I have recently been looking into hosting providers. I have been with Gandi.net for domain names since 2001 and they seem to be alright. I am however, thinking of moving my domain names and hosting provider in the same place. Currently my hosting is at web-mania, and because their hosting does not offer SSL I will have to move to another place.
I remember HostGador, I must say it’s been around for a very long time. It’s the Dino/Crocodile one. I think in the past they were somehow connected to software which used to auto-fill information on my computer on forms.
I am thinking of moving my domain names too, so they will also be moved to this provider to make things easier.
So in terms of reliability would you say the providers you gave are good. Money is not really an option, I honestly don’t mind paying a bit more and getting something worth while with less hassle. I often find cutting corners cost me more in the long run, and sometimes even in the short run.
PS: I was looking at the Pl4net hosting company. They seem to have this rule on not providing to terrorist countries, which was a bit off putting. I did not know a country could be a terrorist country. Would you say this hosting company is rated well?
I know :(, hosting in the UK and the US is a lot more sophisticated. The only way I can host something locally is to have a dedicated server, hosting elsewhere cost way too much money, and can only be done via ISP’s. I know it’s hard to believe but it’s true and search engine do take this into account.
I’ve used Clook for the last 6 years or so and am one of their many happy customers. Their support is top notch and very fast and servers are reliable. The thing I do like about them is their transparency - if there is a problem with a server you use they keep you informed until the issue is resolved.
A lot of people will tell you that keeping domains and hosting separate is a good step, that way if you want to change hosts you aren’t reliant on the host for your domains. It makes transferring hosts a lot easier and less hassle.
Where you host is always a matter for debate, but the normal rule of thumb is to host in the same country as your main audience. Search engines do take into account what country you host in, eg if you host in Germany a search engine will take that into account as a factor in web searches. There are ways to tell search engines your target countries but even so, location is still a factor.
I tried to call them yesterday but there was no answer, it was only during the day, also some of the links on their site are dead-links, which did not give me a good initially impression. This made me feel somewhat uneasy, but I also heard people had good experience. I would have dismissed this company at first sight, if it was not for this people’s reviews.
So from your point of view are they a good company to deal with. I saw domain transfer, and each company seen to be charging quite a bit domain transfer. Is this practice normal?
Rough estimate, but I’ll recognize the name of tons of hosts, didn’t recognize those two.
For reseller, I’d personally recommend Arvixe or HostGator.
Arvixe is slightly cheaper. Support is not quite as good, but still not bad. They also offer free automatic backup/restoration which is pretty useful. I’ve had to pay HostGator $15 to restore one automatic backup.
Top 200 hosts? I wish I had your memory. Do you have a link to any of these hosts. I know they are strict here, especially on the hosting sections, so I kindly ask you for no affiliate links.
Well they are apparently pretty small since I have the top 200 hosts names memorized, which doesn’t necessarily make them bad but it may be very difficult to find reviews/opinions on them.
In any way having dedicated server in UK would be much more expensive for you then in US.
And Uptime is taken into account by SE, not location of the server. In any way I’m not SEO expert.
Those deadlinks have been there for a while, more than a couple of months. I will try to give them a call on Monday, hopefully they will answer.
I hope you don’t feel that I am being akward, transfering domains and hosting a web-site is a big step to do, and I’d rather not make a wrong decision.
Even though I am with Gandi on their domains (which they are fine), I am not sure on their hosting packages. I read some reviews and they did not seem as good as I liked. I think Gandi reviewed themselves and states that most of their customers are happy. So, I don’t know what to say. Their website does seem a lot more professional that Clook, but this does not guarantee a perfect service. However, it does enable users to fix things themselves.
Being from the EU, would you say that it’s best if the hosting was more localized as oppose to being situation in the US?
Remember they’re web hosts not web designers! I know they did have a few dead links appear because they’ve been making some big changes to their sites, we’ve reported some dead links on the forums.
Personally I’ve found they’ve been excellent to deal with, I trust them to host my clients sites and I always try to give my customers the best. Support tickets are always answered in minutes (even seconds on occasions).
Hosting companies sometimes charge for domain transfers, but remember that some domains incur an automatic charge when transferring between registrars, that’s something that we all have to pay from time to time, not just hosting companies.
you’re right Server Point