Looking for a “Green” Web Host?

Bloggers looking to move from Blogspot or other free blog publishing sites often email me and ask me how to choose a hosting company, or do I think this one is good, or is that one better? It’s flattering to be asked, but the truth is, I’ve only had 2 hosting companies, both of which were recommended to me by friends. I didn’t spend time researching which host would best fit my needs, and knowing now what I do, I would recommend that anyone looking to go self-hosted does some comparion “shopping” first.

A site that I’ve written about before is Web Hosting Geeks, a four year old site that posts comparisons of web hosts, does reviews, and even gives out their own awards. They’ve added a new comparison category now for green hosting. “Green” refers to web hosting companies that may use alternative or renewable energy to offset their carbon footprints, plant trees, recycle waste and/or purchase renewable energy certificates to power their datacenters. I had to look that last one up- a renewable energy certificate is a tradeable commodity that represents one megawatt hour of renewable energy generation. I don’t really understand commodities trading either, but I think it means that instead of buying all their electricity from the local power company, they buy some from places that generate power using natural methods like wind or sun. Still not sure how that works, but it seems like a good thing

So anyway, Web Hosting Geeks has a listing of Top Eco-Friendly web hosts, and you should check it out if you are looking to go self-hosted or switch to a more eco-friendly host. Every little bit we can all do to save electricity is a good thing!