When you’re looking for a good web hosting service things can get a little intense. You have all these needs and you don’t know which place is going to be able to fulfill them the best. You have the things that your site needs to thrive. But you also have a whole list of bells and whistles that would take your site above and beyond if you could find the right server to host them. After all, you don’t want to sacrifice speed on the altar of extras.

So when you’re browsing for hosting services that are going to give you everything you want, it can be tough to sort through your choices. While you’re doing this, is easy to mix up origin point web hosting servers and middlemen who buy from them and then resell to you.

Most services that are web hosting middlemen don’t advertise the fact. This practice has both pros and cons. A middleman can lease a large quantity of space from an origin point web host and release to 500 sites, giving each site more attention.

How would you know whether your web host is actually the server owner or just a middleman reselling. These five signs and symptoms will help:

They Don’t Know Everything about Their Hardware

Even if a company has some of the best web hosting reviews, they might not be good at customer service. Unfortunately, there’s often no way to tell what their customer service is going to be like until you have a problem with your site. If you call customer support while having an issue with the hardware aspect of the site this could be the first time that you realize that the company doesn’t always have control over the hardware.

You don’t have to be an IT Tech in order to run a web hosting middleman company. Many people get into it because they have the business skill to make it a success, not the technical skill. They might be able to offer you a great package deal, but if something is broken they’re not going to know how to fix it. There are good odds that their customer service providers aren’t going to know how to help you either. If you find yourself stuck in a loop where an otherwise very knowledgeable customer service staff is punting you back and forth to various people and offices, that’s the first warning sign that they don’t know the specifics about their hardware.

You’re Referred to a Different Customer Service Department

Of course, sometimes you call customer service and are told, very nicely, that they don’t handle that there. Then you’re given a new number to call, and when you check that number you’re given over to someone who really seems to know what they’re doing. This seems like a great system, if a little bit confusing. What is likely happening, is that you got passed from the customer service department of the middleman company to that of the parent company. Again, getting sent to a different customer service department is often the first time that you learn your company isn’t providing all of the support that you need.

This often puts you in a difficult place if something goes wrong with your website. Even if your company and the hardware owning company have some of the best web hosting reviews out there, they’re going to have to work together if you want to be able to have a site that is well managed, well cared for, and which will address your needs swiftly and easily. This can be a challenge even for very successful middlemen and their origin point companies.

Their Cheapest Deal Isn’t the Cheapest

If you have the chance to do a little digging, you may find out that web hosting middle men are a terrible idea if you only want a basic service. The only time that middlemen are helpful is when they can help spread out the cost of more expensive service among many participants. If you only want a basic service, it can be really tough to find a middleman to cover that cost. The lowest that they could charge you would be the amount that the company they lease from charges them, plus something to cover their overhead and upkeep costs. So if you’re not looking for speed or tons of bandwidth, you can usually cut a better deal by dealing directly with the origin company itself. This is also a good way to smoke out middlemen. If they can’t match many of the lower offers you see online, they’re likely covering their expenses in addition to the hosting cost.

You’re Sharing with Too Many Other Clients

Big companies want to fit in as many people are possible, because why wouldn’t they? However, it’s the smaller companies and the middlemen who really have a hard time fitting in their clients’ needs. If you find that your company is “cramped” and that you’re having to share resources with too large a pool of other clients, you’re at a problem. See, a large company can take the revenue from these additional clients and use them to invest in more technology and space. People outside of it have to make due with what they can get from a company that already exists. This means that there’s no real way for the company you’re with to expand their services without leasing more space from the larger company. This isn’t always an option for them.

You Don’t Have as Much Control of Your Site

Getting one of the best reviewed web hosting sites is a major boon to your business because of what it represents. You’re supposed to have more freedom and flexibility, and you should be able to call upon the host to reflect the changes you want, need, and pay for quickly and easily. If your web host is telling you that it will take several days to get to you, there’s a chance that you’re dealing with an overworked and understaffed business. A larger chance that you’re dealing with a middleman who has to negotiate with another company on your behalf. Being at the mercy of two different schedules and two different companies can really put your needs behind the eight ball.

Typically, a middleman for those who don’t want to know about hardware themselves and people who don’t mind a slow response time to issue.