Webhost

[Sazzy]

Hi,

I'm currently looking for a decent webhost. A box with php5 and mysql are a must. A linux box would be prefered due to the cheaper prices compared to windows hosting. A lot of webspace isn't required, but stuff like cPanel and the freedom to set your subdomains, general dns settings, mail settings, multiple mysql databases, etc are highly prefered.

I'm currently hosting a site at one.com. Mostly due to their very cheap prices. Their cheapest option comes with 3GB webspace, which for me is even overkill. I would really prefer if the host you suggest at least has 1GB of webspace, though (a buffer, just in case). However, they do not allow decent subdomains ( eg sub.domain.com auto redirects to domain.com/sub ), their control panel is not a decent cPanel or alike, but some homemade piece of crap that isn't user friendly nor gives much freedom in your settings. They only give out one mysql database too, which I didn't think bad of in the beginning, but having multiple things running on my site, the database really is getting a complete mess and I really want to separate all these completely different things that don't have anything to do with eachother. But worst of all, one.com's servers are lately SO slow that it's just getting annoying. Taking a few seconds at time to load a page is clearly unacceptable. Clearly terrible service, if you ask me. Then again, you get what you pay for.

Short recap, I want:

• Affordable
• freedom to do the settings you want
• this includes subdomains and email etc
• php5
• multiple mysql databases
• 1gb+ space
• cPanel prefered
• email forwarding required
• freedom in php scripting prefered (not TOO much blocking of special commands like for instance image generation)

I had my eye fall on godaddy's webhosting. Affordable and pretty much everything im asking for. I already had a domain name there before and was very pleased. At that time, I used to have a webhost account at hasweb and I was very pleased with this too. They have upgraded their offers though apparently (500GB diskspace etc) which is a bit overkill and I do not feel like paying the extra money anymore for things I won't use. (5 euro instead of 1.25)

My question to you guys now:
What would you do? Stay at one.com? Go to godaddy? Or something else?
Give me all your suggestions to where I should host! (both domain as web space)

Thanks in advance


Edit: Apparently, from reading the intarwebs, GoDaddy's control panel sucks too. : <

[Instab]

there're tons of providers for your needs but as a general thing i'd suggest to keep domain and hosting separated. saved me some trouble in the past

[Sazzy]

Yes, I realise that, though I will most likely get my domain at godaddy seeing they're one of the best for that. I just have no experience with their actual webhosting. Though seeing how they work, getting a domain there and a webhost, in no way links these two together. If I ever get sick of their webhost, i can still handle my domain there as if i didnt have a webhosting deal there. If that's what you mean at least, if not, be more concrete.

However, it would be nice if you could give me a concrete suggestion though, as that was what I wanted to know.

[Instab]

if i could i would have done so already of course but i'm afraid i don't know much about hosting packages below 10 bucks.
anyway from what i've heard over the years those standard setups like you described are pretty much the same everywhere. in those cases it's mostly a matter of who's cheaper

[Sazzy]

in those cases it's mostly a matter of who's cheaper

Apparently not since I've been f*cked over with bad services and no customizability at all by the cheap one

[Instab]

Apparently not since I've been f*cked over with bad services and no customizability at all by the cheap one

maybe you might wanna try one of the big international providers then

[Sazzy]

like godaddy, perhaps?
anyway, i started this thread mostly to see what other users experiences are. One.com seems pretty amazing for their pricing, but after getting it, you realize it's not. You can't really judge a book... errr a webhosting company.... by its cover If you read through companies offers, they ALL seem like the best company in the world. Real world experiences have taught me otherwise though

I started looking out for reviews but those are completely biased seeing there are a lot of people saying one.com is just amazing and they wouldn't switch hosts ever. While everyone I know that has an account there would switch in a heartbeat. It makes it hard to believe other reviews about hosts i haven't tried yet : /

Hope someone comes up with a suggestion anyway ^^

[Instab]

sorry to hear you've experienced such things. maybe i was lucky because for some people i bought one of the those one digit packages, every time a different provider and all went well

[Sazzy]

Can I ask which providers you picked and why? Or is that confidential ?

[Kool-Aid Man]

While I cannot answer your question specifically, I can warn you not to use Dreamhost. Their service is far below par, and their staff is wildly unprofessional.

[hontoCorti]

I can only recommend you some germany (or europe) base webhosters, i don't know if that is what you are seeking.
Btw there are also very cheap Virtual Servers or even Dedicated Servers that are worth a consideration. Naturally the setup there is more complicated in contrast to a Webhost provider, but also you can configure it how you wish.

[Sazzy]

honto, feel free to make your suggestions. I don't really mind where the servers are based. I'm european myself so I would probably benefit from a euro server in terms of speed.

I would probably prefer a webhost, due to its pricing and just being a little bit more simple. But if you know some cheap VPS hosts or dedicated ones (though I really doubt these will be cheap ), you can always suggest those too. I'm sure one of my friends will help me set it up :) If not, I'll pester Instab until he helps me

One requirement though, I hope these have an english translation as I don't speak German. Thanks in advance!

[jamilv]

Just do a good search, look for oldest running web hosts. In general there are a select group of big providers who have been around for the longest time and are the most reliable. You will pay more for hosting but you pay for the uptime and % chance of the company still being around in a month or two.
Search around on webhostingtalk and all, there are always deals for webhosting. From the specs you need I am sure you could get reliable hosting for under $5/month