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What Made You Choose Your Web Host?

(14 posts)

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  1. By “deciding factor” I mean which feature/quality of a host made you choose them. Price, scripting requirements, support options, reputation, etc. ?

    When choosing my last VPS provider, I was stuck between a handful different hosting companies all with similar price ranges and features. I searched through oodles of forum posts gathering customer reviews, asked webmaster friends for their recommendations, tested download times, etc.

    I also prefer to pay by PayPal ( I still love DreamHost, but this is a good reason not to have a CC hooked up to your account. ) — so I only hosts that accept PayPal.

    After all this, I was still left with a couple of choices — but then lucked out (working on this site helps) and found a good promo running for one of the hosts. So, my deciding factor was a coupon. I guess I just like to feel that I got a good deal 🙂

    So, what was your deciding factor when you chose your host?

    Posted 2 years ago #
  2. Not really a deciding factor, but I’ve always found it helpful to search for “hostname sucks” where hostname is the hosting company I’m considering. e.g. “Dreamhost sucks” or “MediaTemple sucks”.

    Of course, every host will have someone who thinks it sucks, but if you read a few of results you might find the thing they’re upset about is something that matters a lot to you. The absence of “sucks” results indicates either a good host or a new/unpopular one!

    Posted 2 years ago #
  3. I think the ‘Hostname sucks’ test is a good one.

    But as a qualifier, I think it’s fair to expect any host to have disgruntled customers. It’s how they deal with the grievance that’s important.

    Two examples I like from hosts I use:

    http://www.webhostingtalk.com/archive/index.php/t-448711.html
    http://www.upstartblogger.com/i-leave-dreamhost-dreamhost-leaves-me-almost-speechless

    The absence of ‘sucks’ results suggests a new host or overly aggressive legal dept, rather than a quality host, IMHO.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  4. FREE hosting for 2 years through a Yahoo! Geocities promotion (Dreamhost). Ever since then I have been using Dreamhost and haven’t had nay issues yet. The promotion also included a free domain.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  5. Again with “Hostname Sucks” if you have a huge company vs small one the huge one should have more. I like checking with the BBB (Better Business Bureau) at bbb.org. You can see the complaints and also the rating they got.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  6. My host is PacificRack, I picked them because of the awesome customer reviews they have around the interwebs, about how there customer support is the best and truly 24/7/365.



    I have no regrets that I went with PacificRack, AMAZING customer support, I’m not a managed customer, but they do many things I would consider to be for managed customers only, and they do it with no fuss. Phone support is also available 24/7. Best company I have ever been with.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  7. I chose to host with HostGator and now I’m having some second thoughts about there service. Within the past two weeks my website has went down 3 times and for long periods on time. When I contact them about the issue I always get the same response “We are working on the issue and it should not happen again. Well 3 times later and it really gets me thinking if I should switch out.

    Anyone got any suggestions?

    Posted 2 years ago #
  8. talicy
    Member

    I’m currently using Free Hosting, as I don’t have a Visa Card or Paypal, and so I can’t buy domains or purchase paid hosting. Well, I get my free hosting in exchange for around 10 posts a month on the forums, however, I often post more than that (at least 500-600 posts a month, no spam). They provide very good hosting with CPanel and services like Litespeed servers and also Fantastico and Installatron.

    @TevinQuevedo
    I haven’t actually used HostGator before (as mentioned above I use free hosting), but I’ve read a lot of reviews on them, saying that they shut down your hosting account without notice, making you unable to retrieve all your files or backup anything. They also do this without notice when you go over the server load a bit and a lot of people mentioned downtime.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  9. I chose my hosting through a recommendation of Jeff Johnson, a serious internet marketer, that has a resources page, in which he puts ads from several hosting companies, that offer affiliate commissions… but the GREAT thing was that they also offer a great service at a great price… I mean unlimited diskspace, bandwidth, email accounts, add-on domains, databases, with friendly cPanel w/Fantastico, 24-hour support by chat… well, it was a lot better than my previous deal + I could also get some commissions… of course, not here. There were some options, all seemed good, like Lunar Pages, Blue Host… I don’t remember exactly why I picked HostGator at the end but it was a very thorough review process, and I haven’t regret it, cause they’ve given me great service and unusual support.

    Telvin, I haven’t got any issues ever with my hosting with them, but I would like to know more details about how it happened, I haven’t got much traffic yet, and I’d hate to have issues with downtimes or shut-downs. I’ve just heard from them that they shut you down in case there is spam, with a 24-hours notice.

    Posted 2 years ago #
  10. For budget hosting, HostGator seem like a very good bet. Certainly, many satisfied customers have posted over in our reviews section:

    http://reviews.whoishostingthis.com/hostgator

    Posted 2 years ago #

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