One Webmaster's Take on Navigating the Web Hosting Jungle
For the past seven or eight years, I've been a webmaster for a variety of sites. During that time, I've used a wide variety of web hosts.
Through my successes and failures working with a variety of hosting companies, I think that I've gained some very useful experience that I'm happy to share here.
The first thing that you should understand about the web hosting business is that it is a commoditized business. There are a lot of different hosts that offer similar packages of features. The hosts then compete on price, and believe me, the price wars get cutthroat.
Here are a few pointers that should help you locate the right host for your website:
(1) The largest hosting companies tend to offer the best prices, because they benefit the most from economies of scale, which enable them to survive on low margins.
(2) Certain web hosts are slightly better at hosting particular types of sites, because the hardware that they have acquired is geared towards a particular type of platform. Some tips: Easy CGI is known among webmasters for being the best Windows host, while Blue Host is known for being the best PHP host.
(3) If you plan to purchase an entry level hosting package, then try to pick a web host that does not offer too many plans. If they only offer a single plan (e.g., Blue Host), or a couple plans, then it probably means that they pack as many features into that one plan as possible.
(4) Try to find a web host that does not outsource its customer service. Sorry, India, outsourced support, at least in the hosting business, is never even half as good as in-house support. Offshoring customer service in this industry is a recipe for near-term financial gains and long-term disaster.
(5) Check out BusinessHostingComparison.com to see updated hosting plan price lists
Of all of the hosting services out there, I like Host Monster, IX Web Hosting, Easy CGI Hosting, Lunar Pages, and Blue Host the best. They each offer top notch packages of features and are relatively inexpensive.
You should watch out for web hosts that are not on this list. There are a bunch of hosts that are known for ripping off consumers with high prices and outdated technology.
If you have any questions about any particular host, please let me know.
Hope this helps,
Win
Compare Web Hosting Features
Easy CGI, Blue Host and Host Monster Offer Top Notch Features
Perennial best-rated Windows web hosting in web master surveys
24/7, toll free phone support
99.9% uptime guarantee (or your money back!)
500 email accounts
Host Unlimited Websites and Sub-Domains
ASP.net 2.0/1.1, AJAX 1.0, .NET Framework 3.0, CGI-Bin, PHP 4.4.4, Perl 5.6x, and FrontPage support
50 MySQL and unlimited Microsoft Access Databases
OS Commerce, phpBB Forums, DotNetNuke, Form Mailer, and Counter one-step script installation
Easy CGI offers Dual Core 2 Duo Xeon Processors, Cisco Routers, and UPS Power with 24/7 system monitoring
(2) Blue Host
Perennial best-rated PHP web hosting in web master surveys
Best-in-class, 24/7, toll free customer service
2,500 email accounts
Host unlimited websites, unlimited parked domains, unlimited sub-domains
Free domain
Fantastico Installer
Free drag-and-drop site builder
MySQL, Perl, CGI-Bin, Frontpage, Java, Ruby on Rails, Flash, and FTP Manager support
eCommerce and SEO tools included
Blue Host hosts over 380,000 domains and adds almost 20,000 paying customers each month
(3) Host Monster
24/7, toll free phone support
Unlimited email accounts
Host unlimited websites, unlimited parked domains, unlimited sub-domains
Free domain
Free drag-and-drop site builder
PHP, MySQL, Perl, Python, CGI-Bin, Ruby on Rails, Java, Flash, and FTP Manager support
eCommerce included (OS and Agora shopping carts)
SEO included (automatic site submission only)
Guest book, chat, blogger, poll, survey, and bulletin board tools included
Host Monster utilizes top notch AMD Quad Opteron servers
(4) IX Web
24/7, toll free phone support
2,500 email accounts
Host 2 websites, 100 sub-domains
Free domain
Choice of Windows or Linux OS
ASP.net, Cold Fusion, PHP, MySQL, PostgreSQLs, Perl, CGI-Bin, Java, Flash, and FTP Manager support
eCommerce (just OS), SEO (site submission only), mailing lists, and guest book tools included
$50 Microsoft/Yahoo SEM credits and $25 Google Adwords credit
Award-winning web hosting control panel (H-spere)
IX Web Hosting hosts over 200,000 websites
(5) Lunar Pages
24/7, toll free phone support
Unlimited email accounts
Host 11 websites, unlimited parked domains, unlimited sub-domains
Free domain
Free drag-and-drop site builder
PHP (choice of 4+/5), MySQL (choice of 4+/5), Perl, Frontpage, CGI-Bin, Java, Flash, Ruby on Rails, Python, FTP Manager support
eCommerce (OS, Zen, and Cube shopping carts!) tools includedGuest book, chat, polls, surveys, and bulletin board tools included
(6) Pow Web
24/7, toll free phone support
Unlimited email accounts
Host unlimited websites, unlimited parked domains, unlimited sub-domains
Free domain
Load-balanced technology
PHP4 & PHP5, 75 MySQL databases, Perl5, CGI-Bin, Frontpage, Flash support, and FTP Manager support
eCommerce (OS shopping cart installation tool, as well as tool to accept PayPal payments), SEO (site submission and web statistic analysis tools), Wordpress, and bulletin board tools included
Active community forum with over 20,000 registered members
(7) Start Logic
24/7, toll free phone support
Unlimited email accounts
Host 11 websites, unlimited parked domains, unlimited sub-domains
Free domainFree drag-and-drop site builder
PHP, MySQL, Perl, CGI-Bin & Library, Frontpage, and FTP Manager support
eCommerce (OS, Agora, and PayPal shopping carts!), SEO, and link checker tools includedGuest book, chat, blogger, and bulletin board tools included
$50 Google Adwords and $25 Yahoo SEM credits
Start Logic hosts over 80,000 domains
(8) AN Hosting
Host 20 websites, unlimited parked domains, unlimited sub-domains
Unlimited email accounts
Free domain
Free drag-and-drop site builder
PHP, MySQL (unlimited databases!), Perl, CGI-Bin & Library, Python, Ruby on Rails, Flash, and FTP Managers support
eCommerce (OS, Agora, Cube and Zen shopping carts!) and SEO tools includedGuest book, chat, blogger (Wordpress and Mambo), and bulletin board tools included
$50 Google Adwords/Yahoo SEM credits; $25 Enhance Search credit; and $20 Search 1-2-3 credit
AN hosting utilizes Dual Core Dual Opteron Servers on a Cisco-powered network
Top-Rated Web Hosts
Host Monster is the Best All-Around Web Host
(1) Host Monster
(2) IX Web Hosting
(3) Easy CGI Hosting
(4) Lunar Pages
(5) Blue Host
(6) Pow Web
(7) Start Logic
(8) AN Hosting
Cheapest Hosting
IX Web Hosting is the Cheapest
$3.95 (IX Web Hosting)
$4.95 (Host Monster)
$4.95 (Start Logic)
$5.77 (Pow Web)
$6.95 (Lunar Pages)
$6.95 (Blue Host)
$6.95 (AN Hosting)
$7.96 (Easy CGI)
Most Hosting Storage
Easy CGI and Lunar Pages Offer the Most Storage
350 GB (Easy CGI)
350 GB (Lunar Pages)
300 GB (Host Monster)
300 GB (IX Web Hosting)
300 GB (Blue Host)
300 GB (Pow Web)
300 GB (Start Logic)
250 GB (AN Hosting)
Most Hosting Bandwidth
Easy CGI and Lunar Pages Offer the Most Bandwidth
3,500 GB (Easy CGI)
3,500 GB (Lunar Pages)
3,000 GB (Host Monster)
3,000 GB (IX Web Hosting)
3,000 GB (Blue Host)
3,000 GB (Pow Web)
3,000 GB (Start Logic)
2,500 GB (AN Hosting)
What's Your Favorite Web Host? Get Out The Vote!
If you've used any of these hosts, please, please leave feedback...
Lets stop overcharging!
Juniper Avenue Design & Hosting
Professional, reasonable, friendly, and guaranteed more...0 points
by win0678
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