19 replies to this topic

[wholland]

Hi,

My current web host provider, [deleted company name] is really bad. They claim to have 99.9% uptime, but my site goes down for hours on a weekly basis. I recently changed to them from web.com where I had simmiliar problems. Right now ipowerweb is telling me that it will be at least 6 hours before someone can look at the problem, but they are not even sure anyone will be in at all to look at it until Monday.

Can anyone recomend a good web host provider. I need MySQL, PHP and an SSL cert.

Also, how will changing web host providers effect my ranking in google, yahoo, etc...

Thanks,
Will

Edited by Jill, 24 February 2004 - 01:34 PM.

[SearchRank]

The only web hosting company that I every truly thought was the absolute best was Communitech. However, they sold out to Interland a year or so ago who in turn then destroyed the company because well,... Interland sucks!.

Anyway a couple of former Communitect employess started a new company called Blue Virtual. They are awesome but not without the usual problems that can come from a new hosting company. The good thing is that when they do have problems, they respond to them. I myself am willing to stay with them as they grow despite some down time they have had.

Although I don't host with these guys, Ventures Online seems to be very reliable. They are the ones that host this forum and it is pretty much up all the time. I spend waaaaay too much time here so I should know.

There are a couple you can check out.

[cline]

If you need a dedicated Win server, I have a client that has gotten great service from Xiolink. They're not cheap, but they are good.

Another client has been happy with Tierra.net

Beyond this list I'd have to classify my other client's hosts as either mediorcre or bad (Interland is one of them, and is absolutely, positively BAD).

You might try http://www.kiwibloke.com/ I'm about to put a new site up there.

[SEO-Richard]

http://www.hostingmatters.net/ has gone beyond being a startup but is still a small and very professional outfit. I use them myself, they're brilliant.

[torka]

I've been happy with pairNetworks for the past couple of years. Switched to them from Interland, after Interland gobbled up VServers awhile back.

--Torka

[jbelle]

I concur wholeheartedly with Torka in recommending Pair.

Additionally, Netcraft has a listing of the best performing hosts.

If you can get your site set up on your new server and the DNS updated while both copies of your site are still active, you shouldn't have any trouble with the search engines. After a couple weeks (really a couple of days, but I like to be safe) you're fine to remove the old site. I've had great success moving sites. Even if your less than perfect current host gives you headaches, if you can get your site up quickly, you should be able to recover any rankings (that has been my experience, anyway).

[mopacfan]

I hosted with interland a few years ago before they merged with micron or whatever it was called. Interland does indeed SUCK. I had to babysit my site and check on it 2-4 times a day just to make sure it was up. I knew the tech support # by heart and was on a first name basis with most of the support techs. It was really irritating knowing that they knew significantly less than I about maintaining a web server and my level in that regard was not expert by any stretch.

I found a small hosting firm on the west coast and tried out a small site there since there were thousands of hosts to choose from. It turns out that in the two years or so since I've ended up hosting 30-60 sites there and only once ever had any down time that I was aware of because they were upgrading a firewall server.

Thier service is 100% and the prices are amazingly inexpensive. The firm is called Parcom (www.parcom.net). I don't get any benny's from referring them. I just feel your pain and Parcom has been an awesome host provider for me and for my clients.

Michael

[OldWelshGuy]

Just an aside here, but 1and1.co.uk are offering £50 of google adwords free with any hosting account, they start at £5 a month. miht be worth having a look.

OWG

[TopDog]

It looks like Interland sure has worked hard to develop a lousy reputation.

I'm working with some sites hosted at ValueWeb in Florida. I know opinions are going to vary on this subject, but so far they've been reliable and their tech support is responsive.

Here's a link to a PC Magazine review of inexpensive hosting options.

A Host of Options

Note that they give high marks to Interland, but I think some of their opinions are biased in favor of advertisers.

Craig

[Vertster]

I also have a client using Xiolink for a dedicated box, and they are very very happy with the service. Many of my clients are at Crystaltech and they are awesome. Their specialty is windows hosting, so if thats what you are looking for, check them out.

[arman]

I have been using aplus.net for last 6 months and IMO they are the best. So far they are manged to keep my site up and running every day with no down time. and they got live 24/7 customer service.

Edited by Jill, 23 February 2004 - 11:47 AM.

[reddevil]

my choice would be www.i-dentity.com, especially for the efficiency of their customer service and I have never experienced the server being down. They have a good range of different priced options too.

[copywriter]

Really, Will? You had a bad experience with ipowerweb? That's my host and I just LOVE them. Don't understand what the problem is with your site going down all the time.

That's a shame.

[ImVickieB]

We use RackSpace for our dedicated server. They are pricey but the customer service is really fanatical as they advertise. I would highly recommend them to anyone looking for a deda box.

[Hank Cowdog]

I work for a company that does server monitoring, and we use RackSpace for some of our externally hosted monitoring stations. We have only had one significant outage (a planned one at that). Highly recommended (IMHO) if you need a dedicated box (not shared with others).

Tech support is good to great. Never a problem accessing a live person. You are assigned a team for support, so you get to talk to the same folks more than once, and can establish a relationship rather than needing to explain from scratch every time.

Given the nature of our business, we actually have more inbound network traffic than outbound. We pull a steady 1MBit/sec(!) and our hosting averages about $350/month per box.

They have several plans based on bandwidth and how powerful a box you need.