Yes, a Web Hosting Question :)

[B]

I know, we spend all day killing spam like this, but I have an honest question.

I'm looking for an inexpensive shared hosting account; it will host a small not-for-profit organization's web site and possibly one or two other domains. Probably WordPress. A dozen or so e-mail accounts. We're in the US.

Of the major players, the only "killer deal" at present is 1and1's -- they have a "free year" (with a 2nd year commitment) on their "1&1 Dual Advanced" middle tier. It comes to about $83 for 2 years of service.

Another provider in consideration, HostGator, would come to about $161 for 2 years (after 25% coupons). DreamHost and others would be in the same range.

I'm learning a bit about the hosting marketplace. For example, apparently a conglomerate called Endurance International owns about 30 different seemingly independent hosts such as FatCow and Dot5 and iPages. I was checking on FatCow and found they only support 250 MB e-mail boxes.

I know 1and1 isn't the best (I've had issues with their obscure e-mail login requirements in the past, but I think that's been fixed) but I suspect it's good enough. And "half" is a pretty compelling deal.

Naturally being able to run an UltraVNC repeater would be great, but I don't expect that's going to be happening with these lower tier providers... Still, the more flexibility (and stability and speed) the better.

So, any advice?

Thanks in advance...

[Oliver]

All comments I've heard about 1&1 were rather discouraging. Also, hosting costs in the US seem to be generally higher than for example in Germany (as this server).

Depending on your traffic requirements even nearlyfreespeech.net may be a good deal. However, it's going to get expensive once you reach a certain threshold.

The Hetzner discussion forum had a topic about hosters in the US (and Canada) just recently. I'll try to dig it up for you and post some links here or send to you via PM.

[B]

Thanks, Oliver. Huh, I never noticed this forum server was in Germany; no wonder it can be slow for me. Coincidentally, of course, 1and1/United Internet is based there as well (though they have data centers elsewhere). With their huge user base, low prices, and bad hosting reputation, I'm getting the impression they're something like the GoDaddy of Europe.

Yes we'd be quite low traffic; I looked at NearlyFreeSpeech again yesterday, but they include no e-mail storage at all (at any price) other than simple forwarding. I could always just leave people on their existing ISP e-mail and GMail, but it would be nice to have a slightly more centralized arrangement. (Another drawback is it's not newbie-friendly and I'm the only technical person at the moment.)

Naturally I'd love to have a VPS or dedicated server, but there's nothing like that in this sub-$10 range.

[nomisma]

Hey...
I suggest you use hostgator.com. I have been using them for about 5 years. No problems and no complaints. Dont remember any costs because I renew it every one or two years and can host as many domains as I please. And yes, they offer the wordpress setup for your domain.

[gordonf]

check fatcow.com, they offered a free domain and the host is powered by 100% Wind Energy

[B]

Thanks, I did earlier -- FATCOW IS NO GOOD. First, they offer only measly 250 MB mailboxes and will not raise that "default". Second, they don't have SSH or shell access. Third, they don't have CPanel for management or Fantastico for script installation. Fourth, their web site is not clear on what their features actually are.

And fifth, they are part of the giant Endurance International conglomerate I already mentioned. I honestly don't believe the Wind Energy nonsense for a minute. All 30+ of their companies are hosted in the same data centers, have the same support staff, etc. (That's why they have to ask you "what URL" you used when you are using their support web chat -- they don't know which company they're representing when you call!) They strike me as nothing more than a scam. But thanks anyway.

And who are you kidding? EVERYBODY includes 1 free domain on even the most basic webhosting plan.

[Bonji]

The wind-powered claim tweaked my interest, and here is what they say on their website FWIW:

Producing wind power ourselves is udderly impossible, so our company has purchased Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to offset our energy use.

That's quite a stretch to make the claim they are powered by the wind IMO.

[Oliver]

Thanks, Oliver. Huh, I never noticed this forum server was in Germany; no wonder it can be slow for me.

Tss tss

Coincidentally, of course, 1and1/United Internet is based there as well (though they have data centers elsewhere). With their huge user base, low prices, and bad hosting reputation, I'm getting the impression they're something like the GoDaddy of Europe.

I'd think so. This server is not hosted at 1&1, though

But this server could be slow for a number of reasons. The backbone connections are quite good indeed (also to overseas), but of course the host machine runs a number of VMs. So a bit of CPU sharing is going on. These are all mine, so it's not the classical slice hosting scenario, but if you encounter processing bottle necks, that could be the reason.

Yes we'd be quite low traffic; I looked at NearlyFreeSpeech again yesterday, but they include no e-mail storage at all (at any price) other than simple forwarding. I could always just leave people on their existing ISP e-mail and GMail, but it would be nice to have a slightly more centralized arrangement. (Another drawback is it's not newbie-friendly and I'm the only technical person at the moment.)

Ouch, for hosting that is usually a drawback indeed.

Naturally I'd love to have a VPS or dedicated server, but there's nothing like that in this sub-$10 range.

Well, I did try one at a German hoster about five years ago and that was still ~15 EUR/month, but it was so sucky I could not use it at all and those b****rds were blocking the transfer of my domains off of them. So I lost in page rank and would never recommend really cheap hosters. You get what you pay for

Producing wind power ourselves is udderly impossible, so our company has purchased Renewable Energy Certificates (RECs) to offset our energy use.

... cows not only have udders ... and I'm sure "wind energy" can be produced from some orifices

[B]

Well, I had been convinced that 1and1 was a bad idea, and was prepared to go with HostGator.

But then I just noticed that DreamHost (also a pretty well reviewed service) offers free hosting to not-for-profits! (Forever.) That may make the decision a lot easier.

For what it's worth DreamHost topped Lifehacker's user survey last year. And their mass mailing limits are more generous than Hostgator's.

So it seems like a great deal for a not-for-profit organization.

(At one point they apparently donated real VPS level hosting but now it's only their $9/month shared hosting.)

[Pincis]

I`m using bluehost.com for 2 years now and had no problems with it. Cpanel, unlimited hosting space and you can make as many domains name as you need, using this host.
Good luck!

[B]

Thanks, but from what I've seen Bluehost gets pretty BAD reviews. I wouldn't even consider them.

[B]

We went with Hostgator after all - DreamHost's "free" offer depended on IRS documentation that some registered 501c3 not-for-profits (the poorer ones, ironically) just don't have. They won't budge on the matter either.

Hostgator has been pretty good so far.

But the lack of real server access (no executables, no open ports) is starting to get to me. For unrelated projects I'm back to thinking about VPSes. There are some in the $15 range, but as Oliver said I'm afraid I'll get what I pay for.

For one thing, the cheaper VPSes seem to have storage limits in the 10-20 GB range, and RAM in the 256-512 MB range. It seems when you go with shared hosting it's easy to find "unlimited" storage and "unlimited" bandwidth, but when you go VPS things change pretty drastically.

So what's the right way to do things on a budget? Maybe one shared hosting account for building web sites and a separate VPS account for running things like the UltraVNC repeater or LibreOffice or LTSP?

Edit: Looks as if DreamHost does that sort of thing already, apparently REQUIRING you to have a shared hosting account in addition to a VPS account.

HostGator VPS, $20/month for 10 GB storage, "unlimited" databases (384 MB RAM)
DreamHost ($15 + $9)/ month for "unlimited" storage, "unlimited" databases (300 MB RAM)
Linode $20/month for 20 GB storage, no separate databases (512 MB RAM)
MyHosting $16/month for 20 GB storage, no separate databases (512 MB RAM)

Hey, compared to that, supercoe's provider 2host is a bargain!

2Host, $15/month for 50 GB storage, no separate databases (1 GB RAM)

Oh and they've got a couple of "specials" too, including a 25 GB storage/512 MB RAM deal for $10/month. NOW we're talking!

But their "E-Class" 50 GB/1GB deal is actually $18 on "special", more than their front page price....

And now I'm even more confused -- LowEndBox lists various providers offering VPS for $14-$20 per YEAR?

Another place, BuyVM, seems to be so popular there is a separate site dedicated to monitoring whether they have any VPS slices "in stock".

This can of worms ain't pretty...

[msalinger]

I am also using a shared webhosting account and I am very satisfied with the provider. I am using IX webhosting. Maybe this is also the right provider for you. There is really nothing to complain about and besides this they have an excellent customer support.

[joesmith5040]

My only suggestion is to stay away from yahoo. If you want to do 301 redirects for better SEO, it is NOT possible. you do not have access to .htaccess and the default mysql version was created in 2004 (it's like running windows 95 today). I have a web site, burnscomputers.com, that I moved after creating it at yahoo small business web hosting. I am soooo much happier about fatcow webhosting (not saying fatcow is best, it just worked much better for me as a small business).

[Oliver]

My only suggestion is to stay away from yahoo. If you want to do 301 redirects for better SEO, it is NOT possible. you do not have access to .htaccess and the default mysql version was created in 2004 (it's like running windows 95 today). I have a web site, burnscomputers.com, that I moved after creating it at yahoo small business web hosting. I am soooo much happier about fatcow webhosting (not saying fatcow is best, it just worked much better for me as a small business).

And you came here just to tell us that? This is actually a forum about UltraVNC, not about SEO. Don't get me wrong, it's fine to discuss other topics, too ... but your first and only post in this thread