Which hosting companies do you use, recommend?

Will · 02-13-2008, 10:40 AM

We started out with Dream Host, then moved to A Small Orange, and recently settled down with ServInt.

Dream Host is pretty decent for a blog starting out. Lots of great freebies and you cannot beat the cost.

A Small Orange had great customer service, but eventually we out grew their package.

We're pretty happy with ServInt. Traffic was crazy in the last two weeks. We got on Digg's homepage twice, got a link from the New York Times, IMDB, MSN Money Central, and Lifehacker. Except for some slowness during the first hour of the Digg (for which we apologize), ServInt has held up pretty well.

What hosting companies do you guys recommend?

rstlne · 02-13-2008, 02:46 PM

I use TextDrive, which merged with and became a part of Joyent. I think they've been okay. They do upgrades from time to time and my hosting plan got upgraded too by default so I'm now not using anywhere near the allotted bandwidth or disk space. However, I got in on their lifetime VC plan a long time ago. I'm not sure that I could recommend their monthly plans because their rates seem to be on the high side. I'm guessing their service is geared towards professional high-volume sites.

hermione · 02-13-2008, 02:52 PM

I've been with ixWebhosting for the past 1 1/2 years and overall have been quite pleased. I have the Business Plus account (I signed up for 2 years at a rate of $6.45/mo.) which comes with 8 dedicated IP addresses, MySQL database, free shared SSL, lots of email storage, and other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head. I currently have 3 domains hosted there including a Zen Cart (PHP) shopping cart.

My overall experience with their customer service is quite satisfactory. The Live Chat function isn't bad for basic technical inquiries. I've had a better luck with their support ticket system for more advanced issues. Being a DIY/figure-it-out yourself webmaster without formal programming training, I've had lots of help from them with things like my .htaccess file where they've given me the exact coding I needed for a specific purpose.

A couple of times in the past, when I found my site running a little slowly, I contacted them and they moved my database to a newer/emptier one without any fuss, even reconfiguring my configuration.php files for me so I didn't have to do anything. And I just received an email from them today informing me that they recently moved all their servers to a newer more updated facility so our websites will be running faster.

They also have deals with other companies where they get their customers free advertising credits for Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. and also free subscriptions to e-commerce and webmaster magazines, SitePal, etc.

In summary, it's a very decent company and I've never had any problems. They have 3 different plans to choose from, all with pretty good rates and perks.

Ms. Pants · 02-14-2008, 01:07 PM

I've been using http://hostingmatters.com for years. Cheap, reliable, fabulous.

USCGamecocks · 03-01-2008, 08:59 AM

I use Hostnine.com. With add-on domains I host 13 sites with them. Works well. Only had downtime once in a year. Cheap.

soon_to_blog · 03-03-2008, 10:16 AM

I have been pretty happy with Dreamhost. However, they have had some downtime issues in the past so if your income is dependent on your host you may want to think twice. As for customer service I have only had one issue and they emailed me within 24 hours.

mbhunter · 03-03-2008, 05:57 PM

I use 1and1. It has been great except for six days of downtime last year due to a botched SSL certificate installation. I had experienced very little downtime.

One snag that I ran into recently was that there is no support for cron jobs on the shared hosting packages.

alex · 03-03-2008, 08:30 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mbhunter

I use 1and1. It has been great except for six days of downtime last year due to a botched SSL certificate installation. I had experienced very little downtime.

One snag that I ran into recently was that there is no support for cron jobs on the shared hosting packages.

Six days?!

If you need to run cronjobs, there are hosted cron services. I've never used them, but here's one guy who did: http://christhis.com/archives/147/re...job-schedulers

And here's Google: http://www.google.com/search?q=hosted+cron

alex · 03-03-2008, 08:33 PM

Oh, and to answer the original question. MojoHost here.

yourbeginnings · 03-04-2008, 11:46 AM

I use GoDaddy hosting. I have used other hosting services in the past and have been pretty happy with GoDaddy. The main Pro's for me is dependability. In the past 3 years, I have never had a down-time caused by GoDaddy. The main Con is customer support. Every time I have contacted customer support the main response is "it must be your code". Some times that was accurate, however other times it was server configuration.

Others Pro's are: robust control panel, easy to navigate, lots of software options they install, and not bad in pricing.

02-13-2008, 10:40 AM	#1
Will Administrator Join Date: Jan 2007 Posts: 339 Reputation: (19)	Which hosting companies do you use, recommend? We started out with Dream Host, then moved to A Small Orange, and recently settled down with ServInt. Dream Host is pretty decent for a blog starting out. Lots of great freebies and you cannot beat the cost. A Small Orange had great customer service, but eventually we out grew their package. We're pretty happy with ServInt. Traffic was crazy in the last two weeks. We got on Digg's homepage twice, got a link from the New York Times, IMDB, MSN Money Central, and Lifehacker. Except for some slowness during the first hour of the Digg (for which we apologize), ServInt has held up pretty well. What hosting companies do you guys recommend?

02-13-2008, 02:52 PM	#3
hermione Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: California Posts: 319 Reputation: (65)	I've been with ixWebhosting for the past 1 1/2 years and overall have been quite pleased. I have the Business Plus account (I signed up for 2 years at a rate of $6.45/mo.) which comes with 8 dedicated IP addresses, MySQL database, free shared SSL, lots of email storage, and other stuff I can't remember off the top of my head. I currently have 3 domains hosted there including a Zen Cart (PHP) shopping cart. My overall experience with their customer service is quite satisfactory. The Live Chat function isn't bad for basic technical inquiries. I've had a better luck with their support ticket system for more advanced issues. Being a DIY/figure-it-out yourself webmaster without formal programming training, I've had lots of help from them with things like my .htaccess file where they've given me the exact coding I needed for a specific purpose. A couple of times in the past, when I found my site running a little slowly, I contacted them and they moved my database to a newer/emptier one without any fuss, even reconfiguring my configuration.php files for me so I didn't have to do anything. And I just received an email from them today informing me that they recently moved all their servers to a newer more updated facility so our websites will be running faster. They also have deals with other companies where they get their customers free advertising credits for Google, Yahoo, MSN, etc. and also free subscriptions to e-commerce and webmaster magazines, SitePal, etc. In summary, it's a very decent company and I've never had any problems. They have 3 different plans to choose from, all with pretty good rates and perks. __________________ Our Fourpence Worth - Tips for personal finance, frugal living, fast & frugal recipes, pet care & home decor. Follow me on Twitter!

03-01-2008, 08:59 AM	#5
USCGamecocks Senior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Columbia, SC Posts: 123 Reputation: (19)	I use Hostnine.com. With add-on domains I host 13 sites with them. Works well. Only had downtime once in a year. Cheap. __________________ Timemakeover.com - Time Management Articles & Resources

03-03-2008, 10:16 AM	#6
soon_to_blog Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: San Francisco, CA Posts: 30 Reputation: (10)	I have been pretty happy with Dreamhost. However, they have had some downtime issues in the past so if your income is dependent on your host you may want to think twice. As for customer service I have only had one issue and they emailed me within 24 hours. __________________ Joshua: A Path Together - Combining Financial Lives

03-03-2008, 05:57 PM	#7
mbhunter Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Posts: 82 Reputation: (17)	I use 1and1. It has been great except for six days of downtime last year due to a botched SSL certificate installation. I had experienced very little downtime. One snag that I ran into recently was that there is no support for cron jobs on the shared hosting packages. __________________ Mighty Bargain Hunter

02-13-2008, 02:46 PM	#2
rstlne Senior Member Join Date: Jan 2008 Location: New Jersey Posts: 361 Reputation: (115)	I use TextDrive, which merged with and became a part of Joyent. I think they've been okay. They do upgrades from time to time and my hosting plan got upgraded too by default so I'm now not using anywhere near the allotted bandwidth or disk space. However, I got in on their lifetime VC plan a long time ago. I'm not sure that I could recommend their monthly plans because their rates seem to be on the high side. I'm guessing their service is geared towards professional high-volume sites.

02-14-2008, 01:07 PM	#4
Ms. Pants Junior Member Join Date: Feb 2008 Location: Houston, TX Posts: 6 Reputation: (10)	I've been using http://hostingmatters.com for years. Cheap, reliable, fabulous.

03-03-2008, 08:33 PM	#9
alex Senior Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Location: Wilson's basement Posts: 100 Reputation: (59)	Oh, and to answer the original question. MojoHost here. __________________ Living Large on a Small Budget

03-04-2008, 11:46 AM	#10
yourbeginnings Senior Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Atlanta, GA Posts: 121 Reputation: (41)	I use GoDaddy hosting. I have used other hosting services in the past and have been pretty happy with GoDaddy. The main Pro's for me is dependability. In the past 3 years, I have never had a down-time caused by GoDaddy. The main Con is customer support. Every time I have contacted customer support the main response is "it must be your code". Some times that was accurate, however other times it was server configuration. Others Pro's are: robust control panel, easy to navigate, lots of software options they install, and not bad in pricing.

Thread Tools
Show Printable Version Email this Page
Display Modes
Linear Mode Switch to Hybrid Mode Switch to Threaded Mode

Similar Threads
Thread	Thread Starter	Forum	Replies	Last Post
Mystery Shopping Companies	KMOM14	Frugal Living	3	02-04-2008 10:47 PM