:: TechBlog :: » web hosting http://techblog.touchbasic.com/html Techblog is collection of articles covering a wide variety of tech related topics including: Linux, Microsoft, Google, web development, web design, open source, wordpress, security, and more. Thu, 04 Mar 2010 15:51:35 +0000 en hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.0.1 Quest for the holy Web Host http://techblog.touchbasic.com/html/quest-for-the-holy-web-host/ http://techblog.touchbasic.com/html/quest-for-the-holy-web-host/#comments Fri, 09 Dec 2005 02:45:20 +0000 elran http://techblog.touchbasic.com/html/?p=156 [ page last updated: Dec. 10, 2005. ]

So i’m on a new mission: find a web hosting provider that meets my current requirements, test a couple out and slowly move over some of my current domains to said provider. i figured that i’d document my research and post it for any who might be in a similar situation. i’ll begin with a brief list of my requirements, followed by a summary of the hosting services being considered and compared. Lastly, i am going to try and sort out various features and determine which service would likely be the best match for my needs.

Key web hosting features (required):

  1. multiple domain add-ons (at least 15)
  2. unlimited mysql databases (or minimum 50)
  3. 1 Gb disk space or more
  4. no restrictions on email addresses, forwarding, autoresponders, mailing lists, etc.
  5. cpanel, with file manager, disk usage viewer, directory protection, etc.
  6. some type of backup (full site backups as well as individual mysql db backups)
  7. general domain management (including unlimited subdomains)
  8. lots of stats (site-wide stats, subdomain stats, overall bandwidth usage, etc.)
  9. other features: phpmyAdmin, ftp access, ssh shell

Many of the features mentioned above come standard with a mid-range web hosting plan priced at approximately $15.00US per month. Other features such as multiple domain add-ons will likely be harder to find in a plan of this price range. i’ll probably have to make some compromises here and there. The objective is to match as many of these features with one of the following provider’s hosting plans.

Here are the web hosting providers being considered for this comparison:

IX Web Hosting -
plan: ix Value Plan
price: $12.99/month
disk space: 10Gb
domain add-ons: 4
MySQL DBs: 4

trade off – only 4 domain add-ons and 4 MySQL DBs.
extras – aside from tons of disk space, this plan includes a free domain name registration, 50Gb bandwidth per month, unlimited email/ftp accounts, and 99.9% uptime.
verdict – probably not enough to make the cut

StartLogic -
plan: Virtual Server
price: $14.95/month
disk space: 5 Gb
domain add-ons: YES
MySQL DBs: YES

trade off – none.
extras – ssh shell, 100Gb bandwidth per month, unlimited email/ftp accounts, and backups on demand.
verdict – maybe, but the info on the site is a bit confusing. will have to email for more details.

Globat Web Hosting –
plan: Terabyte Packageâ„¢ T02
price: $14.95/month
disk space: 15 Gb
domain add-ons: ? (unclear)
MySQL DBs: YES

trade off – unclear how many domain add-ons. looks like only one, with the option to buy more (up to 5 domains)
extras – offers the most disk space of the plans being considered, unlimited email/ftp accounts.
verdict – probably shouldn’t even be on this list but.. 15Gb, so..

Clear-Data -
plan: Gold
price: $15.00/month
disk space: 1Gb
domain add-ons: 12
MySQL DBs: 12

trade off – only 12 domain add-ons and 12 MySQL DBs. also, only 24 email/ftp account (unlimited forwarders)
extras – weekly backups, ssh shell, 25Gb bandwidth per month.
verdict – not bad, but probably not enough to be the one.

Yahoo Web Hosting -
plan: Web Hosting STANDARD
price: $14.96/month
disk space: 10Gb
domain add-ons: ? (unknown)
MySQL DBs: YES

trade off – unknown how many domain add-ons.
extras – lots of disk space, 500 email addresses, bonus: more email storage than anyone else offers – 2 GB per address! (apparently not related to disk space usage), built-in Norton AntiVirus and Spam Guard, and hourly/daily/weekly backups.
verdict – some of the best extra feature in the lot, but again, will have to email for more details regarding domain add-ons.

Site5.com -
plan: Superhostingâ„¢ XTREME
price: $8.77/month (paid quarterly)
disk space: 11Gb
domain add-ons: YES
MySQL DBs: YES

trade off – none.
extras – losts of disk space, 400 GB bandwidth per month, Flashback automatic backups, True MultiSite (multiple domains with individual logins), Ruby on Rails Enabled, built in Clam Antivirus scanning, unlimited email/ftp accounts, ssh shell, hourly/daily/weekly backups, and 99.9% Uptime Guarantee.
verdict – looks good. the only issue is that you need to pay them every 3 months, instaed of monthly like almost everyone else. However, the 60-Day Money Back Guarantee is twice as long as any of other hosting plans so that should ease the pain a little.

PagesGarden -
plan: Business
price: $7.00/month (paid quarterly)
disk space: 4Gb
domain add-ons: 5
MySQL DBs: 5

trade off – only 5 domain add-ons and 5 MySQL DBs. also, only 15 free subdomains.
extras – 60 GB bandwidth per month, unlimited email/ftp accounts, daily backups (and something called archive manager).
verdict – not so good. you also need to pay them every 3 months.

HostGator -
plan: Swamp
price: $9.95/month
disk space: 5Gb
domain add-ons: YES
MySQL DBs: YES

trade off – none.
extras – 75 GB bandwidth per month, unlimited email/ftp accounts, instant backups.
verdict – also looks good. you can pay monthly.

A Small Orange -
plan: Medium
price: $10.00/month
disk space: 1Gb
domain add-ons: YES
MySQL DBs: YES

trade off – none.
extras – 25 GB bandwidth per month, unlimited email/ftp accounts, Daily off-site backups, Ruby on Rails Enabled, built in Clam Antivirus scanning.
verdict – looks really good. you can pay monthly. the only thing to consider is the 99.5% uptime guarantee – friend or foe? [see comments]

Final Notes -

Some obvious things to look out for when deciding on a web hosting provider:

  • don’t go with a provider who’s own company website appears to be slow. chances are, if their site runs slow, yours will too.
  • don’t go with a provider who’s own company website is sometimes unavailable. if you go to their homepage twice in two days and one of the times you get: “The page cannot be displayed”, check that you typed the URL correctly in the address bar. if you did, then it might be time to move on. that’s 50% uptime, since your users are likely not interested in calculating averages over time.
  • don’t go with a provider that doesn’t display the prices for their hosting plans until well into the signup process. ask yourself, why would they be trying to hide something that every other company is trying to put directly in your face?
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