How We Test Web Hosting in Australia

Every number you see on Pick a Host comes from a real test run in Australia, not a spreadsheet we copied from a US review site. This page explains exactly what we test, how we test it, and what we deliberately leave out.

Speed Testing — Time to First Byte (TTFB)

TTFB is the time between a browser sending a request and receiving the first byte of a response. It is the clearest single measure of server performance — it strips out page weight, image sizes, and front-end code, and tells you how fast the server itself responds.

Our test setup

We install a fresh WordPress site on each host using the Twenty Twenty-Four theme, no page builders, and WP Super Cache enabled with default settings. Tests are run from a Sydney connection using curl. We run 5 timed requests per provider and take the average. Tests are run during AEST business hours to reflect real-world load conditions.

Uptime Monitoring

We monitor each test site using a third-party uptime service over a 30-day rolling window. Checks run every 5 minutes from an Australian monitoring node. A host that claims 99.9% uptime but routes that claim through their own dashboard does not impress us.

Support Testing

We contact support via live chat during AEST business hours with a standard technical question. We time from first message to a useful response — not just “Hi, how can I help?” but an actual answer. We run this test twice per provider per review cycle.

Pricing Verification

On every review we record the advertised first-term price, the renewal price, and the minimum contract length required. We update pricing when we spot changes and display the date each review was last updated.

Re-test Cycle

Every host is re-tested on a 60-day cycle. Infrastructure changes. We do not freeze results at first publish.