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03-02-2007, 05:10 PM #1New Member
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Windows Shared host Recommendation
I have already spent hours researching possible hosts on the various search engines, this forum, and other review sites.
First let me say, I have never tried to research a topic and become so frustrated! The amount of mis-information, fake "review and/or top 10" sites, poorly disguised forum posts, etc. on selecting a reliable host is mind boggling. This forum seems to contain some good information, but, it is hard work trying to pull out the real recommendations.
I really believe that affiliate marketing, referral fees and sheer number of competitors has made this industry so convoluted (online), that making an informed choice by the customer is nearly impossible.
That said, I'm here for advice. I realize I probably sound like every other new poster here - "which host do I choose"?
I am the Ecommerce Manager for a small company with an online store. The store is coded with ASP and I need ASP.NET 2.0 and MS SQL 2005 on a Windows server. Basic requirements are 5-7GB storage and 50GB transfer.
Most important, I need to know my site is going to operate most of the time, and the email for the 20 people in my company is going to work. Like everyone, I need reliable service and good tech support when something goes wrong, or I need help. My job depends upon it.
My current host doesn't meet the above requirements, so I need to change. After careful review, I'm considering Verio, Applied Innovations, BulkRegister (Enom) and Lunar pages.
Any feedback on the above will be truly appreciated. Any other hosts I should check out, please advise.
Sorry If I spoke out of turn and thanks for your help.
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03-02-2007, 05:41 PM #2.
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You wouldn't be the first person confused about hosting. The best approach would be to get a list of hosting companies (10 to 15) and start researching them by reading reviews here on WHT. From there start eliminating different hosts and you'll be lucky if you'll be left with one that meets your needs exactly.
I wish you the best of luck with your search.
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03-02-2007, 06:44 PM #3Junior Guru
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My advice would be to forget about the hype and make contact with a few hosts. Make some phone calls (or use any available live chat feature) and get to know one or two people from the their sales department. Start off with questions about billing procedures (to get a feel for how well they treat you in that respect) then move on to more hosting plan-specific technical questions. Come up with a question that no sales rep could answer without help from technical support then see how they deal with it. The idea would be to not only see if they can provide for you the service or feature that you've requested but to determine how efficiently and accurately they can produce their response.
Examine the routine server-side tasks that you will likely require then find out what goes into requesting that they be performed for you by technical suport. Most hosting companies boast 24/7 support but find out if their 24/7 staff has the access to the servers that you require. Find out what their policy dictacts that their maximum turn-around time for technical respones is.
Also, don't let yourself be mislead by hosts that promise the moon and the stars. Bandwidth and disk space cost money. Hosts that promise (nearly) unlimited GB of traffic and storage space per month are only trying ot kid you. This again falls back to billing procedures. What happens when you hit the limits allocated by the confinds of your hosting package? Do they terminate your service or do they simply charge you for extra resource usage? If they charge, how much do they charge? Do they provide a means by which you can monitor this usage? How flexible are they in their billing practices if your hosting account continuously uses more than what your hosting plan allows?
I too wish you luck with finding a good host that will meet your needs.
BillBill - Support Analyst - Liveblock Auctions International
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03-02-2007, 07:08 PM #4Web Hosting Master
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Hi CL2007, welcome to WHT! Your entirely correct, there is a lot of mis-information out there. I can't comment much more then the above posts already have, it really is best to take your time, make a list and do plenty of research. It's not easy and is time consuming, things that shouldn't be. If your the go-to guy at your office, I recommend learning to like this place a lot. Hang out here often. People here are absolutely brutal on hosts that screw up and we can usually spot one pretty quick. So hang around, you'll learn a lot. Always stay away from the oversellers and just because you get recommendations from people, still do your research. It really will make your job better in the long run. Look around for a host that offers business grade hosting, or application hosting. Best of luck!
Jim - 2Macs H-Sphere Web Hosting
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03-02-2007, 07:23 PM #5Web Hosting Guru
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- Oct 2003
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If you are looking for a Windows host with ASP/ASP.NET, then you should look for a host that focuses on this technology. I would recommend checking out http://www.411asp.net/home/hosting. This page lists a bunch of hosts that support .NET.
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03-02-2007, 07:28 PM #6Junior Guru Wannabe
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You did not mention price. I would advise a VPS option rather than shared account for a business. This is more for security. Also, you can add your own SSL cert.
Also, are you fully committed to the ASP software? If not, Linux VPS options are cheaper and there are many good PHP shopping carts.Last edited by dm_fw; 03-02-2007 at 07:31 PM.
Computer: A machine that can make the wrong decision faster that you!
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03-02-2007, 09:02 PM #7Web Hosting Master
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Originally Posted by dm_fw
Not a bad recommendation but it will cost allot more, I personally know from experience running windows servers aint cheap, and then security will cost more as securing windows is not the easiest thing to do and if permissions aint perfect there is always someone out there to try and hack away!█ The Hosting Heroes Ltd - over 20 years in the UK hosting industry.
█ Website Hosting | Reseller Hosting | Cloud VPS Servers | Dedicated Servers | VPS Reseller for WHMCS
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03-02-2007, 10:23 PM #8Retired Moderator
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First of all, welcome to WHT!
Second, I'll give you one bit of general advice: separate the reputation of hosts, by service. Good registrar does not imply good host. Good Linux host, does not imply good Windows host. Make sure that the provider you go with has a good, solid reputation for the service that you plan to buy from them.
Good luck!
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03-03-2007, 08:20 AM #9Newbie
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- Feb 2007
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I'm using www.successfulhosting.com for 3 month without any problem.
I've 100 uptime. Support always answer with in minuts.
I contected many time sale on chat for tech support and slaes also help me and even they login to my cp and configuered my cp.
And I've open many tickets and have long chat session with tech and sales as I was new to h-sphere.
I'm very happy with dem. (They don't have dedicated server )www.visD.no Traffic exchange
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03-03-2007, 07:09 PM #10Web Hosting Evangelist
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Originally Posted by CL2007
I have used Hostmysite.com in the past and they were reliable.
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03-03-2007, 07:32 PM #11Web Hosting Master
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Look into hostmysite.com and serverintellect.com
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03-05-2007, 10:48 AM #12New Member
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Thanks
Thanks for all of the comments.
Cost is not really an issue - I'll glady pay for quality and good support. I'll look into Windows VPS as a possible solution.
I'm looking into hostmysite as well as those mentioned above.
I'm curious if there is a specific host you recommend Bill?
Also, any feedback on Verio tech support is appreciated.
Jeff
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03-05-2007, 11:53 AM #13Web Hosting Master
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Jeff, a VPS will require to have knowledge of running and configuring a server -- similar to a dedicated setup with less resources. Just an FYI.
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03-05-2007, 04:10 PM #14WHT Addict
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Originally Posted by CL2007
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03-05-2007, 05:43 PM #15Junior Guru Wannabe
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Yes, a VPS would require knowledge of Win 2003. What a VPS SHOULD provde is a firewall from anyone else on that system.
If you job depends on the server, spend the $$$ and check that the hosting co. can not boot you w/out due warning.
Also, I am using http://3essentials.com/multiple-domain-web-hosting.asp, which has a B10 plan for $15 that matches your needs. I have not had any issues with the host except for PLESK access/usageLast edited by dm_fw; 03-05-2007 at 05:51 PM.
Computer: A machine that can make the wrong decision faster that you!
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03-05-2007, 06:20 PM #16Texan at Heart
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TechEvolution might be once company to consider.
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03-05-2007, 08:31 PM #17AKA "Faze"
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I recommend Siteground. Great site and has never treated me bad!
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03-06-2007, 10:27 AM #18New Member
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Again, Thanks for all of the help.
I've narrowed it to 3:
HostmySite.com
EDThosting.com
Verio.com
All offer the specs I need in a Windows server, All seem to have some good recommendations and I feel pretty comfortable that hosting and support will be somewhat reliable.
Does anyone know how good the email management at these companies might be? I'm hoping to find a host that provides a good level of spam and virus protection, since several users in our company are inundated with spam.
Thanks.
Jeff
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03-06-2007, 04:23 PM #19Web Hosting Master
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Originally Posted by CL2007
Spam is a total nightmare so I understand your concern.
Check with the host if the mail server includes anti spam protection. Also some good anti spam features include RDNS check and Greylistings.
I know smartermail 4 does this.█ The Hosting Heroes Ltd - over 20 years in the UK hosting industry.
█ Website Hosting | Reseller Hosting | Cloud VPS Servers | Dedicated Servers | VPS Reseller for WHMCS
www.thehostingheroes.com
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03-06-2007, 04:58 PM #20WHT Addict
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Originally Posted by CyberHostPro
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06-21-2007, 08:13 PM #21Newbie
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Cusco Travel Services
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