General Category > General Discussion
Website Host
Colin:
Speak as you find
I had a really bad time when I was with 1&1 and I am not alone just Google them. Mind you I am sure that all hosts have a lot of negative comments.
Do some research before you select any host and then make your mind up. There are a couple of independent review sites of hosting like this one http://www.webhostingreviews.com/ or http://webhostinggeeks.com/. I have used Webhostingpad and Ninjalion since my experience with 1&1 and am very happy with the service from both of these companies. For domain registration I have found http://www.namecheap.com/ to be excellent but one to avoid is Godaddy.
I am not associated with any of the companies mentioned just a happy customer and this is offered as my experience YMMV.
Philip Greenwood:
Hello all
I may have started an interesting topic here. I have moved my website to JustHost.com and they have been very helpfully as have been Nominet how runs the domains name in the uk.
Thanks for all your comments so far, yes its a mine field as with anything in life, I have been told do use some hosts but then someone else say its a good host.
Well i think i am sorted for now.
Philip
Andy Coates:
Web hosts have a rough time generally, and more often than not it’s genuinely not a problem of their service but of the customer’s lack of understanding of both what they’ve purchased and what the facilities are.
You are buying four things essentially (five if you also purchase a domain name):
Physical space to store pages and images
Bandwidth which dictates the amount of traffic your site can take
Up time (the % of time the server is active without fault or failure)
User control panel which can have a staggering array of facilities
Often companies have dual arms; one for low use, small size websites (such as 123-reg), and the other for heavy-use (possibly commercial) sites (such as webfusion). Each will have distinct pricing and facilities.
The vast majority of websites require relatively little physical space to store the site. Most people seem to think they need almost endless storage. They probably don’t.
If your website is likely to get a lot of traffic, or is going to be image and flash heavy, then you probably need more bandwidth than you imagine – every time a page full of images is looked at your bandwidth gets used up like a coin-operated electricity meter.
Domain names always seem to cause a headache. Many packages offer a free domain name(s), but not all packages register those names to the purchaser of the package and retain ownership of the domain name themselves (thus restricting the authorised user (you) from lodging the domain against a website hosted elsewhere). For the sake of £2.99/yr (for a .co.uk) it’s far better to purchase the domain. Effectively they lease you the domain name. So buy first and then attach it to a package.
User control panels vary in usability and the number of facilities they provide. As a general rule the better (more expensive) the package the better the facilities and functions available.
This is where most conflicts between host and customer occur. Customer wants X and host says you can’t have it because it’s not in your package. And the customer then feels cheated when offered an expensive upgrade.
So there’s a minefield to walk over when publishing a website, and most of us learn off the cuff, which is never a good situation to work from. This is why web developers charge large fees for websites, it’s not the work as much as the ability to jump through hoops in the correct order and achieve an active website without the headaches. (Although I still feel most charge much to much).
The vast majority of individuals wanting a website would actually be far better off buying a domain name and lodging it against a pre-made template with one of the leading blogging companies. The templates are well made, attractive, user friendly, and can be changed at will to provide a constantly changing look. And all at a fraction of the cost of an expensive top-level hosting package.
woodndesign:
Cheers, Andy, for a down to earth on web design and hosting and a blog idea, would this have the same draw as a website and display one's work like wise. I've seen that uk2net will offer both, a setup on a website or blog... but down to setup and cost, you don't know till purchased one of them !!!!! should it be starter, home or small business, it's which offers the best bandwidth in the end... Hmm what to do.
David
Andy Coates:
The blog facilities offered by the domain/hosting sellers are usually scaled down versions of the blog software providers, and as such as less appealing than a blog facility provided direct by the blog company, so the best (IMHO) option is the purchase the domain name and then register with one of the big hitters in the blogging world - Blogger, Wordpress Etc., and point your domain name at it (instructions can be found on the blogging sites).
Some blog providers require an upgraded account from the standard free account, but these are often far cheaper than a bells and whistles web host package, and will allow embeded video, eShops, Etc., etc.
As for the blog Vs website question - blog are equally as visible as websites, especially when they are based on a domain name. Google and other seach engine bots trawl them in exactly the same way, and rankings can be just as high, or higher, as websites.
Many companies, bodies, groups, and individuals now choose the blog route simply because it is fast and easy to set up, can be modified with ease and with a multitude of options.
A site created in this way is in a sense a departure from the original conception of the Blog, and is often indistinguishable from a website. One advantage is that you can allow other users to add content, which on a conventional website is problematic if it involves modifying HTML documents directly.
It may not be right for everybody, but can be the solution to a number of problems for a website novice.
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