I have a couple dozen sites that I need to move from Godaddy. Right now they are all generally the 150 GB space with 1500 GB transfer. Generally, I do not need that for most of my sites. They are random sites ranging from simple pretty much static html pages that run around 100 MB to PHP and coldfustion sites.

My largest drain of users is an art site. The graphics are high resolution so people can see the detail in the artwork before they buy it. That site is actually running a little over 120 GB of space used right now (I just checked) and the usage is varied on it so if I need a different host for that one client, so be it.

I would love some personal opinions on hosting from people that have experienced hosting with a particular company. I read on here that people would just suggest their own companies but I would love some input because I've been on this site for hours and looking for a host for days.

Positives and negatives are good to hear. Personally I want to move from Godaddy because of support issues. Godaddy is great for registering domains but I have had them move databases on my clients without warning the client (yes honestly). I have had them redirect different sites onto my customers domain names. I don't need or want to freak out on someone that is doing a support desk job. It is a bit taxing when they can't explain some things that have been going on lately. Hence the move.

I have shared servers that are Linux or Windows based. I prefer Linux but as long as my clients get whatever applications running that they need, I don't particularly care which I have. I don't need Coldfusion (hopefully) as I am trying to get away from that.

I want a host that is using Cpanel preferably (and fantastico would be nice too). Some of the sites I need multiple databases on (mysql). External domains, subdomains, multiple websites, multiple emails are a need. FTP and SSH obviously.

Budget - they aren't all technically mine but the ones that aren't I do all the design work on so I can't just say I'd put them all on a dedicated server. Shared servers seems to be the way to go. Cheaper the better. Under 20 a month great. Under 10 better. No I won't be able to move them all in one day for the sake of my own sanity but I am sure I can do it over a few days.

Before I start banging my head against the wall, since I really don't know much about the hosting part...please can someone give me their opinions, reviews, ratings, anything on a host? I appreciate it ahead of time.

Real import for me is support. Just in case I want to ask my host a really (what seems to me) stupid question, I would like decent support back.

Thanks ahead of time.

I almost forgot, two of my clients have blogs (not good with Godaddy). I should have added that to my list of things from a host.

Thanks

Firstly, I believe mods should be moving this thread to General hosting forums as this is Windows specific section and you'll be getting more replies in General section.

Secondly, for such a high amount of disk space/bandwidth requirement, I will suggest you to go for either a high end vps or a low/medium end dedicated server in order to get good performance. You will be able to find some shared hosts who will be able to satisfy your requirements. However, be sure that you check their TOS to ensure that you do not end up getting suspended for various restrictions that they enforce for cpu/memory usage while providing high amount of disk space/bandwidth in shared plans.

Good luck!

- Rick

I think a Fully Managed VPS would be a good idea, or maybe a VPS & a reseller account so you can make your own accounts ECT.

Take a look in the offers section, post some company names and get some feedback.

I always believe contacting the new host prior to signup asking a few questions and judge them on their reply.

im not well experienced but i think godaddy is a big name. u can also move to some hostgator.com or yahoohoting or something like that i dont know the correct site of yahoo for hosting. i dont hav experienced them by my self. but they r big names i hope they will b good for u.

Sorry if I posted this in the wrong place. Long day. Yahoo I have tried and don't want to go that route again. I don't want to repost the thread. Will someone move it for me or do I need to request that? Thanks and my apologies if I stuck this in the wrong spot.

might i suggest that you look at a decent vps, or maybe even a dedi server, the client that is using 120GB space kinda dictates that you should be on a dedi box, what is your budget for this? there are some pretty good offers on dedi boxes

My client with my largest usage sadly has the smallest budget. I will try and do pretty much anything to make my clients happy but I don't need the added cost of a dedicated on myself. I know, I know. I could split the cost between my clients but I would really like to move the sites without any added cost to them right now. Times are tough.

There are just so many hosts out there it is confusing (and there are too many of those top rated website review sites that are only advertisements at best).

You could be a bit creative with the art site. That is a huge amount of space. Look into alternative solutions for that one--lower the res and/or find a store solution or other site that specializes in media and can host the images. You and your client can see that space isn't free, and come up with a workable solution.

With that one solved, the rest of your sites shouldn't present a special problem. But choose a quality host, or you'll be back here again soon! :)

My largest drain of users is an art site. The graphics are high resolution so people can see the detail in the artwork before they buy it. That site is actually running a little over 120 GB of space used right now (I just checked) and the usage is varied on it so if I need a different host for that one client, so be it.
I think you have to stick the site with Godaddy because it's difficult to find a cheap reliable hosting solution for that much disk space.
If there's no upload feature on the website, you can host graphics with goddady and website elsewhere.
Other sites can be hosted in one reseller account.

I think a Fully Managed VPS would work great for you.

Install cPanel and WHM on it also it'll work great for you.

Many people will suggest this for you.

@Shadowelf (http://www.webhostingtalk.com/member.php?u=307144)

Get all the revenue generating files on to a good, stable RAID hosting solution with CDP backups. Move the blogs to a small VPS with your main site. Ensure the connectivity to b/w mail site & files is over LAN.

As for the client with minimum budget and maximum cost. Communicate & explain! Do you best and leave the rest to him.

They allow unlimited space (Live Support have told me anything upto 1TB is acceptable)
<<snipped>>

So, unlimited is a lie, then?

More than 1TB may be acceptable, it's just that I asked if it would be ok. If you want to go and ask if 2TB is acceptable be my guest!

I felt this was pretty clear: "anything upto 1TB is acceptable".

My client with my largest usage sadly has the smallest budget. I will try and do pretty much anything to make my clients happy but I don't need the added cost of a dedicated on myself. I know, I know. I could split the cost between my clients but I would really like to move the sites without any added cost to them right now. Times are tough.

There are just so many hosts out there it is confusing (and there are too many of those top rated website review sites that are only advertisements at best).

You have been rather fuzzy on the Linux versus Windows issue and your description implies you might need both depending on the list of applications used by your clients. There are very few hosters that do a great job on both and Godaddy is not one of them...

If Windows hosting can cover your requirements then you can find a lot of good suggestions by reading posts here in the Windows forum.

Although you have a client with 120 gigs of space, it's probably more important to see how often that material is accessed and how that translates to transfer bytes and CPU usage. If you email some of the hosters you find here with a detailed description, I suspect that the 120 gig thing won't be a huge problem if the usage is low.

I felt this was pretty clear: "anything upto 1TB is acceptable".

Well it's always nice to apply an actual number to "unlimited" which for some reason seems less daunting than the mathematical concept of infinity...

I imagine that any human being with a functional IQ, will take the word "unlimited" whenever encountered in the advertising of anything as marketing fluff... Otherwise we would all expect to be surrounded by glamorous models whenever we drink certain brands of beer!

You are just never going to get reliable hosting for your 120GB art site. Even if you found somewhere it's going to be very difficult to move all that data without the help of your host and commandline FTP tools. And no small budget host is going to move 120gb data for $5/mo. So I think you're stuck at Godaddy for that website.

try a site like justhost.com. I think that would be great for your situation.

Might want a dedicated server with all that bandwidth