who is the best website hoster

[nig68]

I am currently in the process of setting up a website but am only at the research stage as there are so many hosters out there. I'm confused as to who is the best, i want a reasonably priced hoster with decent facilities like shopping cart, pay pal facilities and maybe credit card facilities, depending on the price. I would also like one with decent search engine options, I.E i want to be at the top of google's search results. :):rolleyes: i would also like it to be easy to set up and simple to upload products for sale, also what is the best security merchant to go with for price? I've been in contact with verisign but they are asking to much and beyond my budget. Thanks in advance.

[Chris34]

I am just in the process of building my first website. One piece of advice I can give you is to not make any decisions just yet as it is really important to try and get the right set up for you. I am in a rush to set up my website and even though I have done a lot of research I did it all in a small space of time and If I wasn't a motivated positive person I would have given up by now because the route I have chosen is very intensive and involves a hell of a lot of learning.

There is a hell of a lot to choose from out there so listen to everyones advice then review the advice and opinions and take your time.

There are pro's and cons with all set ups but just be aware that one persons idea of it being relatively easy to set up is another persons idea of a complicated drawn out task.



Chris.

[JamieBeeston]

It sounds like what you want isnt so much a Decent host (which everyone needs anyway) but someone with webmaster experience (a host wont help you get top of google!)

As with anything in life, buy cheap, buy twice..

Do your research, ask searching questions, and expect to pay for what you need and not be a clever clogs and get it dirt cheap!

J

[ServWise]

As has been mentioned it sounds like what you really want is a web developer / Internet consultant.

Most hosting accounts wont normally include worthwhile SEO advice/tools (Automated SEO tools found in some hosts plans are less than worthless IMO) or be able to offer Merchant services for you.

These are all things that an Internet consultant would be able to advise on and would very much depend on your site and your budget.

If you are looking for all these things in a web host then your going to be limiting your choice of host dramatically.

If i were you I would keep your hosting separate from your site development and separate from your merchant account arrangements, this will give you the most flexibility and allow you to choose between all hosts, all merchant services and all ecommerce solutions available.

As for getting to number one on google, this is the holy grail and you are unlikely to achieve this on any worthwhile keywords without a lot of work so be prepared..

[GeekSRV]

Keep your development seperate from your hosting if you can, if you have all your egg's in one basket you could get burnt if that business goes out of business.

There is no "one" best host that fits all, what might be the best solution for one individual/business could be totally wrong for another individual/business - everyone has different requirements, i'd recommend drawing up a short list of providers that look like they could deliver what you want them contact the support and sales teams and see how they fair time wise with responses and quality of response.

Just stay well clear of unlimited hosting providers :)

[stevemac]

Google advise using a web host who is based in your target country - UK based target audience should use a UK based host, etc.

[ServWise]

Google advise using a web host who is based in your target country - UK based target audience should use a UK based host, etc.

Do they? Where?

[Burden]

C.Pearce on here - Christopher Pearce

Brilliant!

[That Guy]

For hosting I would choose VidaHost (link in sig)

But as said, if you need a site built you need a Web Design Company or someone with good experience :)

[ServWise]

For hosting I would choose VidaHost (link in sig)

Affiliate link don't you mean. Not exactly impartial... :)

[That Guy]

Affiliate link don't you mean. Not exactly impartial... :)

I host with them and find them spot on. Never had a problem with any of my sites. Also the pricing and technical support is very good.

There are also many other happy customers in their support forum. So I am talking from my experiences with the company. This is my opinion which I am entitled to :)

[ServWise]

I host with them and find them spot on. Never had a problem with any of my sites. Also the pricing and technical support is very good.

There are also many other happy customers in their support forum. So I am talking from my experiences with the company. This is my opinion which I am entitled to :)

That being the case then you should have made it clear in your OP that the link was an affiliate link and that if they used it you would be recieving a commision from their purchase. Unfortunatly you didn't!

[SLF]

sounds to me like the OP needs an all-in-one solution cos if verisgn is beyond their budget they may not be looking for a developer. its clear they lack a lot of knowledge if they think they can get a hoster who has seo that gets them to the top of google, so as theres a lot to learn, a one stop shop would be best to dabble with til they become confident.

[shoppingtoday]

Hi, i recommend you the best hosting company, bluehost compay.

[infovinity]

ServWise , I can see you have got a valid point here, personally I won't go for a hosting company like VidaHost, who provides a very basic package for £17 per month and a good one for £35 ... I think both should be at one level

Godaddy.com, fasthost.co.uk, servwise.com, hostgator.com, servage.net and bluehost.com.. there are many good and relatively low cost providers are in market. I have got more then 100 sites hosted on godaddy and 40 on servage.net, i have had some virus problem with servage but godaddy is as good as it can be, Very reliable.

as i have lot's and lot's of free space and domain hosting capability, if you are interested i can host your domain for free or if you like i have got some other ways how to get the godaddy, bluehost and hostgator hosting free or in less then 10-12% of the cost stated on website. contact me via PM and I will to help for free !!
:)

[ServWise]

ServWise , I can see you have got a valid point here, personally I won't go for a hosting company like VidaHost, who provides a very basic package for £17 per month and a good one for £35 ... I think both should be at one level

Godaddy.com, fasthost.co.uk, servwise.com, hostgator.com, servage.net and bluehost.com.. there are many good and relatively low cost providers are in market. I have got more then 100 sites hosted on godaddy and 40 on servage.net, i have had some virus problem with servage but godaddy is as good as it can be, Very reliable.

as i have lot's and lot's of free space and domain hosting capability, if you are interested i can host your domain for free or if you like i have got some other ways how to get the godaddy, bluehost and hostgator hosting free or in less then 10-12% of the cost stated on website. contact me via PM and I will to help for free !!
:)

Watch out, most of the hosts you mention are big over-sellers i.e. Sell unlimited or impossibly large amounts of space or bandwidth with their plans (apart from us obviously).

I would definitely not recommend an over-seller if you have a site that you need to make sure is fast and has as little down time as possible. See my Blog post on the truth about unlimited hosting plans (http://www.servwise.com/blog-sam/index.php/2008/08/15/the-truth-about-unlimited-bandwidth-plans/) for the reasons for this..

[infovinity]

Watch out, most of the hosts you mention are big over-sellers i.e. Sell unlimited or impossibly large amounts of space or bandwidth with their plans (apart from us obviously).

I would definitely not recommend an over-seller if you have a site that you need to make sure is fast and has as little down time as possible. See my Blog post on ... for the reasons for this..

Well this is now getting into some marketing and promotional way .. i think it's genuinely fine but I am sure the so call over sellers are the biggest and most reliable one in the market from years. I am not denying or under-estimating you in one way or other but in my opinion almost every company mentioned in the post above provides more then 200 GB every day or approx 3000 GB every month, I have only once in last 8 year over run my usage limit.

[ServWise]

Well this is now getting into some marketing and promotional way .. i think it's genuinely fine but I am sure the so call over sellers are the biggest and most reliable one in the market from years. I am not denying or under-estimating you in one way or other but in my opinion almost every company mentioned in the post above provides more then 200 GB every day or approx 3000 GB every month, I have only once in last 8 year over run my usage limit.

(By over-seller I'm talking about those hosts that offer unlimited amounts or absolutely huge amounts of a technically limited resource like space or bandwidth).

It's really quite simple, it is technically impossible for an over-seller as described above to provide what they are selling so eventually when you are buying from this type of host you are simply not being told what your limits actually are.

By buying from a host that tells you your limits and where those limits are reasonable then you know where you stand.

Also in our case unlike most over-seller hosts (and in fact most other hosts out there) our plans ONLY have limits on the space and bandwidth, we don't have arbitrary limits on the number of websites, email, mySQL databases or FTP accounts (An extra Website or Email account does not cost us more, only the space and bandwidth it uses does so why limit them). So you can create as many as you like as long as the resource used by them falls within the space and bandwidth limits of the plan.

[stevemac]

Do they? Where?
Matt Cutts - in a video I watched last week on web Pro News

[infovinity]

(By over-seller I'm talking about those hosts that offer unlimited amounts or absolutely huge amounts of a technically limited resource like space or bandwidth).

It's really quite simple, it is technically impossible for an over-seller as described above to provide what they are selling so eventually when you are buying from this type of host you are simply not being told what your limits actually are.

By buying from a host that tells you your limits and where those limits are reasonable then you know where you stand.

Also in our case unlike most over-seller hosts (and in fact most other hosts out there) our plans ONLY have limits on the space and bandwidth, we don't have arbitrary limits on the number of websites, email, mySQL databases or FTP accounts (An extra Website or Email account does not cost us more, only the space and bandwidth it uses does so why limit them). So you can create as many as you like as long as the resource used by them falls within the space and bandwidth limits of the plan.

Again , You are dragging the topic onto self marketing road mate, i have no doubt about your capabilities and generosity but just for your knowledge , please visit : godaddy, hostgator, bluehost and servage. Each of them has provided the limits very clearly in the package information and yours is the same.

The guy who has asked the question, instead of providing a easy, simple and cost effective solution, It's not fair to put marketing cards on table mate , not fair in my view, Please also take it as a help thread and I am sure there are enough marketing and promotional forum topics in this forum.

[stevemac]

Hi, i recommend you the best hosting company, bluehost compay.
I can also recommend Bluehost, I've been using them for the last 6 years or so. Excellent service & knowlegeable support staff.

The only problem is that they're based in the USA, which is the only reason that I'll soon be changing to a different, UK based, host.

[TheBigCheese]

IMO I can't believe that anyone would recommend GoDaddy, I have no direct experience with them but when I was searching round looking for alternatives I researched them...bit of a nasty company in some respects. I read about some very unethical selling of registered domains that are being sold onto a new owner, just Google it and I'm sure you will find it.

As well as Vidahost, apparently TSOHost are also supposed to be very good, again from recommendations I have read about from people in the know.

[ServWise]

Again , You are dragging the topic onto self marketing road mate, i have no doubt about your capabilities and generosity but just for your knowledge , please visit : godaddy, hostgator, bluehost and servage. Each of them has provided the limits very clearly in the package information and yours is the same.

The guy who has asked the question, instead of providing a easy, simple and cost effective solution, It's not fair to put marketing cards on table mate , not fair in my view, Please also take it as a help thread and I am sure there are enough marketing and promotional forum topics in this forum.

Bluehost - only offer one plan with unlimited space and bandwidth and limits it's plans by limiting other features.

Hostgator - only offers unlimited space and bandwidth shared plans and again limits it's plans by limiting other features (Notice how their reseller plans ARE limited though, what does that tell you?)

Servage - offer plans with limits that are far from realistic (Major Over-sellers)

Godaddy - seem to be fine they actually do have reasonable limits.

I would suggest anyone to do there research in google and places like www.webhostingtalk.com (http://www.webhostingtalk.com), search for honest reviews on any host you plan to use.

[infovinity]

As far as my experience is hosting domains with godaddy, it's good from last many years. but surly the link with webhostingtalks provide more light on this issues.

[GeekSRV]

Hostgator limits you by inodes, so you can never use trully what they sell you - plus only a certain amount of your account is backed up after the first 50k inodes - be a bit of a bummer if that mission critical bit that gets deleted by accident is outside that 50k limit!

[infovinity]

I am sure you guys have got point, but I also have a view about needs mate, 5gb disk space and 100GB for bandwidth is more than enough for 90% of the websites.

Q : what's your average tells you about it ?


Q: how many users per month in your hosting service exceeds the allocated amount per month, per year , in last 3 years ?


I see most of this Unlimited stuff as pure marketing tool nothing more, as a user you hardly use 5% of all....

[Place of design]

I am currently in the process of setting up a website but am only at the research stage as there are so many hosters out there. I'm confused as to who is the best, i want a reasonably priced hoster with decent facilities like shopping cart, pay pal facilities and maybe credit card facilities, depending on the price. I would also like one with decent search engine options, I.E i want to be at the top of google's search results. :):rolleyes: i would also like it to be easy to set up and simple to upload products for sale, also what is the best security merchant to go with for price? I've been in contact with verisign but they are asking to much and beyond my budget. Thanks in advance.

You are looking at the wrong criteria

Hosts provide webspace, and an infrastructure to get information in and out of that webspace

The webspace may be on differing platforms, which have certain advantages. The webspace may have certain facilities - control panel, email, FTP access etc that may be useful or not to your business

All the rest of the stuff you want will be driven by the software you install in the webspace (your website)

I am a web developer - I look for:
1. bandwidth
2. Up time
3. customer support levels
4. Redundancy
5. Server location and infrastructure
6. CPU usage restrictions on server
7. Server security
8. How the resources are shared with other users of the server
9. Space on the server
10. friendlyness and usefullness of the control panel
11. PHP versions
12. Platform
13. scalability

Etc..

Different websites present different needs. Some are very processor intensive on the server, others use a great deal of webspace, others a little. Some require a very secure environment etc. etc.

[Place of design]

(By over-seller I'm talking about those hosts that offer unlimited amounts or absolutely huge amounts of a technically limited resource like space or bandwidth).

It's really quite simple, it is technically impossible for an over-seller as described above to provide what they are selling so eventually when you are buying from this type of host you are simply not being told what your limits actually are.

By buying from a host that tells you your limits and where those limits are reasonable then you know where you stand.

Also in our case unlike most over-seller hosts (and in fact most other hosts out there) our plans ONLY have limits on the space and bandwidth, we don't have arbitrary limits on the number of websites, email, mySQL databases or FTP accounts (An extra Website or Email account does not cost us more, only the space and bandwidth it uses does so why limit them). So you can create as many as you like as long as the resource used by them falls within the space and bandwidth limits of the plan.

There is a point here. Some hosts do offer unlimited everything, and then throttle the CPU usage to 5% This is done to protect the other customers sites on the server. Yes I have had 3 of my sites WAY over 100GB a month. Stream video's, and you will for sure exceed 100GB, and hit the CPU usage cap (which appears in the very fine print for most sergver companies)

Unlimited actually means limited, because another parameter which is limiting you prevents you ever getting near that number

Lets call a shovel a shovel. ALL servers are limited - limited by the Pipe that is connected to them. Eventually something allways has to give somewhere

[Place of design]

I am currently in the process of setting up a website but am only at the research stage as there are so many hosters out there. I'm confused as to who is the best, i want a reasonably priced hoster with decent facilities like shopping cart, pay pal facilities and maybe credit card facilities, depending on the price. I would also like one with decent search engine options, I.E i want to be at the top of google's search results. :):rolleyes: i would also like it to be easy to set up and simple to upload products for sale, also what is the best security merchant to go with for price? I've been in contact with verisign but they are asking to much and beyond my budget. Thanks in advance.
We are website designers and developers. As mentioned above, It does sound like you need the services of a company like us, both in terms of developing the site and steering you in the decision making procces in choosing a server provider

Feel free to call me in my office (normal office hours)

Richard KIng
0115 845 8953
www.placeofdesign.com

[staffjam]

I'm currently with clook.net - very good service and no problems.
I've also been hearing very good things about downtownhost.com

[JCP]

Hi

We've always used www.agl-host.co.uk, we have about 40 sites hosted with them and have always found them reliable and pretty good value; worth checking out.

cheers
Jamie