Please help me in choosing web hosting

[0xyGen]

Hi everyone,
I am sorry for possible offtopic, but I need your help in find new web hosting provider as soon as possible, because my current host (bluehost.com) is kicking me off, they say 'your account is using a lot server resources', but my website gets only about 200 visitors per day and my disk usage is 1500 MB (maybe they do not like that?)

Anyway, what would be your recommendations for getting reliable web hosting? Where are you hosting your websites? Are you happy with your providers?

I am now checking http://www.hosting24.com/ - offer looks very nice, but is it real that they can provide unlimited disk space?
I have contacted them about this question and they say something that "These days 500GB disk drive costs only $30 per month, so if some day we will run out of disk space we will simply add new 500GB disk drive with almost zero costs and you can continue uploading without any problems".

What do you think about it? Maybe things have changed in last 4 years? With my current provider I get only 2GB of disk space for $10 per month..
Any ideas and suggestions are much appreciated.

[greenlife]

If your using to much server resources that means you need to start looking into a vps or dedicated server. Your site is getting to big just to host with a hosting account. See a lot of host have this fine print clause that you can only use 3-7% of the cpu resources at given time. That means it dosent matter if you can push 300000 pages a second if the cpu is limited you will only be to push what the % is they allow you. I know for most people a server means now you have to hire an admin, but you don't. My boy has a vps box with Server Intellect and it is managed. It came setup for him with a control panel helm, dns, and admin login privs. He just adds domains and they come live in a few mins. No need to worry about cpu resources cuz its his vps. My suggestion is start looking into servers/vps because your next host will only do the same thing to you. Avoid all that now=)

[gbalkam]

What they mean is not how many hits you get, it is how much cpu and ram your scripts use. Also if your scripts have errors, it wastes cycles. If you have apps installed and are not using them, they use cycles *ummm guilty ;o)* However, as I am suggesting powweb below, i will say that i do run several apps, (blogs, forums, galleries, stream media and use php/mysql scripts) and have never gotten even close to being accused of using to much resources.

I use powweb. http://www.powweb.com/join/index.bml?AffID=573311 (yes, I do get a credit if you sign up using this link) However, I did web hosting tech support, have 19 different hosting accounts, I like this one the best. All things equal, you get more bang for less buck. No longer doing support, but I am keeping this account, and I have tried 18 others.. how is that for testimonial?
Unlimited disk space, Unlimited data transfer (bandwidth), Unlimited email accounts, host unlimited domains, and you get a free domain (or domain credit, for transfer or renewal) when you sign up.
first year is half price "*($46.56) per year. Freedom Sale! " or
$5.77/mo. - ($138.48) Two Year Price
*Promotional price for the first term only, $7.77/mo thereafter.

** yes, but keep in mind, unlimited disk space is great, it is hard to use 1 gig of disk space, 5 gigs is a rediculous amount for a web site, and you could probably put every movie and mp3 from your computer on 100 gigs. (don't do that, copy right infringement... )
So unlimited just means you can build your site as big as you want, but even if you sat 24/7 at your computer, you would be hard pressed to publish a site even comming close to needed unlimited space.

What it boils down to, is price vs what you need. If you need fast loads and cpu and ram power go with vps or dedicated.. (dedicated is roughly $160 to $250 per month) Vps is less but still a shared platform (like a computer divided up into several little dedicated servers)

[after5pc]

I would be weary if someone said "UNLIMITED space" or "UNLIMITED bandwidth"
- There's no such thing. There's always a limit one way or another (look at their fine print or contact them). It's just easier to get someone to sign up when you promise them unlimited resources (=:

[gbalkam]

Don't just skim over my previous post, read it.
As stated, offering unlimited bandwidth and disk space IS actually exactly what it says, as well as unlimited email accounts. You could have 10 million email accounts, but who can create that many? 300 is the most I have seen as a Web hosting tech support agent. Much the same as the most massive and complex web site i have seen us under 2 gigs. The TOS state only that files on the account must be part of the site and not for distribution of copy right materials. (So no mp3, video or file sharing, unless you are licensed to do so by the owner) Bandwidth is much the same, you would need a heck of alot of hits to come close to 3000 gigs, let alone the 15000 gigs that was previously offered by this same company.
Think of it as an "All you can eat buffet" you can only eat so much. It does not matter how much food there is, you can't eat it all.
Also, just for laughs, consider your ISP, who 'caps' you at a certian limit, (usually) my cable account had a 100 gig transfer cap per month. Considering, I was transfering at 800kps, you would have to have data flowing steady for 14.5 days (per month) to hit that cap. Who can sit at a computer 24 hours a day for 14.5 days per month, even if you only sat 12 hrs a day, about the only way you could do it, is with a streaming video feed of your goldfish.
The actual catch, is what you have is unlimited, but what you can actually use, is limited by your own time and circumstances. If you can (personally) create a site, the host account will hold it.
Shared hosting, does have some limit, you share a database with others for example, (mysql server) so the more people using it, the slower your php/mysql pages load. But that's a trade off between $7.77 per month (5.77 annually) for shared and $160 per month for dedicated.

[after5pc]

I think the bottom line here is: CHECK THE FINE-PRINT!

If you are on a shared server and everyone thinks that the sky is the limit (being that it's unlimited space and bandwidth), you'll find yourself in an environment where the server just has too much load. Eventually, the company will start suspending accounts who they find are "abusing" or "over-using" their resources. After all, it affects the quality of their servers... and eventually, the satisfaction of their hosting customers. You don't want to be in that situation.

P.S. - Please note that I'm not here to bash any specific hosting provider; just giving an advice as to how to go about finding one. One of them is to read over the "Terms of Service" (fine print) because sometimes what they say as "UNLIMITED" in the front is not what it really is in the admin side. Don't accept that word at face value when you're talking specifically about disk space and bandwidth. Your job is to find out what "unlimited" means to the company -- because it may be different for each one.

Don't get me wrong; I love all-you-can-eat buffets -- I take my family there.... but did you ever notice that sometimes, when you're eating too much and staying too long, they're already giving you hints to leave??

[gbalkam]

Agreed.
and apologies, I may have taken the last post a bit to personally. Far to professional to recommend anything I wouldn't use myself. Like I said, I have 19 accounts. (we'll say no more about that *coughs*) but my fav is powweb. I also like IPOWER they recently moved to new servers, which was a hassle, especially since some things that worked before, don't now. But it is like everything, technology does become obsolete and coders have to change the scripts to match the technology. I mean, just because you have the engine from an Eidsel in the garage, doesn't mean it will work in a Honda.
I have to change my media player script and find one that works in IE 6 and 7 and in firefox 2 and 3. Not the host companies fault, it is the way it is. Same as trying to get tech support for windows 95. (lol good luck with that one).

Just a tip though, don't try to configure your server to suit the scripts, configure scripts that work on the server you have. Newer is not always better. Try running vista on a machine you bought with XP installed from Xbrand computer company. Or something more can relate to, running xp on a win 95 machine.

[Redcore]

HostGator.com :)

[gbalkam]

filezilla, is free open source, ftp client.
the "free" web authoring tools, are they FREE or are they "free" as in limited versions of the premium version that you have to pay extra for, main difference, "free" versions let you put ONE web site up usually with limited pages.
Trelium, NVU are FREE as in FREE versions you edit on your computer, no templates that you MUST adhere to. As for an "editor" most coders use note pad. It is readily available, and fast, plus, you can open html docs in filezilla, make minor changes, (like update when your next event is) and when you close notepad, filezilla prompt to save back to server. It does not change your code, or extensions, or switch your code from mediaplayer to apple quick time, for example.
Most hosting companies offer all this anyway. I dont know "HostGator" so no comment on the company.

The origional question, was mostly to do with "limits" so again, it is best to look at a few, compare the ones you like, narrow it down to 3 or 4, and decide which best suits your needs. I've mentioned I have 19 different hosting accounts, I have not used them all, alot were very similar, so I only used the ones that had the most differences. Unix is easier to work with and fix than a windows server, but windows server let you use asp files.

You might also figure in quality of tech support. Just because the tech can't support an issue, does not mean he can't point you in the right direction.

[gbalkam]

oh.. but the links are rather handy though. Looks like they will take you to where you can get the free goodies without signing up.

BTW... "Free Hosting" Do you want someone elses ads on YOUR page, I mean, if you are going to have ads, you should make the money, right?
I have ONE tiny add on my page, (see above) if someone likes my pages, and wants a host account, it is easy to click, and the company will send me a check. all I need to do is well.. nothing. If I go to the mail and find a check.. hey bonus, if not.. no biggie. I wasn't expecting it anyway.
Point is, if you have an ad on your page, worth say, $20. Who do you want to get the $20.

[Redcore]

I quickly chirped in earlier with the "hostgator.com" reference because I was busy and on my way out the door...

Originally Posted by 0xyGen

I am now checking http://www.hosting24.com/ - offer looks very nice, but is it real that they can provide unlimited disk space?
I have contacted them about this question and they say something that "These days 500GB disk drive costs only $30 per month, so if some day we will run out of disk space we will simply add new 500GB disk drive with almost zero costs and you can continue uploading without any problems".

What do you think about it? Maybe things have changed in last 4 years? With my current provider I get only 2GB of disk space for $10 per month..
Any ideas and suggestions are much appreciated.

It sounds like they're hoping nobody really utilizes that "unlimited" guarantee, as stated in their explanation - most of their biggest customers only utilize 15GB...so even on a 1000GB disk with 60 15GB customers - they're making $300 and only have to eat $40 for the rental of that disk - they make a net of $260/month for that disk. We won't take into account the costs of data center upkeep, tech support salaries, software licenses, etc...regardless, it's the same system most hosting companies use. They pay for a large amount of space and split it up into smaller chunks with smaller rates for customers who won't utilize that kind of space anyways. It's just in this case - they're marketing it as "unlimited" because they don't have a defined cap - but somewhere out there they DO have a cap. What if 2 customers each took up 500 GB and were only paying $10/month collectively? Hosting24 is losing $30/month to host YOUR stuff and this still does not include other costs as I listed before. Not only is this going to affect the bandwidth/disk space integrity of their accounts (that 99.9% uptime guarantee is subject to usage of everyone else on that disk since there is no cap) but you would surely be getting a "please find a new host or pay this new monthly fee" notice in the mail pretty quickly.

Can this work? Sure, as long as people aren't really going to use anything over that 15GB...especially all on the same disk. (60 people utilizing 16GB @ $5/month would make the disk break even) They want a lot of users utilizing something like 2GB of space which (1000/2 x $5) would make them $2,500 gross profit off of that disk. But like I stated earlier, you are subject to the other users on the disk...and a lot of users are going to go beyond 2GB.

I host with HostGator.com (hence why I recommend it) which offer 600GB of space / 6,000GB of bandwidth for $9.95/month ($7.95 if you're paying in advance...3 years - I do this - saves $72 over those 3 years). If you think about it, it's cheaper than Hosting24 - as if you were paying their rental costs of that 1000GB disk for the same amount of space offered by HostGator (600GB) you'd be paying $24/month. Sounds a bit confusing - but to summarize that, you'd be basically paying nearly 5x as much for the same amount of space.

The safe route is to travel with HostGator and pay for what you get - or don't, and take a gamble on the "unlimited space/bandwidth" thing if your site gets to be too big. Personally, I've used 3GB of my allotted 600GB space...and I haven't even gotten around to building the "big" sites I've been planning on doing. Your situation may be different, where you have no foreseeable plans of doing anything bigger with web design or utilizing that space (like for family videos/pictures/etc).

[gbalkam]

basically all unlimited space means, is that you are not going to be charged extra for going over a certian number of gigabytes storage or bandwidth. Bandwidth cost the hosting company about $10 per terabyte (or less, its competative)
but then, even 300 gigs disk space, which nobody would likely come close to using, with only a very few exceptions, would be enough. To publish a page that size, you would need 2 160 gig drives full of web material. So we've gone on and on about the unlimited space and bandwidth, which nobody could actually use anyway, realistically it comes down to does your server run your scripts. do you have access to your root directory, cgi-bin, php, perl, etc etc.. if you run asp scripts, pick a windows based server (few do, but some web designers use asp)
Personally, I wouldnt use a windows server even if I got a full hosting account for free... OH WAIT.. I do get it free..
anyway, take a look at www.baddblog.info (this is on my #2 choice of host accounts) Use IE as i have not found the correct script to play the media yet..
You will find samples of several types of scripts there, on that account,
Just for fun, you can check on www.id10-t.info/alert Just something i tossed together for fun, *lol* give some other tech something to laugh about.
*note. those both are my own sites with no adverts.*