Webmaster forum - Finding a good host is SO HARD

Author

Finding a good host is SO HARD

hansBKK

2007-03-27, 7:17 am

I've been doing a LOT of research, mostly at WHT and have put a (not
that) short list of hosting services together that have been reviewed as
1. honest 2. reliable and 3. giving good support and customer service

My next (current) step is to put a list of pre-sales questions together -
so far I've got more than a hundred data points to gather.

I am concurrently going through the different vendors' websites to get as
much information together as I can before I start to contact them, so I
will only be asking them questions that aren't already answered on their
site or in their knowledgebase, user forums etc.

I'm not that knowledgable, so I'm finding it difficult to figure out how
to ask certain questions. Which brings me here, I'm looking for help; I
want people to give me feedback on my questions - the answers to some
might be so standard that I don't even need to ask them, some might
reveal that I don't know much about a specific technology, I might have
missed some important factors on others, and some might benefit from re-
wording to make them more clear.

So my initial question is: Is this the right place? I realise that
usenet's got a low signal:noise ratio; is there a better place?

WHT was not at all productive, it seems a bit of a monoculture there, and
the moderators are IMO harshly restrictive and not at all encouraging of
open discussion, to the point that I'm starting to even question the fact
that it was the basis for most of my initial research. . .

leader@congress.hotmail.com

2007-03-27, 7:17 am

On Tue, 27 Mar 2007 09:25:40 +0200 (CEST), hansBKK
<aww01.100.hansbkk@spamgourmet.com> wrote:

>I've been doing a LOT of research, mostly at WHT and have put a (not
>that) short list of hosting services together that have been reviewed as
>1. honest 2. reliable and 3. giving good support and customer service
>
>My next (current) step is to put a list of pre-sales questions together -
>so far I've got more than a hundred data points to gather.
>
>I am concurrently going through the different vendors' websites to get as
>much information together as I can before I start to contact them, so I
>will only be asking them questions that aren't already answered on their
>site or in their knowledgebase, user forums etc.
>
>I'm not that knowledgable, so I'm finding it difficult to figure out how
>to ask certain questions. Which brings me here, I'm looking for help; I
>want people to give me feedback on my questions - the answers to some
>might be so standard that I don't even need to ask them, some might
>reveal that I don't know much about a specific technology, I might have
>missed some important factors on others, and some might benefit from re-
>wording to make them more clear.
>
>So my initial question is: Is this the right place? I realise that
>usenet's got a low signal:noise ratio; is there a better place?
>
>WHT was not at all productive, it seems a bit of a monoculture there, and
>the moderators are IMO harshly restrictive and not at all encouraging of
>open discussion, to the point that I'm starting to even question the fact
>that it was the basis for most of my initial research. . .

"Re: Finding a good host is SO HARD"

No, it ain't. Check the Pre-sales section of httpme.com at

http://www.httpme.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=9

I was like you, a complete server/hosting/re-seller/etc virgin but
they guided me through it, and still do a great deal of hand-holding
when necessary. Their customer service is excellent

hansBKK

2007-03-27, 7:17 am

leader@congress.hotmail.com wrote in
news:cclh03dbebhd5otglq75hbffrttj18ea3d@4ax.com:

> No, it ain't. Check the Pre-sales section of httpme.com at
>
> http://www.httpme.com/forumdisplay.php?s=&forumid=9
>

Thanks. One of my shortlisted vendors is dotable, run by Aussie Bob, the
guy that founded and later sold httpme.

But I still need to do my research - to repeat, do you think this is the
right place for me to ask for feedback on my pre-sales questions?

Jaguar-Archie

2007-03-27, 7:17 am

On Mar 27, 4:36 pm, hansBKK <aww01.100.hans...@spamgourmet.com> wrote:
> lea...@congress.hotmail.com wrote innews:cclh03dbebhd5otglq75hbffrttj18ea3d@4ax.com:
>
>
>
> Thanks. One of my shortlisted vendors is dotable, run by Aussie Bob, the
> guy that founded and later sold httpme.
>
> But I still need to do my research - to repeat, do you think this is the
> right place for me to ask for feedback on my pre-sales questions?

try to search using this "best hosting"

Thanks
http://classic-tv-shows-on-dvd.blogspot.com/

Brian Cryer

2007-03-27, 7:17 am

"hansBKK" <aww01.100.hansbkk@spamgourmet.com> wrote in message
news:Xns99009362A2152hansbkk@194.177.96.26...
<snip>

Remember that a good host yesterday and today may not turn out to be a good
host tomorrow. Whatever host you go with I would recommend that you ensure
that:

1. You keep a complete backup of your site locally, including any databases
that your site uses. That way if the host goes belly up you should be able
to recover everything.

2. You manage the domain name separately from hosting. That (plus a complete
backup) means you can move your website quickly to another host should it
become necessary. Some hosts offer a "free domain name for life", but check
whether the domain name is registered in your name and whether they charge a
release fee if you want to move it.

Whatever host you decide to go for do check whether anyone has posted their
experiences with the host on webhostingtalk.com.

After a recommendation on this newsgroup I moved my shared hosted sites to
bluehost.com and have been very pleased with them. Dedicated hosts I have
elsewhere (why not all together - just because dedicated hosts are for
clients, shared hosting for my own personal stuff).

If you want to run specific questions about hosting past alt.www.webmaster
for people's opinions on the question then feel free - it sounds relevant to
me. Be aware that most hosting companies may not have that much time to want
answer questions - a few is fine, but if you draw up a long list then they
are more likely to ignore it. I worked with a project manager a few years
back who fired off a list of about ten questions to a shortlist of hosts
(for dedicated servers) and didn't get any responses back. So, try to keep
your questions down to 1 or 2!!!

Just my opinion, but I hope its useful.
--
Brian Cryer
www.cryer.co.uk/brian

hansBKK

2007-03-27, 11:25 pm

"Brian Cryer" <brian.cryer@127.0.0.1.ntlworld.com> wrote in
news:LPudnUZc9oQScpXbnZ2dnUVZ8tKsnZ2d@pipex.net:

<snips>

> 1. You keep a complete backup of your site locally, including any

> 2. You manage the domain name separately from hosting. That (plus a

> webhostingtalk.com.

> sites to bluehost.com and have been very pleased with them. Dedicated

> - it sounds relevant to me. Be aware that most hosting companies may

> and didn't get any responses back. So, try to keep your questions down

Thanks for responding Brian, I will post my questions (about my
questions) here.

Backups & domain name - yes. More so, plan to have a live mirrored site
running on a second hosting service, and to use a third party DNS
service with automatic failover to the other site. More difficult to do
with database-driven sites, and of course email is a whole separate
matter.

Glad to hear you're happy with bluehost, but I didn't find too much
positive about them on WHT. Maybe you should post a user review there?

And if a host's sales department can't answer a dozen questions not
addressed on their website, personally I'd move on. . .