Relatively new designer here (ok, I am in High School. But that shouldn’t change anything). Looking for my first host and have been trying to find the best place for me. Heres a list of all the people I am thinking of… Basically, I just need some shared hosting, preferably with the option to host more than 1 domain on an account… I don’t need much specific as I don’t use much javascript of PHP (working on that this summer).
Site5 -They seem good and I’ve heard support is awesome and have seen the CEO on the forums here. Pretty inexpensive prices too
Hostgator- I like them but it is slightly more expensive and seems more unfriendly.
1&1 - Has good reviews
HawkHost - really supported on webhostingtalk
as well as some others I cannot verify all good reviews
Dreamhost
StableHost
2Eleven
JaguarPC
MDDHosting
Any favorites? Since I am pretty new, the requirements are going to be pretty lax for now. I doubt the sites I build will attract more than a few new people a day. They will mainly be for local people and small businesses that just need an easy site with contact info and pricing (oh, and the occasional artist who needs a site keeps those designer juices flowing). Any thoughts by you? So far I like site5 the best, as it is not as big as hostgator and has a more personal feel.
Most hosting accounts with a cPanel control panel will offer the option to host more than one domain (as will others, of course). Are you looking for USA-based hosting?
I used to host with Site5 but they suffered from a change of leadership. Ben (new CEO a couple of years ago) took over and has been said to have corrected the old problems.
1&1 has a reputation almost as bad as GoDaddy.
I’m currently using two hosts: WebHostingBuzz for specialty (Joomla) and audio/video hosting. I’ve had ZERO problems with them for several years so I have no idea of their speed in resolving problems (I’d rather not find out, thank you) and WebHostingZoom whose support staff has been very good over several years for a number of problems.
From personal experience I would avoid 1and1. Their customer service is appauling and they are very rigid. If its not in the manual they won’t do it!
I can highly recommend www.heartinternet.com - I have been hosting with them for years with very few problems, prices are competitive (for a UK host) but the main point is that their customer service is excellent.
@Mydomaiz - Preferred budget is around 5-7 dollars a month
@bfpon - The ability to manage 2 or more domains from an account (I think) for example, the hostgator hatchling plan only supports 1 domain. So I want to be able to manage, say mydomain.com and clientsdomain.com on an account. Preferably though, I am looking for a U.S based host, somewhere in the west. Will avoid 1&1 (they didnt look all that great anyways )
@Technobear - I’m looking for U.S based hosting, preferably near or in the northwest. I’ll settle for pretty much anywhere on the west coast. Site5 is in dallas, and I got around 80ms pings from them (Cant tell if that is good or bad, but it was better than seattle which surprisingly is closer)
@Dklynn Thanks for the info- I will be checking them out. I have seen Ben a lot on the forums and he seems pretty eager to help with any mistakes and get his support team in shape
Gonna try a site5 trial. They seem to be good, support answered in less than 2 minutes to my question. I’ll expand probably if I need it. If it doesnt turn out I am highly thingking of hostingbuzz and hosthawk
Godaddy is notorious for being expensive and rude. I t probably does vary with every customer, as you have 8 years with them, but I don’t want to risk it.
Some of the big box hosts are now using their own control panels over cPanel which leaves many users at a loss. Godaddy is more of a domain seller and HG has become a big box company at this point. Many mid-sized hosting providers still offer cPanel free for shared hosting. You might also want to consider the value of free daily backups and restores as an added benefit. Some of your short listed hosting providers might be a better bet because they still offer the benefits of the bigger hosts but have added values in their packages. Some even still have their CEO’s posting on their forums.
For first hosts, I recommend going with a well known company open before the 2000’s hit. Make sure you start out with a shared hosting plan first to avoid high monthly payments.
keeps those designer juices flowing). Any thoughts by you? So far I like site5 the best, as it is not as big as hostgator and has a more personal feel.