Hello,

I have three domain names with ***** and would like to move them to a new service.

This forum has been an incredible source of non-biased, frank information and opinions.

I think I have narrowed the choices down to site5.com and weinbar. My focus for finding a hosting company is on disk space (200 meg), traffic allowances that don't allow for you tbe booted off without warning and a control panel feature for administering the site.

Considerations are MySql for running Vbulletin and reliable uptime.

My first and primary consideration is service. For instance, right now one of my domain name mail servers is tagging mail six hours late and the other two domain name email servers are down. I tried calling ***** support but gave up after an hour. Now I have waited two hours for the online chat support.

When things happen like this I'd like to be able to get an answer from other users or the tech support staff pretty much ASAP.

Site5.com and Weinbar have complimentary support processes. Both have been dinged by their own users for support issues. From what I understand Weinbar is just emerging from a period where there was virtually no support.

I want to pull the trigger on my move soon, so I'd like to ask for folks opinions on the companies. I did do a search on the site for each and found older info, but none that really focused on the support factor.

Thanks in advance for all your help!

I personally recommend Site5. Mainly because that is who I use but I have been very satisfied with their services and support since signing up two domains. Their control panel is a customized version of Cpanel and it allows you to do everything, literally. Of the few support requests that I have made, they have all been handled rapidly. One instance was a problem with forms not working properly on one of my sites. They were able to pinpoint the problem, suggest a resolution to a problem on my end that they found by troubleshooting and fixed the problem on their end. They also have a Forum very similar to this one for their clients and I have found many answers to simple questions just by visiting there.

Okay, well, that is my personal opinion. I have also heard good things about WeinBar but since I haven't used them, talking about them would be pointless for myself.

Good luck...

Both are good company and I don't think that there will be any problem going with either of them.

I'll second Mark's comments on Site5. I have my main account with them and I'm very glad I moved over. Pre-sales support seems to be a bit slow at times, but their customer support is excellent. Just yesterday they installed additional perl modules for me, not even one hour after I had filed the support ticket.

Thanks for the comments! So far I have only heard from Site5.com customers.

What concerns me is this:

"Where are your servers located?

We are currently co-located at an Internet Data Center in New Jersey. While we believe that this does not detract from our ability to provide you with outstanding service, we like to make sure our customers know before signing up that we are not trying to hide anything.

While many web hosts will not admit that they are co-located with another provider, over 90% of them are. We are one of that 90%, and are not afraid to let you know!

So Site5 doesn't run its own servers? What happens if there is a problem?

We have a very talented support team stationed in our servers' high-tech Network Operations Center. The servers and your account are monitored 24x7x365. If anything at all happens to one of the servers our team at the headquarters is paged, as well as our Network Operations team. Communication is rapid to ensure minimal downtime. Our system administrators can also administrate and monitor the servers a great deal online."

Is Site5.com a reseller? This scares me a little as it adds an extra layer to the support process.

Thanks!

Personally I don't think this adds anything to the support process. They handle all support calls efficiently and effectively and you can ask any dedicated server customer of Site5 how fast it is to get their servers rebooted if it is necessary. I have not noticed this as being a downfall with their company and I haven't heard anyone else say that either.

Also, remember, they are accurate that most companies are co-located and only a select few actually tell you this during pre-signup. I'd rather know this ahead of time than find out later when I'm having server problems.

Just my thoughts...

Site5 is not a reseller.

Also, they do *NOT* have a customized version of CPanel, they have "NetAdmin" which has more code than CPanel does.

Originally posted by Fiber
Also, they do *NOT* have a customized version of CPanel, they have "NetAdmin" which has more code than CPanel does.


My fault. I have been signed up with other hosting companies and have used CPanel. With Site5 they do have NetAdmin and since many of the features are very similar, just designed better, I though it was similar. NetAdmin does have many more features, though, as I didn't state that before.

I appreciated everyone's comments.

In the end I decided to go with Hosting Matters.

I'll let you know why ...

Weinbar: I was impressed with the extremely quick response to my pre-sales questions. Michael Weinstein answered each one in a great tone at 2:00am. I sent the emails at 1:30am.

I was also impressed for the offerings at $14.99 a month. It was just incredible.

What turned me away from Weinbar was their issues with support in the past. Michael indicated they are on the road to recovery and I have seen that by the work of Jack ... he seems to be a support tornado. With that said, I think I'd seriously consider them 6 months down the road for future business.

Site5.com: I just couldn't get over the whole not being located where the servers are located. I know it works and that more hosting sites do this that not (who knows Hosting Matters may do this as well), but it just rubbed me the wrong way.

Another totally unrelated thing that turned me off was the fact they shut down their ticketing system. I like being able to reference a hard copy of my issue and have it tracked.

I appreciate everyone's opinions on this matter!

pgrote,

I have two servers with Site5. They are an excellent company. Their support is superb. I would recommend them with my eyes closed. Just for your information, Site5 colocates at the NAC NOC in New Jersey, just like you said 90% of hosts colocate. It is the most efficient way to maintain a server.

You made a wise decision though; Hosting Matters is a great company. Even though I have never used them, I have heard excellent things about them. In fact, I believe Hosting Matters has a few servers colocated in the same NOC where Site5 colocates. It is a real nice NOC.

Good luck to you, again, you made a good choice with Hosting Matters, however, if you decide to host other domains with Site5 or even with Weinbar you will not regret it.

:)

I agree on site5. NetAdmin, IS a customized version of cpanel, because they started with the cpanel code base.

Originally posted by pgrote
(who knows Hosting Matters may do this as well)

You are correct, Hosting Matters in fact uses the same NOC as site5 does so they work the same as far as the co-location aspect just as most hosts do. Both companys are solid performers and you would have been satisfied with either choice. Best of luck.