web hosting

[taigr81m]

anyone have any web hosting tips? I'm going to launch a few sites this year and next and I'm looking for a good host. I've noticed hostgator, dreamhost and blue host. any horror stories or positive notes? any host recommendations? I'm looking for unlimited bandwidth, use of more than one domain, unlimited subdomains, ftp; support for asp, php, mysql, and flash. Simply put, tell me what you know about the aforementioned hosts or others.

Thanks.

[AxelSteelBMX]

In my experience, Bluehost crumbles under light-to-medium bandwidth loads. They also lost my entire website when the server it was hosted on got hit by a virus somehow. The price was about the only good thing about my experience with Bluehost in the long run.

[Mert]

I've never had a problem with Bluehost in the many years I've been with them, but my bandwidth needs are very small. Ymmv.

[sheep2001]

I use just host for my business (www.pechluna.com). They have some bad press, but I've never had a problem with them in more than 5 years

[taigr81m]

Thanks for the tips, friends.
I am going to process a few copyrights and trademarks, then I am going to decide on a host.

[wiggy]

In my experience, Bluehost crumbles under light-to-medium bandwidth loads. They also lost my entire website when the server it was hosted on got hit by a virus somehow. The price was about the only good thing about my experience with Bluehost in the long run.

I'm using bluehost for www.rosecoloredgaming.com and have had no issues yet (now that I've said that...)

[taigr81m]

bluehost was my original choice but the unlimited info makes me think that they prefer limited activity. in other words, more money for less. sounds like a highway with a toll but it comes with a catch that traffic needs to be minimal or you cannot use it. odd way of describing restrictions.

I am looking closer at hostgator. I can always change it later but I like the unlimited explanation much better; hostgator makes it obvious that they mean file sharing and illegal activity. plus, hostgator offers a toll free number with ecommerce package and a dedicated ip. I may start with hostgator and see how it goes but I'm not done researching.

[wiggy]

I'm not sure that I'm following what you're saying there

I can check our traffic on the site for.  We haven't experienced any issues or restrictions though.  Not sure what kind of traffic you're expecting, so I can't say for sure whether or not we're going to experience similar traffic.

[taigr81m]

Hello, Wiggy, before I get to hosting issues I want to tell you that your site is nice. I like the rose colors. good stuff.

anyway, banning and limitations is nothing new to me. my isp is astonished at the 120gb+ per month that i consume. I use alot of apps and do alot of work simultaneously, id est, multi-tasking. I have been blocked by webmasters because of how quickly i can download even images. A company once blocked me because my activity resembled an autobot. lol.

since web hosting is sharing a server with other users, say wwwroot/Taigr, wwwroot/wiggy, wwwroot/Arseen etc., it appears to me that bluehost will limit bandwidth if <i>they</i> feel that you are interrupting the service for other users. The way that they describe the terms of unlimited bandwidth does not settle well with me. The agreement reminds me of a satellite provider. marketing and hype but they really want small-engine planes not jets. Other than the unlimited data, bluehost seems okay to me. I just do not want another problem with things such as traffic control, violations of freedom of speech, random legal actions (just because someone claims infringement does not mean that it is infringement; leave it to attorneys and judges to decide. Maybe I have an idea and it is similar to another persons idea does not mean that you can play judge and jury and shut down my site because the other party claims infringement.)

Business world is rough. I remember when Pawn Stars tried to sue another shop in Florida for infringement but the other shop had common law rights. I have had bad experiences with companies that word contracts the way that bluehost words the unlimited agreement. I do not intend to defeat big companies with traffic but sometimes I can generate a large amount of traffic. I believe that sustained high volumes should warrant investigation but not immediate control. Bluehost makes me worry about big brother tactics and I am uncomfortable with their agreement as a whole.

I am not trying to discourage anyone from using bluehost. I do not discredit anyones approval of the service. I am just not satisfied with the legalese of the unlimited bandwidth and i'd rather find a better agreement. i do have some nifty applications that i intend to use and some of them could generate high traffic at times and i worry about bluehost controlling my traffic in an unfair manner.

[taigr81m]

by the way, i am just a bad customer for service providers. lol. people always look at me strange when i tell them that i am building a new desktop with 64gb of ram - they always wonder why i need so much ram. i am not a typical user and my needs are different than those of the masses. I feel that i will not have a good experience with bluehost. perhaps i am not their ideal customer/client.

try compiling a program while editing an image,  listening to music, using desktop sharing and voice chat while downloading and surfing the web - 8gb of ram seems much slower. i am not a typical user of pcs and i am not a typical webmaster.