Hosttraff.com is a free web hosting directory that describes itself as a "Categorized directory of hosting companies which offer hosting services for personal, small and medium enterprise businesses." Companies listed at Hosttraff.com are categorized by the type of hosting they offer.
Directory listings are free and include a profile page with a short description of the company's offerings and a website link. In addition to offering free directory listings, Hosttraff.com has a special page titled "Top 10 Web Hosts" where the web hosts who have received the most views and votes are displayed.
I like the layout and general appearance of Hosttraff.com. The header has links to the main parts of the site. Below the header is a search box. Below the search box is an advertising section, and after that is the main body of the site. The main body of the site is neatly divided into two columns. The left column has links to the different directory listings on the site, and the right column has advertisements, and links to news articles.
At the bottom of the left column are advertising banners. Advertising banners are on every page of Hosttraff.com, but they are placed in such as way as to not interfere with the usability of the site. The advertising actually compliments the site and blends in nicely with the content.
One of the concerns I have about Hosttraff.com is that the site doesn't seem to be monitored very well. For example, under the category "ASP.NET Web Hosting," the sixth company listed is titled "Santa Maria Cruiser," the description for this company is a series of keywords related to cruising, and the link is for a cruise ship company.
Under the category "Budget Web Hosting," the eighth company listing is titled "Cotton Rates Update" and the description is a series of strange keywords like "cotton rates" and "auto engineering." Under the category "Web Design/Web Builder," the seventh company listed has a name and description in Vietnamese.
This same company is listed twice under the "Web Design/Web Builder" category. On the fourth page of the "Web Design/Web Builder" there are two different companies both with listings and descriptions in German. Under the "Budget Web Hosting" category, the eighth listing is for a temporary job agency.
Another area that I don't quite understand about Hosttraff.com is the articles section. At the bottom of the page with articles, there are links to pages 1 through 9 and a "next" link. Clicking on any of those links always routes the browser back to page 1. I checked this in two different browsers, and both of them had the same result.
