Web Hosting Talk : Web Hosting Main Forums : Web Hosting : GREAT googly moogly! TOS recommendations please

[John Amos]

I've been looking at various web hosting sites and my head is spinning - I thought cell phone plans were bad....

All I'm looking for initially is a place to host photos for auctions, and also to put up family photos etc. I also want to put up avatars for various discussion boards. Evenutally I also may want to build a basic website.

Anyway, the thought of finding someone to host a site for me (rather than using my ISP user pages) came about because I have a unique domain name I want to register, and figure I might as well have it hosted by the company that I register through.

But - I'm truly a newbie, so a lot of this stuff is confusing....

1. Does it make a difference what language the host server uses? Some sites advertise separate rates for 'Windows' hosting. OK, I know this sounds dumb, but I use only Windows machines (no offense Mac folks) and I'd hate to pay for hosting and then find out I have to pay more because I chose the wrong type. Also, it looks like the domain name I want will have to be .net or .org if that makes a difference.

2. Are there some basic minimum TOS's I should look for? What do you recommend for minimum storage and data transfer per month?

3. I'm not looking for the cheapest, but I really don't want to pay much more than $5 per month.

4. Go Daddy offers a deal where they can secure your personal domain registration info for $9. Is it worth it to keep 'whois' from showing your personal contact info?

5. Why the big difference in domain registration fees? Most seem to be about $10 yearly, but I saw other sites that charged up to $40.

6. Any horor stories of companies to avoid?

Thanks for your help,

John Amos

[ENSupport]

1. Windows hosting supports .net and .asp.. It cost more because of windows licences. (Linux is free)
2. There is no minimum storage/tranwer... I think you meant maximum.
3. Expect crappy support and downtimes for that price.
4. Nope
5. Other people want to make money from domain names.
6. Use search feature

[ENSupport]

And if you woundering if you can host pictures on linux servers, then YES :-D

[porcupine]

John, you're making me relive early morning television horrors, quit it! , whats that phrase from.... geeze i know this one, my younger sisters watch that show

[Lesli]

I remember the phrase from a sitcom. A relatively short-lived one, mid-eighties, set in some southern US state. Not deep south - maybe southern state in midwest? The character who used that phrase was generally unshaven and wore a baseball hat. Beyond that, my memory's spotty ;->

1) The only reason it would make a difference in what language / operating system the host used is if you wanted to use some very specific programming language that only ran on one platform or the other.

On the domain extension you choose...hosts should be able to host either of those with no problems. Almost all registrars can handle those domain extensions, as well.

2) Basic minimum TOS'...I'm not sure what you mean by that. Can you clarify?

For minimum storage, open up Windows Explorer and select all the files that you want to put on your web site. Then right-click and select "Properties" from the popup menu. That will tell you how much disk space those files use.

Bandwidth isn't such an easy question to answer. Most personal sites don't use more than 5 MB per month, and most actually use less than that.

You'll want to find a host that allows you to upgrade your hosting plans quickly and easily - and for little or no fees beyond the difference in cost between one plan and the next.

3) It's possible to find hosts that will offer you large amounts of resources for very little monthly fee, such as hosts that offer "unlimited" disk space or bandwidth. Read their TOS very carefully - often, they will actually have a limit as to how much disk space or bandwidth you can use, but will "hide" this. Also, some hosts that offer unlimited disk space and / or bandwidth may try to maximise their profits by crowding as many accounts onto a server as they possibly can (which is part of the reason for the "hidden" limits on how much disk space or bandwidth you can use.) This isn't to say that all hosts that offer unlimited anything are bad news - just be careful to read and understand their client agreements and restrictions.

4) I would not register for GoDaddy's privacy screening because, if you read their agreement fully, you'll see that by signing up for this service you essentially turn ownership of your domain over to GoDaddy. That isn't something that I want to do. I have not received a significant amount of spam from my domain WHOIS information - never have, actually. If you're truly concerned, get a PO box and use that contact address. Then create an email that you use only for your domain registration. This lets you receive any legitimate communication from the registrar but conceals your actual physical address and primary email address from anyone trying to look through WHOIS records to get that information.

5) The big difference in domain registration fees can vary. Some places make up their profits in bulk, such as GoDaddy, and so they offer lower prices on individual domains. They also operated for a long time as a "bare bones" domain registration service: no phone support at all, not a whole lot of extra services. Other places may charge higher fees based on how much they pay for the domain names, their own business plans and operating budgets, what have you - balanced out with what they perceive to be median market price for domain registration services.

6) Ahhhhh...horror stories. The only ones that I have personal experience with are a bit outdated (I left the hosts a while ago), so the customer service may have improved a lot.

The best way to shop for a host, if you don't have time to compare them yourself (which isn't always easy) is to ask friends for recommendations. Barring that, get a shortlist of potential hosts and then ask if they have customers who you can contact, and then ask them about their experiences with the hosting company. Hosting companies will probably not be able to give you this information instantly - they have to check with their clients before giving out information or they run afoul of their own privacy policies - but they may be able to give you some URLs or email addresses.

Finally, check FindMyHosting.com. It's one of the few hosting directories that isn't owned by a web hosting company, and accepts no advertising from hosting companies. You won't see any "featured hosts" (translation: hosts who pay higher fees to get higher listings or have showcase ads) there, either.

Best of luck!

[porcupine]

Eekk! it hit me, "maggy and the ferocious beast" is the little kids cartoon that uses that phrase, geeze i shouldn't know this stuff

[akashik]

Originally posted by John Amos
3. I'm not looking for the cheapest, but I really don't want to pay much more than $5 per month.

While $5 a month isn't the cheapest it's certainly getting close. When you're looking at that price range I'd suggest you also pay close attention to their acceptable use policy and terms of service. In many cases a 'cheap host' won't allow you to link off site or use your space/transfer for avatars and what have you.

Of course some $5 hosts will let you do anything you like, and often find themselves in a bit of trouble when the bills arrive.

Your experience will depend a little on the forums you link too as well. Heavy forums, and auction sites are going to raise the eyebrows of any host that doesn't allow that kind of thing.

Best of luck in your search.

Greg Moore

[idologicJeff]

<opinion>

1. I really don't think it matters. A company might choose its webservers to be Linux machines because they believe apache is more secure, less patches have to be applied. However you (as a client) must be able to transfer files to/from your site which means as long as you can use an FTP client you should be good. Can you tell which OS WHT is using?

If you get into more serious stuff, back end scripts, perl, php, support is essential.

2. The most important thinks I think you should look at are
i. What are the consequences of overages (ie using too much disk space, bandwidth)
ii. Spam policies
iii. Will you be on the same server as adult content sites
iv. How much down time does your provider accept as reasonable. What do they do if they exceed that?

These type of things.

3. Generally you get better service when you pay more and more resources. You have to decide for your self what your needs are.

4. Other company's will do it for less ($8.95) I would say yes, you want to "own" your own domain and ... have dns servers for your domain.

5. I can't answer this one. I guess it depends on that particular company's policy for getting keeping clients and setting pricing.

6. None. Sorry.

Cheers
Good luck in your search.
Jeff