Web site hosting companies?

[*Shira*]

I'm getting really fed up with my web hosting company. Although moving my site would be a big undertaking, I'm thinking I should start looking at doing that.

Any comments / recommendations on hosting companies? I'm considering GoDaddy - any disadvantages with them that I should be aware of? Any other companies you want to recommend?

I'm looking for:

• Uses UNIX or Linux servers instead of Windows
• Offers 24x7 telephone support that is HIGH QUALITY: responsive, helpful, does a good job of troubleshooting (I'm tired of having people in Bulgaria tell me that there is no problem on their end when I know damned well there is)
• Lets me set up at least 20 mailboxes and a bunch of auto-forwards
• Lets me put my own CGI scripts on the server
• Big enough to have intelligent policies when it comes to running a data center (daily backups, redundant systems, tests changes to their technology before deploying, etc.)
• Provides excellent statistics on usage

I'm willing to pay a little extra for a high-quality service.

Any recommendations?

[laura 2]

I have had GoDaddy since 2006, and I recommend them very highly. Their tech support is, IMO, absolutely stellar. I've had to call them several times over the years, and I've never encountered any tech who couldn't solve my problem quickly and painlessly. I'm really picky about that because I used to do phone tech support myself.

[zorba]

I've heard enough bad about godaddy to never use them - so you can see from Laura's response that YMMV!

I've been using hostcolor.com for many years and have always been very happy with them. Their customer service has always been very good to me. They're Unix/Linux based, I have a couple of CGIs on my site, blah, blah. But as they say, YMMV!

[sabrinabellydancer]

Godaddy is great if you know which product to buy, and you do.
Virtual Dedicated Linux hosting is great. Shared Linux hosting is good too, but possibly too restrictive for your admin needs and the packages might be too small for your site depending on how you are upgrading. You want root access right?
Tech support is *much* better from the graveyard shift. Daytime operators are usually newbs.

Hostgator is good too. Lots of my tech friends have good things to say about them. Excellent up time. Fast ticket response. Good prices, etc. Haven't used them personally.

[Zepora]

I've used Bluehost for a few years. I'm very happy with them.

Web hosting provider - Bluehost.com - domain hosting - PHP Hosting - cheap web hosting - Frontpage Hosting E-Commerce Web Hosting Bluehost

[Lesedi]

Nearly Free Speech hosts mine: https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/

They are super cheap. I don't know much about them though since my web developing bf deals with it instead of me. But I know that he's had a great experience with them for years.

[antimony]

I use Laughing Squid.

Based on your criteria:
* Linux-based - in fact their philosophy is all open-source (it's run by a bunch of arty geeky types out of the Bay Area)
* They only do phone support during business hours, but if you call, you won't reach a call center, you'll reach one of their actual direct employees. I've been hosting with them for about 6 years, and the only time I ever had an interruption in service was when a transformer blew up near their former colocation facility knocking out power to a giant swath of San Francisco. They were back up within a couple of hours. (I had my site hosted with a discount host prior to that, and it was one mess after another)
* Depending on the package you buy, I they go up to 50 mailboxes.
* You can have your own CGI scripts
* They run nightly backups, and they now do their cloud-based hosting through Rackspace, which has a great reputation for knowing their stuff.
* I have been happy with the statistics they provide, but I don't know how much you're looking for.

[Lauren_]

I've used Bizland to host four different websites for many years, and I think they meet all your criteria. I've been ecstatic with their customer service, amount of uptime, etc.

Small Business Web Hosting and eCommerce Solutions by BizLand

[NativeDancer]

Chiming in with a positive for Godaddy. I've been with them for 5 years now and have never had a complaint. Tech support is outstanding.

[andalee-oriental]

I currently use HostGator and Start Logic. I really like HostGator. it is fast, the tech support is good and I've never experienced down time (that I know of).

I made a spreadsheet. https://spreadsheets.google.com/pub?...=0&output=html

[MayaDance]

Hi, Shira. I use GoDaddy only to buy domains, but use DreamHost for hosting. Check them out!

[sophie]

Check out Web Hosting Talk - The largest, most influential web hosting community on the Internet forum , they have the latest provider reviews etc

[phoenixeyes]

I personally can't staaaaand Go Daddy. I have been forced to use them several times for clients, and if you know what you are doing, well, I feel like you're stuck in the idiot box. The administration panel is confusing, they try to upsell you every moment they can, and if you need flexibility in what you can do on your server, heaven help you. They will charge you out of the nose for basics and are relentless spammy in both the administration and the emails they send out.

I have been using Lunarpages for *years* running everything from single-page websites to nonprofit websites to full-scale corporate websites on them. They are cheap, have great customer service, and what you see is exactly what you get. Dead simple admin interface, and if you need to grow, they make it easy fro you.