Looking for a new host

[Joyous]

Greetings all,

I’ve finally had it with my current web hosts and am looking to find a new one fairly quickly, so a couple of questions.

Firstly can anybody recommend a good and reliable host? My current host offers the following:

500MB of disk space
12GB of data transfer per month
FrontPage extensions version 2002
Unlimited POP3 [email protected]
Unlimited email forwarding [email protected]
Webmail for POP3 accounts
SMTP service for outgoing email
Email is filtered for Spam and Viruses
Unlimited subdomains of your domain name
e.g. http://subdomain.yourdomain.com/
CGI-BIN directory
Control Panel
Perl 5
PHP 4
SSI (server side includes)
MySQL Database
phpMyAdmin for MySQL management
SSH access
Full FTP access
Detailed visitor statistics
24hr Live support
Close control downflow air conditioning units
UPS system and Generator back-up
Servers located in London, UK

To be honest I don’t know what half of the above is and probably use even less. All I want is to be confident that my site is up and running, and that I am getting my e-mail.

Secondly, how quick/easy is it to change hosts. Do you have to give your old host notice that you’re moving or is it simply a case of finding a new one and moving. As you can probably tell this is not my area of expertise no any advice will be gratefully received.

Regards

Joy

 

[peekaboo]

Hi Joy,

I would recommend Phil from Openmind Hosting www.openmindhosting.co.uk he has helped numerous members on here, tell him Brett referred you hehe.

Regards
Brett White

 

[datahound]

I use www.me2uweb.com - no relation other than they are my hosts.

They are cheap but support is by email only and can take a while.

On the positive side you never need it. Their servers are stable and rarely have a problem maybe once a year a drive may fail but that has to be expected.

In terms of moving your webdesigner should be able to do that for small cost. It is a matter of backing up the current site and uploading it to the new hosting. And setting up the email addresses on the new system. Then changing the settings on you PCs to check for new mails.

To leave your host you have to inform them in the way they require, email, fax, letter. Tell them the "tag" of you new host and the process should be achieved by the two of them.

If I can help I will charge a small fee set up the hosting, email etc etc - Let me know.

 

[Ravenfire]

Hi Joy

First of all you dont have to give notice and I personally wouldnt say anything to them until you have moved to your new webhost.

Its very easy to change to a new webhost and there are a number on here that would be able to help you (wont do a list in case I miss anyone else).

I personally would recommend moving to a host where support is pretty good, whether you be able to contact them by email or telephone. I find it very frustrating when there is a problem with my site and I cant get in touch with someone to help.

Is the hosting just for your one website or do you have others hosted on there as well? You may find that you do not need quite as much as you have with your current webhost and thereby get a cheaper option.

HTH

Toni

 

[BlackBerryUK]

try www.names.co.uk
I have been using them for 3 years + now..and they have been great. very fast customer service. not sure how to transfer hosts and all that, as I never needed to. Hope things go smoothly for u

 

[sapphirewebdesign]

Hi Joy,

Just sent you a PM.

Kind regards

Ryan

 

[MyNI]

I like oneandone.co.uk, I have used globat.com in the past but their cheap prices are all they have going for them. Their support is dreadful at best so avoid them at all costs.

 

[Rachael]

Hi Joy,

I would recommend Phil from Openmind Hosting www.openmindhosting.co.uk he has helped numerous members on here, tell him Brett referred you hehe.

Regards
Brett White

I'd agree with Openmind

 

[ImageStudioz]

We supply servers, may be worth a look over, and can always monitor what you use and offer you a better deal.


Servers are in Redbus in Londons Docklands, so nice quick website access.

 

[MarkD]

I've never had any problems with my host www.heartinternet.co.uk . They have a comparison table for each option they offer so if nothing else you can compare with other providers.

 

[theMBA]

I've never had any problems with my host www.heartinternet.co.uk . They have a comparison table for each option they offer so if nothing else you can compare with other providers.

Mark,
I was just looking at heartinternet myself. They say they offer totally free web hosting. Is this right, or is it just a gimmick to get you to sign up to a very basic service, after which you need to pay for loads of stuff on top to make your site work the way you want it to?

My needs aren't too sophisticated - smallish content site with e-mails, e-payments from my customers, possibly a MySQL database for keeping member records.

And, BTW, I have no financial interest in them - I'm just looking for a new host and came across them in google.

 

[mattk]

I too use Haert Internet. Have been with them for over a year and run more domains than I can shake a stick at on my reseller account. They are very good indeed.

MBA - where do they say they offer free hsoting? The cheapest I can see is £2.49.

 

[MarkD]

I think the free version is a 1 month trial

Mark

 

[kyber]

You might want to consider the benefits of splitting some of these things up rather than putting all eggs in one basket and asking one company to be a master of all trades. The best spam/scam/virus filtering is done by specialists and many host companies effectively outsource this aspect to them but others try to do it themselves. You could look at a best of breed solutions and split things yourself up to take advantage of the solutions you like or go for an all in one managed service. A good managed service might use several suppliers others might be jack of all trades.

You domain web space and email domain do not need to be with the same provider. For example, you could point your email to a company like Vanquish.com to manage your email. They have an intelligent challenge/response system (rather than challenging every emailer and thus effectively becomming spammers themselves) and focus on the mail you want rather than the mail you don't, virus checking and webmail.

Stuart

 

[ewan]

http://www.streamlinenet.co.uk

 

[annethedonn]

http://www.freelanceofficeservices.co.uk/hosting_packages.htm

 

[pseudonym]

Have also sent you a PM, i am willing to offer a free trial and match what your existing host provides.

 

[Joyous]

Thanks to all of you who responded/PM’d/or otherwise contacted me about this posting. Urgency has abated somewhat as current hosts have finally sorted out the problem (after denying that the problem was at their end) but to be honest I’ve lost confidence in them. Will certainly be moving once I’ve gone through all the options.

Thanks once again for all your help.

Regards

Joy

 

[I, Brian]

Always really enjoyed clook - very good service and solid hosting - that's where I have my dedicated server and multiple client accounts.

 

[I, Brian]

Joy, if you don't mind my asking, who were you hosting with?

 

[trondez]

dedipower have served me ok hope that helps

Joy

 

[astutiumRob]

Firstly can anybody recommend a good and reliable host? My current host offers the following:

{snip}
To be honest I don’t know what half of the above is and probably use even less. All I want is to be confident that my site is up and running, and that I am getting my e-mail.

Secondly, how quick/easy is it to change hosts. Do you have to give your old host notice that you’re moving or is it simply a case of finding a new one and moving. As you can probably tell this is not my area of expertise no any advice will be gratefully received.

Perhaps a better starting point would be to list what you actually need:
how much space for the website
what "technologies" used on the site - like php or asp etc
how many email addresses you reuqire and how much mail you want the server to store
what the budget for the hosting is etc.

From that its easier to get a shortlist of the possible reputable hosts to use.

Moving *should* be relatively straightforward - get everything uploaded to the new host first, setup email accounts etc. Then update the nameservers on the domain to point at your new host. New views of your website and new emails from unknown senders will go top the new location, for a while while ISPs cache the old data, some will go to the old host.

Once you're confident everythings working, then cancel the old hosting.