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  1. #1

    Need cheap, very reliable hosting - features less necessary!

    Hi all - I've got a website (<<snipped>>) which I've been hosting on InMotion for a year. It's about time to pay for the next 12 months and I realized I'm on their business plan at about $7.95 per month, and am really overpaying given what I need. On the one hand, I've been very happy with them, but I don't need much and can save a lot of change by switching to, e.g., BlueHost or JustHost, etc.

    What I really need is:
    -Very reliable, fast servers (I transfer large MP3 files to the site weekly, and they get downloaded pretty often, too)
    -Lots of bandwidth
    -Cheap

    What I don't need are all the extra features I see a lot of people talking about - tons of e-mail/FTP accounts, MySQL databases, website builders, etc. Hell, I haven't even dealt with customer support for the site.

    It's a very, very simple site, just some pages and MP3 files. What would people recommend for solid, reliable hosting for this?
    Last edited by Alex; 08-05-2009 at 12:15 AM.

  2. #2
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    How large are these MP3 files and how many downloads every month do you estimate?

  3. #3
    The MP3s are on average, say, 60 MB. My guess is on the order of dozens of downloads a month, but it's hard to tell (I haven't got the best stats counter). I'd feel more comfortable with unlimited bandwidth but if there's a service that's way better with just, say, a few GB a month, I'll live

    Apologies to the mod for the link in my OP! I just thought it would be helpful.

  4. #4
    Do you have preference on Shared/VPS?
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  5. #5
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    Quote Originally Posted by ramparts View Post
    The MP3s are on average, say, 60 MB. My guess is on the order of dozens of downloads a month, but it's hard to tell (I haven't got the best stats counter). I'd feel more comfortable with unlimited bandwidth but if there's a service that's way better with just, say, a few GB a month, I'll live

    Apologies to the mod for the link in my OP! I just thought it would be helpful.
    The thing you need to keep in mind that although they say "unlimited" there is a real limit that you will eventually cross - but you won't know until you are suspended or you get a nastygram because the limit is invisible to the end user in an "unlimited" plan.

    Beyond that - if you are very happy with your current host I would advise you stay where you are... More often than not you will move to another provider to save money and end up with lower quality service making you wish you had stayed where you were.

    Ultimately the decision is up to you
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  6. #6
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    feel more comfortable with unlimited bandwidth but if there's a service that's way better with just, say, a few GB a month, I'll live
    You shouldn't. There's not such thing as unlimited bandwidth, all the host have limits but they just hide you to you to deceive you to signup with them. Indeed is a shady marketing strategy and I would suggest you to avoid any host doing it. If so far you were lucky enough to have a reliable hosting from an unlimited host, then why don't you stay with them? try to downgrade to another plan like the personal starter.
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  7. #7
    Quote Originally Posted by gray929 View Post
    Do you have preference on Shared/VPS?
    I have none

    Thanks for the tips on "unlimited" bandwidth claims.

    If anyone can recommend a good service I'd still appreciate it - I agree I'd feel comfortable keeping it, but I see no reason to pay $100 a month when I don't use the majority of InMotion's business features. I'm not sure about the InMotion personal plans, especially because they require 24 month pre-pay (ideally I'd prepay for 12 months).

  8. #8
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    Quote Originally Posted by ramparts View Post
    I have none

    Thanks for the tips on "unlimited" bandwidth claims.

    If anyone can recommend a good service I'd still appreciate it - I agree I'd feel comfortable keeping it, but I see no reason to pay $100 a month when I don't use the majority of InMotion's business features. I'm not sure about the InMotion personal plans, especially because they require 24 month pre-pay (ideally I'd prepay for 12 months).
    Realistically HostGator is a fantastic provider and they were always good to me while I was using their services.

    Although they do offer "unlimited" disk/transfer they are a very good provider as long as you don't expect to use 1tb storage/5tb transfer etc...

    From reading some of what Brent said a while back he didn't want to go unlimited but in order to keep from losing a good portion of their market share they had no choice from a marketing standpoint.
    Michael Denney - MDDHosting.com - Proudly hosting more than 37,800 websites since 2007.
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  9. #9
    I suppose you need to try at least to calculate your needs. Approximately.
    But for the present moment knowing your current file sizes I'm certain you need to start with VPS

  10. #10
    SiberForum - I looked up the differences but couldn't figure out how it applies to what I've got. Could you please elaborate?

  11. #11
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    You can go for a shared hosting with a few GB of Space and lot of bandwidth. There are tons of hosting sites that provide you with these features. Make sure you let them know about the mp3 downloading if you are in shared hosting

  12. #12
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    Quote Originally Posted by SiberForum View Post
    I suppose you need to try at least to calculate your needs. Approximately.
    But for the present moment knowing your current file sizes I'm certain you need to start with VPS
    I don't understand the recent push here on WHT to tell everybody they need a VPS. There are shared hosting plans out there that will meet the OPs needs although they won't be in the traditional "cheap" price range most people request here and most providers offer; a VPS is certainly not in this "cheap" price range either.

    As you begin to look at the $12~25/month shared hosting plans you will find that they allow more resources, more storage, more transfer, along with the fully managed environment of a shared hosting server, usually with less clients than a standard $3~7/month server.

    The only time I really advise somebody to go VPS is when they need something custom that most providers won't either have already available or won't install for the end user or if they are trying something that blatantly violates the Terms of Service of most shared hosting providers.

    I don't see any reason the OP should move directly to a VPS imho - for the same price or less the OP can get what they need from a quality shared hosting provider without the additional headache of having to manage a server (as management on most virtual private servers costs extra).

    Good luck!
    Last edited by Mike - MDDHosting; 08-05-2009 at 03:59 AM.
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  13. #13
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    Quote Originally Posted by ramparts View Post
    SiberForum - I looked up the differences but couldn't figure out how it applies to what I've got. Could you please elaborate?
    And you can't work with your current web hosting service provider, can you?
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  14. #14
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    MikeDVB,

    Well as you can see, according to the OP himself, he transfer LARGE mp3 files weekly and gets downloaded OFTEN too. In the near future, he'll be having some trouble with a shared hosting environment if the hits grow exponentially
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  15. #15
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    You may possibly try to contact some of the hosts listed here (through their websites) and see if they can work out something just for you.
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  16. #16
    Alright, about how much data transfer (say, weekly) will I need before shared hosting becomes an issue? I'm looking for something with fewer bells and whistles than the shared hosting I have now on InMotion, not more.

  17. #17
    Your current provider should provide you with stats, Get those and go shopping.

    You don't need a VPS or dedicated hosting, you need a shared hosting plan that meets your needs (higher disk and bandwidth).
    USNYR Hosting

  18. #18
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    Alright, about how much data transfer (say, weekly) will I need before shared hosting becomes an issue? `
    That depend mostly of what kind of contents/software you run in your site, as example, we have a site using over 400 GB in shared account without causing any problem, while the past month we had to suspend an account which was using 5 GB (yes, 5 GB) due the horrible coded software that the customer was running.
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  19. #19
    Hmm - well, no software whatsoever Literally just HTML and MP3 files. Very, very simple site!

  20. #20
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    then you shouldn't have problems with the server load you reach over 500-600 GB per month if the transfers are done through the month (not all them in one day or anything like that)
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  21. #21
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    Well as you can see, according to the OP himself, he transfer LARGE mp3 files weekly and gets downloaded OFTEN too. In the near future, he'll be having some trouble with a shared hosting environment if the hits grow exponentially
    Correct, Though you also need to look at what happens if the site down the track does not expand & maintanins a blanced load?

    Then you would be paying more than you should, Not overally a bad thing, Though it is always best to start off around the requirements you have then expand on that if need be.

    Sean
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  22. #22
    Alright, so I think this is getting overcomplicated I have a shared hosting plan with InMotion that's perfectly fine, it's just got a few too many features and costs a bit too much. I was looking at, e.g., JustHost and BlueHost since they're cheaper and have got decent reviews, but then I looked deeper and found the reviews were more mixed. A few people claimed to have issues with, for example, the amount of downtime on these hosts.

    So far the only recommendation I've gotten (I think) is HostGator. Can anyone confirm that, or recommend/warn against JustHost, BlueHost, etc. for what I need?

  23. #23
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    Ramparts -

    Some critics of unlimited hosting here are offering unlimited database, unlimited email and unlimited domains, but only a few gb of disk space an bandwidth. Ask yourself: how can they do this and tell me that there is no such thing as unlimited; that its a fraud and merely a marketing device? And even if unlimited is possible, how can you offer unlimited everything except diskspace an bandwidth?

    This is the epitome of hypocrisy in hosting. They are the true liars. Whatever you do, avoid the advice of hypocrites. If they are willing to lie to get your business, just imagine what they are capable of after they get your business.
    Last edited by Collabora; 08-05-2009 at 07:46 PM.
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  24. #24
    Alright - does anyone have experience with BlueHost or JustHost? Any other similar hosters? How are they in terms of uptime, etc.? I was hoping coming here would be more informative than trying to collate dozens of web reviews from people who might not know what they're talking about as much as people here.

  25. #25
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    Alright - does anyone have experience with BlueHost or JustHost? Any other similar hosters? How are they in terms of uptime, etc.? I was hoping coming here would be more informative than trying to collate dozens of web reviews from people who might not know what they're talking about as much as people here.
    Have you tried doing a Search here on WHT for either Host?
    I have used Bluehost and they were not the best for running my Technology Board. The database was quite slow and I ended up leaving them after countless support requests to resolve the issue.

    I have seen some bad reviews on Both here on the Forum, But it would be best to do research here on both before even making your next move
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