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Search Tech-Forums - link takes you to our Forum's search page. Note: The following is only a text archive! To view the actual forum discussion, please visit our website at http://www.tech-forums.net Pages:1 Web Host(Click here to view the original thread with full colors/images)Posted by: DerekGoodson I am designing a website that I want have up and running this winter some time... I am looking for referals for Web hosting. Posted by: Kubel I can't give any referrals since I guarantee you I would be biased ;) - but here's some tips for when you get a good list of possible candidates: [b]Find Reviews[/b] There's plenty of people proclaiming the greatness of web hosts out there (as well as plenty of negative reviews). I suggest gathering a list of potential hosts from forums like WebHostingTalk.com. Once you have a list, start doing searches for them and find all the dirt about them. A web hosts best ally and worst enemy is its customers. [b]Avoid Oversellers[/b] Overselling is very common in web hosting. Most hosts bank on the fact that you will only use a small fraction of the web space and bandwidth you signed up for. This in itself isn't bad, but hosts will quickly find themselves in over their heads- and this is where problems arise. Companies that really oversell have poor support, slow performance, and are overall a mess to do business with. If a host offers unlimited disk space or unlimited bandwidth- stay away! If a host offers an unusually large amount of disk space and bandwidth at a low price, [i]read the terms of service[/i] carefully to make sure there's no hidden clauses that prevent you from uploading things like legal MP3s, movies, pictures, etc... If you pay for something, you should be able to use it for whatever you want as long as its ethical, legal, and unabusive. A lot of oversellers have hidden clauses that prevent you from using x% of your disk space for certain file types simply because they know they can't handle it if someone actually used all the disk space and bandwidth they ordered. [b]Sign up with the smallest package[/b] Avoid getting a large package just because you think it's a good deal and that you will grow into it. Go with the smallest package that fits your needs for 1 month. Your goal is to get the smallest package you can possibly get. You can always upgrade/downgrade without penalties as long as you pay per month- and package changing is done on the fly with no downtime- so take advantage of this and save your cash. No need paying for something you won't use. [b]Know what you need[/b] Do you need Windows or Linux hosting? Do you have a preferred control panel? Do you want to be able to resell? How many domains do you want to host? Will you need PHP or ASP? MySQL? MSSQL? How many subdomains, email accounts, databases, etc... do you require? What is your budget? How many hits do you plan to get? How much bandwidth? Disk space? Find out what you [i]need[/i] and pick the most conservative plan you can. [b]Ask for discounts[/b] If your list of best hosts are down to a few, have a talk with their sales staff to get answers to your questions (but most of all, to get a feel for the company, and whether or not you feel comfortable doing business with them). If you really are considering choosing them, ask them something like "if I were to sign up within the next hour, what kind of discount or incentive could you give me". Don't feel ashamed to ask for a deal. A lot of hosts will give you a free month or a discount for a few months or extra features just for asking in order to secure you as a potential client. [b]After you have been with them for 2+ months, post a review somewhere[/b] Give back to the resource pool by giving positive or negative reviews about your web host on relevant boards or review sites. Also, lots of hosts offer referral bonuses- so by networking with people, you can actually get some pretty impressive discounts on your hosting bill by getting other people to sign up. The biggest key to finding the right host for you is research! Good luck. Posted by: DerekGoodson Wow, thanks for the reply.... I will take this knowledge and run with it... vBulletin Copyright ©2000 - 2003, Jelsoft Enterprises Limited. PPC Management vB Easy Archive Final - Created by Xenon |