Author Topic: Good/cheap web host? (Read 3976 times)

bavman · « **on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 17:58:06 »

I mainly want to set up my own custom email, but also do stuff like store stuff on my site, or maybe finally learn some HTML.

I found this site: http://www.ipage.com/hosting-features.html

It offers unlimited bandwidth/storage/email and free domain registration. It ends up being $77 for 2 years I think, or $34 for 1 year.
Anyone have experience with them or would recommend something else? I haven't really heard of the company so would it be safer going with a more reputable host?

SmallFry · « **Reply #1 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 18:03:47 »

Domains are fairly cheap. I'd suggest GApps for your email. You get a gmail address at your domain, its pretty slick. I have no clue on domains, since my dad owns the one I use. PM me of you have questions about GApps.

bavman · « **Reply #2 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 18:14:48 »

Looks interesting, I'll look at it, but I still kinda want a web host if I can get one for cheap.

Do you know if it matters who I register my domain with? I just want one with private registration.

AriesX · « **Reply #3 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 18:22:57 »

https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/services/email

this is a good alternative

Leslieann · « **Reply #4 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 19:22:08 »

Quote from: bavman on Wed, 27 February 2013, 17:58:06

It offers unlimited bandwidth/storage/email and free domain registration. It ends up being $77 for 2 years I think, or $34 for 1 year.
Anyone have experience with them or would recommend something else? I haven't really heard of the company so would it be safer going with a more reputable host?

If you just want a simple web page, all will be fine, do anything else with it and you will see what the real cost is.
A simple web page uses almost no system resources or bandwidth. The moment you use a database, or start storing large files, they will clamp down on you so fast your head will spin. What they aren't telling you, is how much of the server resources you can use. They will limit your transmit speeds, and if you use too much processor (at those rates, 1or 2% is all you will get), they will force you onto another plan, or restrict you to where your web pages run horribly slow and error out.

Personally, I'm using Hostgator. They are similarly priced, well known and well respected. If you need more resources, you can easily add it to your plan, for cheap, without being stuck in a contract.

Also, DO NOT get a plan that includes a domain name and a contract.
If anything happens or you want to move, they have control of your domain name and it can be a battle to get it. If they give you a free domain, fine, but use it as a backup, or at the very least, transfer it out as soon as you can. I have seen many sites lose their domains over this. They have every right to hold it hostage until you pay up if you fall behind and/or want to move. Keep your hosting and your domains separate.

While I may not like their advertising or politics, Godaddy is a good domain registrar, it's well priced and easy to use and yes, they offer private registrations.

fohat.digs · « **Reply #5 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 19:53:30 »

Go Daddy !

Go Daddy might well be the most amazing and excellent company that I have ever dealt with.

I have a personal domain/web site for my family, as well as a few for our small business, and they have always been absolutely outstanding.

They will give you whatever help you need, wait times by telephone are never long, and the people are just great and courteous.

If you walked up to me on the street, and asked me off the top of my head, "What is the most outstanding company you have ever dealt with online?" I would instantly answer "Go Daddy!"

No, they don't pay me to say this - they are that good.

Somebody else may be a few pennies cheaper, but I am sold on Go Daddy!

rknize · « **Reply #6 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 19:56:22 »

I've used GoDaddy. For the money, their service is decent. Performance is poor for the cheap hosting options, but it is serviceable. Their management interfaces can be a somewhat cumbersome, but are not horrible once you figure them out. I had both hosting and domains there for a time. They are managed separately.

sth · « **Reply #7 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 20:10:38 »

are you guys kidding?
godaddy is one of the most difficult to deal with, convoluted awful excuses for a hosting company i've ever had the displeasure of working with. the way their control panel is set up makes it a total hassle to move around and do anything with your account. i am stuck managing a site hosted on godaddy and every time i have to login to manage anything it's like pulling teeth.
i mean, if it works for you, great, but it's not all sunshine and daisies for a lot of us.

in addition to that they have awful politics; they supported sopa/pipa until their customers complained -- then went right back to funding campaigns for similar bills. plus the owner of the company or CEO or whatever kills elephants for fun and that's just ****ed up.

NFSnet is rad, hosting the oldschool way. eleven2 wasn't bad back in the day when I used em either.
I used to work for OpenAccess.org -- their site isn't much but they are reliable and friendly, and they actually make daily/weekly/monthly backups of your account no matter what service you go with... more than can be said for nearly every other shared hosting service. plus you get the option to manage your DNS via cpanel which can be handy. please note that i do not receive anything for recommending them

i just know how the company runs and I can pretty comfortably say they're a great option compared to many other hosts. there are probably plenty more like them out there though.

Hak Foo · « **Reply #8 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 20:36:44 »

The bigger the host, the more they tend to molest the hosting features. You just want someone who gives you a normal cPanel install with no "custom" surprises.

I've used Ubiquity for work, and they're generally competent when I have issues.

codyeatworld · « **Reply #9 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:31:48 »

Quote from: SmallFry on Wed, 27 February 2013, 18:03:47

Domains are fairly cheap. I'd suggest GApps for your email. You get a gmail address at your domain, its pretty slick. I have no clue on domains, since my dad owns the one I use. PM me of you have questions about GApps.

Sadly Gapps is not longer free, its $50 dollars per user/yearly on a custom domain.
If you signed up for gapps already however under the ~10 user limit, it will remain free.

http://googleenterprise.blogspot.ca/2012/12/changes-to-google-apps-for-businesses.html

Quote from: Leslieann on Wed, 27 February 2013, 19:22:08

Personally, I'm using Hostgator. They are similarly priced, well known and well respected. If you need more resources, you can easily add it to your plan, for cheap, without being stuck in a contract.

While I may not like their advertising or politics, Godaddy is a good domain registrar, it's well priced and easy to use and yes, they offer private registrations.

From what I remember Hostgator offers email service with your server that you could use a client like Thunderbird or Outlook (or your email phone app) to check your mail. I have not used Hostgator in a few years.

It's okay to buy your domain from godaddy, but don't purchase anything else. Same goes for Network solutions. They both offer private registration, godaddys probably cheaper.

bavman · « **Reply #10 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:37:14 »

I decided to go with godaddy just because it was really cheap. I was able to get my domain for ~$1.50 and private registration for $10. It also comes with 1 email so I can just forward everything to my gmail from there, or it'll hold me over until I find somewhere I like.

quickcrx702 · « **Reply #11 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:44:13 »

Bluehost, they have great support, and a great price. Otherwise just host it yourself if you wanna be ultra cheap.

sth · « **Reply #12 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:53:43 »

Quote from: bavman on Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:37:14

I decided to go with godaddy just because it was really cheap. I was able to get my domain for ~$1.50 and private registration for $10. It also comes with 1 email so I can just forward everything to my gmail from there, or it'll hold me over until I find somewhere I like.

oh i forgot to mention, openaccess.org provides domain privacy for free as do some other scrupulous registrars... because it doesn't really cost anything to do that.
you basically paid less for the product that costs godaddy money but they made up for it by charging you for a service that effectively costs nothing...

SmallFry · « **Reply #13 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:54:50 »

bavman: don't pay for email. You can use GApps and it's free, plus you don't need to use the poopy UI that will come with a domain. GApps is a Gmail service for your domain, if you use less than 10 accounts, you can use it for free.

bavman · « **Reply #14 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 22:05:10 »

I actually checked, since december 2012 its not free anymore (unless you had it previously), but its not a problem. You automatically get an info@domain email for free that you can delete and change into something else, so I just set it up to forward to my gmail and all is well.

Quote from: sth on Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:53:43

Quote from: bavman on Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:37:14
I decided to go with godaddy just because it was really cheap. I was able to get my domain for ~$1.50 and private registration for $10. It also comes with 1 email so I can just forward everything to my gmail from there, or it'll hold me over until I find somewhere I like.
oh i forgot to mention, openaccess.org provides domain privacy for free as do some other scrupulous registrars... because it doesn't really cost anything to do that.
you basically paid less for the product that costs godaddy money but they made up for it by charging you for a service that effectively costs nothing...

I didn't know that, but do I have to buy my domain through them to get that, or can I just protect a per-registered domain.
In my haste I overlooked the coupon for a $4 domain + free privacy reg....oh well

SmallFry · « **Reply #15 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 22:13:27 »

What the hell. That's a shame...

quickcrx702 · « **Reply #16 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 22:23:29 »

Quote from: SmallFry on Wed, 27 February 2013, 21:54:50

bavman: don't pay for email. You can use GApps and it's free, plus you don't need to use the poopy UI that will come with a domain. GApps is a Gmail service for your domain, if you use less than 10 accounts, you can use it for free.

Sorry, but that is no longer the case. They used to give away 100 free accounts, then 50, 25, 10, and now zero. I'm a Google Apps reseller, so I can assure you that they got rid of the free tier.

bavman · « **Reply #17 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 22:28:27 »

Are there any free services like that around from someone else that would allow multiple emails or multiple domains if I decide on that in the future?

Leslieann · « **Reply #18 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 22:51:46 »

Quote from: sth on Wed, 27 February 2013, 20:10:38

are you guys kidding?
godaddy is one of the most difficult to deal with, convoluted awful excuses for a hosting company i've ever had the displeasure of working with. the way their control panel is set up makes it a total hassle to move around and do anything with your account. i am stuck managing a site hosted on godaddy and every time i have to login to manage anything it's like pulling teeth.
i mean, if it works for you, great, but it's not all sunshine and daisies for a lot of us.

in addition to that they have awful politics; they supported sopa/pipa until their customers complained -- then went right back to funding campaigns for similar bills. plus the owner of the company or CEO or whatever kills elephants for fun and that's just ****ed up.

NFSnet is rad, hosting the oldschool way. eleven2 wasn't bad back in the day when I used em either.
I used to work for OpenAccess.org -- their site isn't much but they are reliable and friendly, and they actually make daily/weekly/monthly backups of your account no matter what service you go with... more than can be said for nearly every other shared hosting service. plus you get the option to manage your DNS via cpanel which can be handy. please note that i do not receive anything for recommending them i just know how the company runs and I can pretty comfortably say they're a great option compared to many other hosts. there are probably plenty more like them out there though.

I looked at Godaddy hosting months ago, it wasn't a good option.

I agree with you about Godaddy's politics, and their interface has certainly gotten worse... BUT... As a registrar, I have had far better luck with them than I have with others. I have had some serious hair raising experiences with hosts and registrars, but never with them. I don't like them, or how they do business, but at least I know the system and I know it works. Sometimes, the devil you know is better than the one you don't. Everything with Godaddy is right there in your face.

As for NFS, my hosting costs for my three sites and their 250gigs of bandwidth a month would double by switching to them. At which point, I may as well go back to just leasing a dedicated server again or getting a business class cable line put in and hosting myself.

I may not be 100% happy with Hostgator, I'm pretty darn close!

Web hosts and registrars are easily as bad as the auto industry for being full of snakes. My last host, who was an absolute nightmare was better than others I tried, and that is including the $5000 they bilked me for over 10 years.

Hak Foo · « **Reply #19 on:** Wed, 27 February 2013, 23:31:08 »

In 2007, GoDaddy lost a server (a VPS technically) for my firm.

The narrative, I think, was roughly, "We migrated your VPS from box A to box B" then re-spun-up box A at some point, because the whole server reverted to how it was six months earlier. Backups saved all but about a week of work, but it was two days of solid work recovering and restoring everything.

The problem was that they refused to admit or research what was going on.

Months later, as we kept the broken VPS for a while in case we needed to salvage anything, they "found" the missing version,

bavman · « **Reply #20 on:** Thu, 28 February 2013, 00:30:34 »

I actually found this website called 000webhost.com
It has a free option and its actually pretty loaded with features much like many paid services. I think it'll do nicely for my simple needs

phx · « **Reply #21 on:** Thu, 28 February 2013, 14:16:14 »

Quote from: bavman on Thu, 28 February 2013, 00:30:34

I actually found this website called 000webhost.com
It has a free option and its actually pretty loaded with features much like many paid services. I think it'll do nicely for my simple needs

that host has a VERY limited amount of bandwidth, but hey, it's free.

maybe someone has already mentioned, you can use a localhost like WAMP for all your testing/learning needs, and when you are done and actually need to use the website you can then move it to an online host. But I wouldn't use a free service if you need reliable service to your customers/viewers.

personally I've been using justHost, it has some downtime once in a while but it's tolerable.

Binge · « **Reply #22 on:** Thu, 28 February 2013, 18:00:23 »

bavman~ you have mail.

samwisekoi · « **Reply #23 on:** Thu, 28 February 2013, 19:07:20 »

For work requiring wheel access, I use and recommend phpwebhosting.com. Cheap, full vhost, no limits or metering.

For just a dopey web hosting/registrar I am currently trying 1and1.com. I don't hate them.

I do hate GoDaddy, especially for DNS. I have had many clients go dark because they mistook the nice GUI and helpful phone manners for technical competence. Then there was SOPA, etc. I have replaced them with 1and1.com for basic/noob needs.

YMMV,

- Ron | samwisekoi

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Author Topic: Good/cheap web host? (Read 3976 times)