February 18, 2005
Your-Site Can Kiss My Ass
I am shopping for a new Web Hosting service. My current service (your-site.com) SUCKS. Without getting into the sordid details, let's just say that a minor mail server upgrade the other night has resulted in a 36 hour (and counting) email outage and no customer service. Zip. Zero. Nada. This is the third major downtime incident in the last year. Unacceptable. If you've tried to email me or the missus since about 8PM Pacific on Wednesday, we haven't received it and I'm not holding my breath. Sorry - nothing I can do about it.
So I am waiting until the mail issue is resolved then I'm switching hosts. My question is - any recommendations? I don't need a dedicated server, shared hosting is fine, and long as they have a reliable uptime track record. My current host says 99.9% uptime but I can tell you that's a crock of shit. I'd like a decent amount of storage and bandwidth, MySQL and some real genuine guaranteed uptime. Is that so much to ask?
The best deal I've found so far is DreamHost. They might be overselling a bit (2400MB storage and 120GB monthly transfer for only $7.95 - yeah, that's overselling) but I've not found any real negative feedback about them. Do you have horror stories about them? Are there others I should consider? Feedback please... Muchas gracias amigos.
In the mean time, I'm enjoying, in much the same way one enjoys shoving bamboo shoots under their fingernails, the task of performing a full backup of everything I've got jammed up on their servers. Since the aforementioned shit-for-brains host has taken to closing my FTP connection after a mere 800kb of transfer, this shouldn't take more than, oh a week or so... Joy.
In Other News: It's a big weekend here in old PS. The Palm Springs Modernism Show starts tonight and runs all weekend, many other modern living/loving related events also running concurrently. It's also the kick off of the Riverside County Fair and Date Festival, though I think I'll save that for next weekend. Should be fun! Oh yeah and there's a chance I might get to meet the one and only LA Rush tomorrow. Unfortunately it's pouring rain so she probably won't get an accurate impression of the normally sunny paradise that is our little hamlet we call home. I'll still do my best to be a good will ambassador and show her and her clan how the natives live! Yes, that definitely involves cocktails...
Posted by MJ at February 18, 2005 09:21 AM | TrackBackI started out on Dreamhost. They are very responsive. I jumped to Bloggerzone and then Hosting Matters when DH had a problem with Movable Type. (The way they had things set up, you could never rebuild without timing out.) That's probably been addressed by now.
I am very happy with Hosting Matters, too. So, either one would be a good bet.
Posted by: Solonor at February 18, 2005 10:46 AMI use Hosting Matters http://www.hostmatters.com as well. They're da bomb. I have the $11 a month package. It's their most popular package and there's a direct link to what it includes from their index page.
Hi Solly!
Posted by: Chari at February 18, 2005 10:54 AMI'm very happy with Verve Hosting http://www.vervehosting.com/ and they have kickass support and I've never had any downtime with them (even when they were upgrading and moving stuff around).
Posted by: michael at February 18, 2005 10:57 AMi suggest www.etwebhosting.com...customer service kicks ass and pretty reasonable prices too.
Posted by: cara at February 18, 2005 12:01 PMYou know this goddamn weather follows me everywhere. I'm surprised it isn't friggin snowing. But I will be there, even if it's raining locusts, to cash in on our bets. ;)
See you tomorrow!
Posted by: LA at February 18, 2005 12:47 PMIve been with dreamhost for years - any downtime has been very nominal, perhaps one event a year and of very short duration - I have no complaints.
Posted by: keith at February 18, 2005 05:24 PMI will second Vervehosting.com. I've been with them 4 years or so and never had problems. Their tech support and customer service are wonderful. The pricing is nothing like that dreamhost package but I think it is competitive.
Posted by: Veda at February 18, 2005 06:45 PMYeah, I went with DreamHost for a minute until I found out about the problems MT users have had with them. I'm in the process of switching over to Surpass Hosting which I don't have any experience with yet, but who I heard is pretty reliable and has really good customer service.
Posted by: Erica at February 18, 2005 11:53 PMDon't let her chew your ear off about me, MJ. I'm her favorite subject.
Posted by: Robyn at February 19, 2005 01:11 PMI've used DreamHost for about a year and a half, there have been a few (3-4) outages, but never for more than an hour or two.
Posted by: mps at February 20, 2005 01:18 PMI recommend http://www.insiderhosting.com/. I've been hosting several domains there for well over a year. No outtages. They're excellent and support is very responsive (the few times I had to use them).
Posted by: greybird at February 21, 2005 09:04 PMI would strongly recommend http://www.hostrocket.com and their Giga-Plan. I can't speak highly enough about them.
Posted by: Andy at February 22, 2005 01:26 AMI also highly recommend www.etwebhosting.com
Try submitting a ticket into their support desk (http://helpdesk.etwebhosting.com) and you'll find out how fast they are. It's amazing.
They bill themselves as "fully managed" and "premium" hosting, and I agree with it. I've been using them for a few years, and every time I need help they are there within minutes.
What I *love* though, is there server announcement mailing lists. They post announcements into the list for your server whenever anything happens, no matter how small it might be. It's nice being able to know when my site had a "hiccup", etc. Most hosts just treat you like a customer, whereas etwebhosting.com goes out of their way to treat you with respect.
They aren't a budget host, but I believe you get what you pay for. If you go with another provider who oversells.. you're going to wind up in exactly the same place as you are now eventually.
BTW - no they don't have an affiliate program and I'm not being paid. I just like their service a lot. My site has had exactly zero downtime in the last 2 years with them.
Posted by: The Gimme A Buck Guy at February 22, 2005 07:46 PM
