I’ve been with Hostmonster since the launch of my website. Service and support has been spotty and not great, but not absolutely horrible for me. The cost however has shot way up, so I moved to Hostgator after much research.
After only days, I completely regret my choice. They seem more lost than me.
I’m not here to bash HM or HG, I’m here looking for help. Does anyone here have first hand experience with an affordable company with good support? If you happen to have a stake at one of the hosting companies, please stay out of the conversation.
Thanks for any help you can offer.
Edit: I should specify that my website is a very simple HTML based site created by me. Shared hosting easily should handle my needs.
I used to use USA sites but after a few years the prices in the UK were similar. Smaller companies I find give better support and have their own local staff.
I use Cloadabove for my websites now and they are based in the UK and use UK staff. During the day I get a quick reply but overnight they contact me in the morning. Perhaps if it was something really bad at night I would get a quicker reply; but most of my problems are not usually that critical.
I personally use webhostingbuzz.com and I love their support. They even install SSL certificates if you request it. Quick reply time, and good reliability as far as up time is concerned. Not sure where their support is located though. @felgall initially recommended this and I’m happy with what I’ve gotten.
Thanks for the suggestions guys. I’ll look into these.
As mentioned, I did quite a bit of research before making the switch. This included several lists of “Best Of” and such, and no one mentioned either cloudabove or webhostingbuzz.
Another option to consider is a Linux VHS. They are remarkably inexpensive and once setup require very little maintenance. If you have a knowledgeable friend who could help then all the better otherwise post your questions here.
Cost is usually about five USD for a one GB memory server and twenty GB SSD which is far more than adequate for moderate usage.
I use RSYNC which is an excellent utility for uploading files. One command line copied to the Command Box followed by your password and all files are synchroised in seconds! There is also a graphical version by the name of GRSync.
Not sure where you found that? Hostinger wasn’t suggested here.
Anyway, if they’re down that’s a sign they might not be very good. Then again even the biggest companies have downtime, like Outlook was down on Monday for a bit. Last year saw a big outage of a part of AWS (S3). Sometimes things just happen. Sometimes it’s a symptom of a company not having their house in order, sometimes it isn’t
My needs are simple and five USD per month is more than adequate - price of a Big Mac or a coffee:)
I’ve tried four different VPS suppliers, first was very large and reliable but only had a 500MB memory and frequently froze due to MySql gobbling resources. Second, not as large, had twice the memory and was ok. Third was less expensive and far too complicated with no technical support so only used for a month. Fourth was also less expensive, double resources but support aimed at fluent German customers, translated documentation not easy to follow so also only used for a month.
I’m now back to the first supplier and delighted to say they now have one GB of memory fitted the original price.
So JB, I’ve taken a quick look at several of the providers of VPS and they all mention RAM, bandwith, disk space and CPU. Prices are about what you’ve mentioned (and beyond for greater allowances).
My impression is that these services are geared towards developers. What about someone that just has a simple website to run? I haven’t seen mention of how much email space is allowed (important to me), how many domains, sub-domains, etc. can be hosted, or other details that hosting companies spell out.
Tomorrow I’ll call or chat with one or two of these and see what I can find out
If you are not familiar with Linux then it is advisable to seek a knowledgeable friend’s assistance
Knowing Linux is an advantage but once the server is setup then the number of domains and sub-domains is virtually unlimited. I have about fifteen, mostly free domains which are ideal for online testing.
Setting up email is not straight forward and requires quite a bit of technical knowledge. There are numerous tutorials available. No doubt the service provider will install email for a price or seek help on this forum. Once setup then email space is whatever is remaining on the disk after the operating system, email, your application has been installed. I guess about fifteen GB for a five USD dollar server with twenty GBs
I have used fasthosts.co.uk for years, but depends what you call affordable. My pack is 3 domains, 1 server, <10 GBP per month - 24 hour support, very good control panel, choice of Windows or Linux
Have you looked into netlify? It is perfect for simple sites and it is free for small sites. I have hosted a number of small projects on it and been very happy. Also can’t beat free.
I would not run a VPS because you have to maintain it and it is not worth it in my opinion if all you want to do is host something without having to worry about it.
