Well due to the recent Endore fiasco I am looking for a new host. I was with Endore for 3 years and before that I used Tera-byte (which doesn't allow adult content). Other then those two companies I haven't had any experience with any other ones. Endore used to be gold those who were customers from way back know that (a year or more ago). That is basically what I am looking for now in a host. I have heard several people mention SurpassHosting.com (http://www.surpasshosting.com), a good friend recommended me to WebSpaceSolutions.com (http://www.webspacesolutions.com) . I was planning on going with webspacesolutions up until I just heard about surpasshosting. I did a quick search on the forums here and saw a few negative posts about surpasshosting so I figured I needed to find out some more information about both companies and any similar ones out there.

Basically I am looking for 60-100 gigs of transfer per month. And more then 3 gigs of space. The plan I used to be on at Endore.com (http://www.endore.com) gave me 100 gigs of transfer and 6 gigs of space for $50/month. I am not willing to pay more then $60/month for hosting. I run 7 domains so space and bandwidth is important to me. Whoever I host with also has to allow adult hosting as I do run some adult orientated websites.

Basically what I need is a hosting company who has good customer service. That is willing to help when and if needed if problems arise with installations, etc. I really do prefer a cpanel but webspacesolutions does not have that, which is a downside in my opinion. I also need some sort of downtime guarantee or a site with minimal downtime. I also need mysql databases, .htaccess, cgi, php, protected directories, custom error pages and imagemagick. Spam Assasin would be great or some sort of spam protection program which would work on emails. I also am not willing to go with a hosting company thats crams all of its customers onto one server. If the company is large enough it should spread its customers over onto different servers to avoid lagtime, etc. I am not willing to deal with slow servers or lagtime so any of that would have to be very minimal.

I am just in disbelief over how cheap hosting is with surpasshosting.com and I want some honest opinions is it really that good of a host? If anyone has heard anything about either of these companies or can recommend any others to me. I'm not willing to go with a company that has not been around for more then a year. I am not willing to go with a company that runs their servers themselves on home pc's and crap like that. I want real stable servers that I don't need to worry about. If anyone can help by making recommendations or leaving me with advice I would appreciate it! I am looking to get restarted up as soon as possible. Hopefully this weekend I can get setup with a company and start uploading my websites.

Well, large hosting companies cannot please everyone, right? You should expect negative comments from every company. I was thinking of using SurpassHosting too. I'm sure that they look very good, but maybe they oversell, if it is so cheap? ^^

Originally posted by Rose Module
Well, large hosting companies cannot please everyone, right? You should expect negative comments from every company. I was thinking of using SurpassHosting too. I'm sure that they look very good, but maybe they oversell, if it is so cheap? ^^

Well the thing is, is that I didn't find any negative comments about Webspacesolutions just good ones but I found quite a few negative threads about SurpassHosting. I was inquiring to get opinions from clients who use these hosting companies for their opinions on how the service is so I could make up my mind on which company to go with. SurpassHosting looks very appealing due to the price but from what people have said in past threads with lag time especially when running larger sites with php or mysql it just doesn't seem worth it. But I wanted to know if it still is a issue and how long it has been a issue for those customers.

Based on the pricing alone I suspect Surpass of overselling. Which of course means the server[s] will be crowded. Afterall they have to make up for the cost somehow/somewhere . . .

Re: Webspace Solutions I did'nt see anything larger than 1.6GB. you said you needed a minimum of 3GB space??

Have you a short list yet??

Originally posted by kneadingu
Based on the pricing alone I suspect Surpass of overselling. Which of course means the server[s] will be crowded. Afterall they have to make up for the cost somehow/somewhere . . .

Re: Webspace Solutions I did'nt see anything larger than 1.6GB. you said you needed a minimum of 3GB space??

Have you a short list yet??

Well I went with webspacesolutions. They made a custom plan for me. However I am a bit frustrated because they run the php in safe mode so I am limited on what programs I can use and so far have had to dump 2 of my biggest programs I used on my websites. My photo gallery of my pictures and a links program. I understand he does it for security reasons but it is a downside for me. I'm still looking around at other hosting options as webspacesolutions might not be the right one for me. But for now I am staying with them. I am just really bummed about my gallery program :(

How much bandwidth are you looking for, sinz? If you can give us specifics, we can recommend some good hosts.

Originally posted by sinz
Well I went with webspacesolutions. They made a custom plan for me. However I am a bit frustrated because they run the php in safe mode so I am limited on what programs I can use and so far have had to dump 2 of my biggest programs I used on my websites. My photo gallery of my pictures and a links program. I understand he does it for security reasons but it is a downside for me. I'm still looking around at other hosting options as webspacesolutions might not be the right one for me. But for now I am staying with them. I am just really bummed about my gallery program :(

Basically I am looking for 60-100+ gigs of transfer per month. And more then 3 gigs (preferably 6 gigs) of space. For no more then $60/month. I don't want a host that has safe mode on php. I need to have mysql databases (unlimited or more then 6), cpanel, htaccess, has to allow adult hosting since 2 of my domains are adult sites. I need the ability to password protect. I would like stats, logs, etc. Oh and I host 7 domains. So I have to have the ability to host them all under the same plan.

I'm sure if you look around a little more you will find a host that offers Imagemagick, Cpanel, and SafeMode OFF withing your budget.

For your needs,

dathorn.com $40.50/month
autica.com $55/month (midphase company)
citadelhost.com $35

Originally posted by sinz
Well the thing is, is that I didn't find any negative comments about Webspacesolutions just good ones but I found quite a few negative threads about SurpassHosting. I was inquiring to get opinions from clients who use these hosting companies for their opinions on how the service is so I could make up my mind on which company to go with. SurpassHosting looks very appealing due to the price but from what people have said in past threads with lag time especially when running larger sites with php or mysql it just doesn't seem worth it. But I wanted to know if it still is a issue and how long it has been a issue for those customers. I've been using Surpass Hosting for over a year (15 months) and I'm very pleased with their services. The only time I've experienced downtime they've taken care of it quick and it's usually due to outside factors (DOS attacks, etc.). I believe they're pretty large for the hosting industry but they don't make you feel like a number. I like how I can check the server status and they try to keep everyone up to date on server issues over on their forums. Here are a couple my of my sites on a different Surpass servers:
www.craalumni.com
www.interactivefront.com

With regards to the assumptions that they're overselling I don't know about that stuff, I'm very happy with my uptime and feel like I get a lot more service then what I pay them. I've paid more for less with other hosting companies.

Good luck!

Originally posted by sinz
Basically I am looking for 60-100+ gigs of transfer per month. And more then 3 gigs (preferably 6 gigs) of space. For no more then $60/month. I don't want a host that has safe mode on php. I need to have mysql databases (unlimited or more then 6), cpanel, htaccess, has to allow adult hosting since 2 of my domains are adult sites. I need the ability to password protect. I would like stats, logs, etc. Oh and I host 7 domains. So I have to have the ability to host them all under the same plan. I checked Surpass site and the top plan is like 50 GB of transfer so unless you're looking at one of their dedicated servers you might be SOL with them. Unless you contact them about a custom plan. Not sure if they do that or not.

Sinz check with webspacesolutions. They may be able to remove safe mode on specifc domains for you. I have worked with a few providers in the past that worked with me on safe mode.

Originally posted by Odd Fact
Sinz check with webspacesolutions. They may be able to remove safe mode on specifc domains for you. I have worked with a few providers in the past that worked with me on safe mode.

I asked he refused to remove it. He is paranoid he is gonna get hacked. He won't even consider it. Had I known beforehand that there were limitations or restrictions I would never have signed up with the company. But I had some good recommendations from friends however neither one of the friends are as advanced as I am in running websites or hosting needs. He didn't have any information posted on his sites as to the limitations and I even asked him if the specific programs would run on his servers and he said yes to all. I'm feeling a bit deceived and kind of upset over the matter. He didn't even give a clue that some programs might not work on his server or even hint to the fact that he runs in safe mode only. From what i've been told by other webmasters who have had more experience then I or have actually ran their own servers it really isn't necessary and it limits you majorely on what you can and can't run.

I don't mean to badmouth his company because I do think he is great, good customer service etc. But probably isn't for the advanced user and doesn't meet their needs if they want to use a lot of php programs like I do. However it is great for businesses who don't want downtime or people who aren't wanting to run a lot of programs on their websites because he has no downtime. However it is very frustrating to me because i've been using these programs for over a year and two of them I can't now can't use. I'm not sure whether I am going to try to find other programs to use or if I will be moving to a new host for sure or not. But for now I have stopped uploading my sites and i'm trying to figure something out. I definately need to get my adult site back up and running and each day the clock ticks I will risk more a chance of getting chargebacks (even tho I have the message saying I will extend their memberships for each day the site has been down). So i've got to make a decision fast. But I don't want to go with another host and find myself unsatisfied there as well.

Yup those chargebacks are real so you better decide fast. In fact in our experience (yes we publish adult sites too) once you post a notice offering to extend memberships many people see that as an opportunity to take advantage of the situation and chargeback anyway.

Good luck Sin