Geek advice on webhosts

[kinzel]

I'm need in need of webhosting advice/info a for possible shared site of which I'd have only passing or short-term administrative oversight -- which might need to provide some streaming. Could need to handle 3 to 5 domains. (This is a semi-bluesky situation and I'm trying to help with ballpark costs and startup info. Since I'd rather not have all my baskets tied to the same pile of eggs, a search for a service that works and is not my current SRM host here in Maine). Cpanel or equivalent might be nice, multiple mysql accounts and FTP and such ... some reasonable number of email accoutns -- but you know, the webhost rating services all seem to allow buy-ins, and I'd like realworld instead of shill info if it is possible. Understand that I'm not expecting to have even 1/8 time IT staff, so easy access to support is also good. Price is a concern, but first is stability and accessible support.

So,

1. Can you tell me what hosts you would absolutely avoid. Realio trulio DON'T GO THERE place ... I don't need all the gory details, just a quick filter for me to knock off the first percentage of hosts.

2. And next, services that you have been glad to work with, over time. If you have a personal tie, that's ok, but better if you're able to mention that (even if you have to send me a note in quiet to research (at) catwhisker (dot) net )

Thanks!

Comments

[stormsdotter.livejournal.com]

I don't know if this will be right for you, but my site, ArsMagicae.com, is hosted by Objix.net (http://www.objix.net/), and my friend Joe Kozak works there.

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

I've used hostdime for years with no problems, but I also don't have a demanding website...supports multiple domains and cpanel and all. I've never had a problem with support, but I also have had very few reasons or needs to call/email them.

[growlycub.livejournal.com]

trolleypup, this looks very attractive. I've been using HostExcellence, but had lots of spam issues early on and my site was hacked once. Are you on a shared server?

[trolleypup.livejournal.com]

Yes...shared server...and I use a reseller account to host and manage my various websites.

[n6vfp.livejournal.com]

I had a dreamhost account for years, just recently pulled both domains down and will park them somewhere. I had huge amounts of space, and throughput, all the bells and whistles. You might check out their site. Support was great.

[melibabe.livejournal.com]

I also have been with Dreamhost for years, without any problems. They allow unlimited domains under one account, there is a ton of space/bandwidth, and they have a lot of "one click" installs for popular software.

[sb-moof.livejournal.com]

At $work, we use both EAPPS and Hosting.com (was hostmysite). I have had good experiences dealing with support from both of them. We host a ColdFusion site with EAPPS and a JSP site with Hosting.com. In both cases we were looking for specific platform expertise when we chose them. Both offer MySQL. On hosting.com, we run mysql on the same box as our jsp site. On EAPPS we have access to a shared mysql server. EAPPS also gives us cpanel access to our site. Both offer multiple types of hosting setups, so you may be able to find something that works for you. Let me know if you want more info, and I'll be able to look it up at work tomorrow.

[cailleuch.livejournal.com]

I and friends have been using Liquid Web for years. Very satisfied. I have no connection to them other then knowing a few of the people who work there (ex-students).

[sleary.livejournal.com]

Dreamhost and Media Temple both have excellent reputations, but they share a datacenter that has had far more than its share of downtime lately. Media Temple handled it well; Dreamhost has shown an astonishing lack of concern for their customers' lost business. Both have affiliate programs that entice web designers to keep saying nice things about them, but I wouldn't bother with either.

Avoid Lunarpages. When faced with a problem they don't know how to handle, they say "Your site is hogging the server's resources" without providing hard numbers, and they try to bully you into upgrading your account with assurances that doing so will solve the problem. It won't.

I have had excellent experiences with MDD (http://www.mddhosting.com/). As far as I can tell, it's not a well-known host, but the customer service is astonishingly good -- they will provide numbers and help you *avoid* having to upgrade a plan, and I've had email exchanges with tech support in the wee hours of Thanksgiving Day.

I hear good things about RackSpace from people I trust, but I have not dealt with them myself.

Check out everyone on Web Hosting Talk (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/) before signing on the dotted line.

[masgramondou.livejournal.com]

Dreamhost is good.

Dynamic-net.ch in Switzerland is good (but speaking German is a good idea of you need help)

I personally have had very few problems with godaddy but a lot of people swear at them

[keristor.livejournal.com]

I use Hurricane Electric, in San Jose CA (used to be in Fremont but they moved the server farm). Even though I'm not on the same continent they still give me good service (they host my LJ name dot net), some ridiculous amount of disk space, MySQL, CGI, shell access, etc. http://he.com

(I'm just a satisfied customer, no other connection.)

[zola.livejournal.com]

I use SF Webhost (http://www.sfwebhost.com), they have telephone support for regular customers.

Good uptime, but a bit anal about spam, to the point that I had to move a mailing list subscription to gmail because their software suddenly decided my list messages were spam. This may not be a bad thing, but should be mentioned.

Professional ties... not particularly. I occasionally do work for their sister hosting company, so I got free hosting for a couple of years, but now I'm a regular paying customer and haven't seen any need to change--prices are reasonable and I'm happy with the service.

[(Anonymous)]

I ran a business using IPower http://www.ipower.com/ (http://www.ipower.com/) as my host and was pleased with the service. Almost no down time, I can recall only 1 instance; and the provided tools helped a lot. However I would avoid their recommended credit card processing company. The rates are in line 3rd party providers, but you should be able to get a better deal through your bank.

Thank you -- thank you ..

[kinzel.livejournal.com]

I've come away with a lot of info, both from here and in a few private notes -- whne we get to serious discussing in the new year I'll feel a little more on top of my topic!