Preamble:
When i create a website for a client, i usually leave hosting up to them. This is an area of great debate, because it’s generally considered easier for the client to just do everything for them, including registering the domain name and hosting the site, including the prices for both in your bottom line.
Unfortunately, this leaves a lot of room for problems in client relations, because when the host has downtime, it looks (to the client, usually a layperson who has no practical understanding of how a web site – much less the interweb in general – really works) as if it were your fault. At the very least, the person responsible for refunding the irritated client is the designer. And i don’t like that idea, because i work in customer service for my day job, and i see how people can get: one little thing goes wrong, and people want credit, Free Stuff, and a massive discount on anything they want forever. Maybe i’m a jerk, but i want to make it clear that i’m not behind the entire curtain. If i painted your car and it broke down, i’m not responsible.
Not only that, but when i’m done and paid, i want to detach myself from the project. The development process is hell on earth, and i’m not one for sticking around and doing odd jobs for nothing.
The downside to my approach is that the client has no idea what to look for, or what to do when things go wrong. This is exactly why i’m thinking about changing my methods in this area. However, i do prefer the client to retain total control of what they, after all, own. Recommending the host and the domain registrar is the simplest thing to do, and lets the client decide what parts go into the final mix.
Finding Great Web Hosts:
For those of you looking for web hosting, there are a slew of great providers out there. The scene has changed fairly radically in the past few years, with more hosts offering a plethora of great features at prices that are extremely low.
When i finally got back online this year, i did a lot of research on web hosts. My criteria was simple (more or less): best bang for your buck. I wanted PHP and MySQL support, at least 100MB of disk space, and good bandwidth, at a company known for reliability and uptime, that had a great general track record, was well-known and liked, and had been around for at least a few years. So, basically, i just wanted PHP scripting, a database, some good space, at a great host.
Sidenote: If the host provides a public forum for support, that’s a huge plus. Browsing their message board will tell you all you need to know (and if not, post your question and have the host – and, perhaps more importantly, their users – answer it).
I got a lot of great information from Web Hosting Talk (but i’d advise you to read at least 30 entire threads before even thinking about posting the classic newbie questions, such as “what’s the best host?”). (And don’t even think of Googling “$hostname reviews” because all you’ll get are affiliates looking to make money.)
Here’s what i narrowed my own choices down to:
- DreamHost
- loads of good reviews, huge fan base
- ePowHost
- definitely check out their weird TOS first
- PowWeb
- BlueHost
- another with lots of fans
- HostGator
- (the one i eventually went with)
- Site5
- host 5 sites, each with their own truly independent control panel; probably a good choice for web designers who want to host for their clients
- Media Temple
- a lot of big players use (mt).
Each has their strengths (and, presumably, their weaknesses), and each have a core group of users who heap lavish praise upon them.
Keep in mind, though, that i’ve had good and bad experience working with smaller hosts, and good and bad experiences with bigger hosts. The above list only mentions the bigger, most respected names out there, and this is precisely because there are far too many really good boutique hosts to even begin to list.
Hope this post helps people find a good, reliable host on the cheap.
