Best Web Hosting
Finding the "best" web hosting service isn't easy. Inexpensive web hosting, although cost-effective, can cost you more in time and headaches than spending a few extra bucks each month for a quality web host. However, there are some companies offering cheap web hosting that is indeed a good bargain. This is the first article in a series of web hosting reviews in which I will be sharing my experience using differen hosting companies over the years.
I have had accounts with numerous different web hosting companies, including but not limited to:
So yeah, I have had a lot of experience with different web hosting providers.
Before making a purchase, I spent countless hours researching different web hosting companies, reading reviews, combing through forums, comparing specifications and actually talking to support representatives to gather more information. Beside the fact that I am an obsessive compulsive researcher ;) I always want to be sure I am getting the best web hosting currently available and for the best price before locking in on a contract.
Of course, I could have hosted all of the websites on just one or two accounts with robust enough server specs, but instead I have the websites spread out over numerous different hosting companies in different locations. There are two primary reasons for this.
First, I wanted to compare the overall service for each of the web hosting companies I chose and see if my actual experience matched up with my research. Not only do I have several of my own websites, I also have clients from time to time who pay well for my services and advice. I do not want to recommend a service that ends up being a hassle for my clients. Thus, it's important for me to have actual experience with different web hosting companies so that I can make informed recommendations as to which service is best depending on my clients needs.
Second, as the saying goes, putting all of your eggs in one basket is not a good idea. If there is ever a prolonged server outage, or even worse - a catastrophic server failure, it is better to have just one site affected, rather than all of them. Believe me, catastrophic server failures do happen, and it is good to have multiple web hosting accounts, along with current local backups of all websites.
The Best Web Host
Is there such a thing as the "Best Web Host"? In my experience, yes and no. Some web hosting services are definitely better than others. I have had my share of lousy service experiences with my own websites and I have helped clients move their sites away from hosting companies that were causing problems for them. There are also the web hosting providers that make me very happy to be a customer with their excellent service and support.
When it comes to hosting a website, there are a lot of variables and some companies excel at certain things while failing at others. Not only that, there is also variance within each company. Sometimes you just get an unlucky server, even though the service is generally very good. It is important to remember that when you purchase a shared hosting account or even certain VPS accounts, you are sharing the server resources with other customers. If one of the customers gets a traffic spike or has a resource intensive site, it can affect all of the other customers on the server. Also, servers and server hard drives can fail. The best web hosting companies will use high quality hardware and configure their servers so that there isn't data loss in the event that a hard drive fails or something else goes wrong.
In the upcoming web hosting reviews, I will be highlighting the pros and cons for each of the hosting companies I have used and those that I am currently using to help you suss out the best web hosting provider for your needs. I will also post coupons if and when they become available to help you save some money if you decide to go with one of the companies mentioned in a review.