Web Hosts

OhioYJ · February 10, 2023

So I've actually used the same web host for nearly 20 years now, only had one price increase (that I can remember?) However it has swapped hands a couple times in the last year all the sudden, and been doing some things that aren't making me feel comfortable. So I'm thinking about moving my site / domain. My site, code, etc is all mine, so moving things is easy. (It's a basic website, nothing fancy)

These are things that I would like to keep:

- Unlimited storage space

- Unlimited bandwidth

Things I thought were always Included but shopping around I evidently are not?

- Email from my domain.

- SSL Certificate (This is optional these days?)

- FTP (SFTP) Access

I definitely want to make sure I get private domain registration this time around (this is an extra fee with my current provider). The I have a limited number of databases with my current provider as well, but that's not a big deal, I haven't run into an issue with that.

I am currently paying $13.99 a month (paid quarterly). I don't care if it's paid monthly, quarterly, or yearly. I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest thing out there. I want a company with a good reputation and reliable. From my searching around, it appears for a "personal" web site, I'm already on the higher side of the things, so I believe I should be able to find something decent in this price range, if not cheaper. The two that initially caught my eye were DreamHost and HostGator? Anyone got other suggestions, opinions, feedback?

igormp · February 10, 2023

Why not get just the domain from a registrar and get a cheap vps from digital ocean or the likes?

You could also take a look at namecheap in case you want to go with regular hosting.

Levent · February 10, 2023

Hostgator did bend me over years ago. I cant recommend them.

OhioYJ · February 10, 2023

1 minute ago, Levent said:

Hostgator did bend me over years ago. I cant recommend them.

Do I dare ask?

OhioYJ · February 10, 2023

11 minutes ago, igormp said:

Why not get just the domain from a registrar and get a cheap vps from digital ocean or the likes?

You could also take a look at namecheap in case you want to go with regular hosting.

Looks like namecheap has some plans that would work. Digital Ocean has limitations, that wouldn't really work for what I'm looking for, especially since it looks like it would cost just as much. (If I'm following correctly.)

kirashi · February 10, 2023

1 hour ago, OhioYJ said:

So I've actually used the same web host for nearly 20 years now, only had one price increase (that I can remember?) However it has swapped hands a couple times in the last year all the sudden, and been doing some things that aren't making me feel comfortable. So I'm thinking about moving my site / domain. My site, code, etc is all mine, so moving things is easy. (It's a basic website, nothing fancy)

These are things that I would like to keep:

- Unlimited storage space

- Unlimited bandwidth

Things I thought were always Included but shopping around I evidently are not?

- Email from my domain.

- SSL Certificate (This is optional these days?)

- FTP (SFTP) Access

I definitely want to make sure I get private domain registration this time around (this is an extra fee with my current provider). The I have a limited number of databases with my current provider as well, but that's not a big deal, I haven't run into an issue with that.

I am currently paying $13.99 a month (paid quarterly). I don't care if it's paid monthly, quarterly, or yearly. I'm not necessarily looking for the cheapest thing out there. I want a company with a good reputation and reliable. From my searching around, it appears for a "personal" web site, I'm already on the higher side of the things, so I believe I should be able to find something decent in this price range, if not cheaper. The two that initially caught my eye were DreamHost and HostGator? Anyone got other suggestions, opinions, feedback?

1 hour ago, OhioYJ said:

Do I dare ask?

Many good webhosts from back in the day have been getting snatched up by Newfold Digital (formerly Endurance International Group aka EIG) who then strips them of their remaining goodness and makes them cross "compete" against each other, even though they're all owned by the same holding company.

http://researchasahobby.com/full-list-eig-hosting-companies-brands/

https://www.webhostingsecretrevealed.net/blog/web-hosting-guides/the-who-what-when-of-endurance-international-group-eig/

https://newfold.com/newsroom/clearlake-completes-acquisition-of-endurance-international-group

https://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?t=1827631

TL;DR: stay far, far away from anything owned & operated by Newfold Digital if you want reliable service.

I've been with the same shared + VPS hosts (Crocweb & Hawkhost) since I left Hostgator back in the day. I've had few issues with their services for the needs of my test sites and the small business sites I maintain, and their support has never given me any flak for reporting performance issues like EIG companies have.

That said, I strongly suggest doing your own research on sites like https://www.webhostingtalk.com/ to get a feel for what's out there. If you're okay rolling your own host from scratch, configuring your own VPS as recommended by @igormp is also an option, though is more work than a managed host.