Pretty Stealth if you ask me. In the 10 years I have been following Hosting closely I have never been given a good reason why a Web Host does not provide adequate contact information. There are a lot of excuses of course, but I don’t believe that telling me that your mom and dad do not like to have their address displayed online is a good excuse.

Some advice… if you are a Web Host or if you plan on becoming a Web Host, try to remember how people perceive you. Don’t be a Stealth Host. Provide adequate contact information and don’t scare away potential customers by hiding behind your fancy Web site.

Some more advice… If you are a customer, avoid Stealth Hosts with a passion! There are thousands of other Hosts competing favorably for your patronage. Buy from a real company and avoid the heartaches!