How to host a website

Hi guys,
I would like start a business and for that i need a website. To start with the hosting, i'm bit confused about that, could someone please help in finding the Top web hosting service providers?

Please use the search feature on the forum located under "quick menu".... Or refer to the "web hosting" section.... You will find tons for threads/posts which can help.

I guess it's your lucky day today

I was looking for coupon codes for my PBN and I found a great one from iPage where you'll get hosting for $1 per month but you'll have to pay for the whole year which is $12. Make sure you uncheck/untick the extras or else the price won't be $12.

Here's the secret link:

Note: The link above is not an affiliate link, affiliate links are not allowed on this forum. This link is directly to the offer without any financial gain on my part.

The coupon code is:

By the way, iPage is one of the most recommended hosting companies, I was even surprised when I saw this offer. I haven't used iPage but have heard good things about it.

Good luck with your website.

To begin with, there's no "best hosting service". There are a whole lot of them, and which one is "the best" is entirely subjective. It's highly dependant on your own needs and requirements.
You need to ask yourself the following questions:

What is my website?
Is it e-commerce? Is it just a personal blog? Am I going to use it for development? You're asking yourself this because they will require different things. Take e-commerce as an example, you'll likely need both web hosting, an SSL Certificate to ensure security, and a domain. You can either split these up at different providers, or you can find a provider which can offer it all to you.
For a personal blog or development, you might just need the web hosting and domain (or a free subdomain if the provider offers that).

How many visitors will I have?
If you're just starting, don't plan on having a huge amount of visitors from the get-go. The reason why you're asking yourself this question, is because every even decent host has a limit on something called "bandwidth". Every time you get a visitor, that visitor esentially downloads your page. That means data is being transferred, and that goes toward your total cap. There are other things that consume bandwidth - but generally, a small personal blog with very limited visitors might consume somewhere about 300-500 megabytes of bandwidth a month. A popular blog or e-commerce site with several thousand visitors daily might instead consume a whole heap of bandwidth (all depending on the size of the website).

A warning here is to not look at hosts offering "Unlimited" bandwidth or "Unlimited" diskspace. There's no such thing, and it's generally a big warning sign that they're not serious. It's an old, albeit still effective, marketing plan.

What is my budget?
On top of the above, you'll need to find a host within your budget. That doesn't mean you should settle for a host that you might not feel great about just because it's a bit cheaper than another one - it's better that you spend an extra dollar per month to find a host you'll be pleased with. However, this is a saturated market, and prices are therefor very competitive.

How is their support?
If this is your first time around, you'll likely need help with various things. Have a chat with any host you're thinking about, to get a feeling for how they run their support and how they talk to their customers. This will play a key role in your overall satisfaction with that host, so take the time to evaluate them.

How is their reputation
Try to find reviews and such for your candidates. See what other people think about that host! If they have a bad reputation, then there's no reason you should choose them.

iPage, BlueHost, HostGator - Endurance International Group
I see someone above recommending iPage, and I want to give you a fair and rather stern warning here. Since you're new to this, you're likely to not have heard about EIG, or the brands that operate under them. Basically, iPage, BlueHost and HostGator are some of the absolute worst hosting companies you could possibly go for. They have an absolutely horrible reputation in the web hosting market. They once used to be good hosts - but eventually, they were bought up by EIG, and after that, it's been purely downhill. Their support is horrible (and very, very slow), their performance is lacking, their backbone is terrible - the only reason these companies survive, is because they are huge providers, with a lot of customers who simply do not know that there are a lot better options out there.
iPage is NOT one of the most recommended companies. It's one of the LEAST recommended options.

The single biggest mistake you could make is by signing up with one of these providers. This is a mantra that is spoken of very often, and which you'll easily find more info about by running a quick search on either of them (or on the EIG brand as a whole). There are simply so many better options out on the web hosting market.

There are two exceptions to the EIG road of destruction so far. One is A Small Orange, and the other one is Arvixie. These two companies have yet to go down the spiral that the other companies in the EIG-list have - so if you're looking at one of these two, then you're still on good grounds.



Best of luck in finding your provider. Don't hesitate to ask if you've got any more questions.

Now this is a pretty slick way to promote your hosting company, you are good haha D:

Stop lying man, these companies might be bad as you say they are but they have good reputation online not a bad reputation or else they wouldn't be the most recommended. If I go to Google now and search for hosting, I'm going to find them, not you. They might have bad reputation in underground forums and small websites, where I will never go to search for hosting.

I use them and I'm happy, that's it! They have bad support? Now that's hilarious D:

If you underground guys have the best hosting then you should do a better job in marketing your stuff.

Seriously though, you should work on your marketing (including the other hosting companies you think offer the best hosting). For someone like me, who doesn't know anything about hosting, I'm going to use whatever is on the first top 2 pages in Google.

So instead of saying bad things about other companies, you should work on your marketing. To me, it seems like you're saying bad things about them just to promote your own stuff. According to me (understand that, according to me part) if you're the best then you should be on the top 10 most recommended, if not then relax and don't say bad things about other companies.

Yes they have a big budget, but if you think you're the best then there's a lot of ways you can take them out of business, that's if you're providing the best hosting service and you can convince people that the popular companies are offering crap. That's a big advantage and if you don't see it then too bad for you and other underground hosting sites who think they have the best hosting as compared to the popular companies.

Don't crash other companies, instead learn from them!

That's my 2 cents!

Nytshade said:

Now this is a pretty slick way to promote your hosting company, you are good haha D:

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This has nothing to do with marketing. This is a question commonly asked among the communities I am involved in, and it is commonly answered the very same way. That's for a good reason.

Nytshade said:

Stop lying man, these companies might be bad as you say they are but they have good reputation online not a bad reputation

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I could link you to as much info as you need to tell you the exact opposite. You're dead wrong here, but go ahead and PM me if you wish me to prove it to you.

Nytshade said:

or else they wouldn't be the most recommended.

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They aren't recommended by anyone who actually knows the web hosting business.

Nytshade said:

If I go to Google now and search for hosting, I'm going to find them, not you.'

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That's because they're backed by investors who spend ludacris amounts on SEO, and because they have a huge brand.

Nytshade said:

They might have bad reputation in underground forums and small websites, where I will never go to search for hosting.

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They have a bad reputation among the web hosting community. That's not underground by any means.

Nytshade said:

I use them and I'm happy, that's it! They have bad support? Now that's hilarious D:

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I'm glad you're happy. I'm not saying they only have unhappy customers.

Nytshade said:

If you underground guys have the best hosting then you should do a better job in marketing your stuff.

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I'm not underground by any means - nor do I claim to have the best hosting (if there was such a thing). I do agree the marketing is important though - thanks.
I can however easily claim to offer better services than iPage, if that's what you mean.

Nytshade said:

Seriously though, you should work on your marketing (including the other hosting companies you think offer the best hosting). For someone like me, who doesn't know anything about hosting, I'm going to use whatever is on the first top 2 pages in Google.

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This is the exact problem. Most good web hosting providers (including many a hundred times my size) simply can not beat HostGator or other EIG-brands at SEO, as they simply can't back it with funds. A lot of clients don't do valid research before choosing their provider, and so they either end up being contempt with their choice, or they're unhappy - at which point they repeat the process again and go to the next terribly run company and sign up again.

If clients were to (as OP here did) actually ask around and do some research beforehand, they'd generally end up a whole lot happier.

Nytshade said:

So instead of saying bad things about other companies

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Once again, nothing I said is untrue. Whether or not your experiences coincide is another thing. In this case, I'm simply trying to guide OP away from making a choice that has a bigger chance of making him unhappy, than happy.

Nytshade said:

To me, it seems like you're saying bad things about them just to promote your own stuff.

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That's not the case - I'm sorry you feel that way though.

Nytshade said:

According to me (understand that, according to me part) if you're the best then you should be on the top 10 most recommended, if not then relax and don't say bad things about other companies.

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You do realize that these "Top 10 Recommended"-things are purchased by EIG, right? They buy sites with amazing SEO-work done in these areas. None of these sites are ACTUALLY real.
Here's a real, unbiased review of iPage for you: here

Nytshade said:

Don't crash other companies, instead learn from them!

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Learn from EIG? I do intend to be successful, but not at the expense of my reputation.



For the remainder of this conversation (should you decide to answer), please don't place me in some corner of people who trash other companies to market my own. I'm rather well versed in the web hosting business, and I'm in this case trying to help the OP avoid making very common mistakes. Whether or not that your perception of it is irrelevant, but it's the case.

You guys are missing the most important thing here. You are thinking like a web host company, take a moment and put yourself in my shoes (think like the customer).

I'll never go to page 3 of Google searching for hosting, NEVER! You're talking about RAM and EIG, but for someone like me, that means NOTHING. Understand that and stop thinking like a company for a second.

Actually that's some really good advise, if you think about it

Looking at MightWeb's response and yours ElixantTechnology, you never think about what the "average customer" thinks like, you're only thinking about someone who's a geek in hosting. As an average customer, I don't have time to do research, I just want to pay the lowest price, that's all. Before you start thinking like a company again, I'm not saying these companies offer the lowest prices. I'm just giving you a customers perspective.

Now what I said about MightWeb's post sounding like he's trying to sell his hosting company, you have to understand that it's how I feel after reading it as an average person who's not a geek in web hosting.

And people lose jobs everyday, that's nothing new, they're thinking about what's best for them. If you were running the company you would do anything to cut cost, that's simple business rules. Nothing wrong with that.

Nytshade said:

You guys are missing the most important thing here. You are thinking like a web host company, take a moment and put yourself in my shoes (think like the customer).

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I'm not missing anything. If I were to think like a client, the advice I give to people would be terrible. By thinking like a web host, I know what to avoid and what to look for, and so I can give them educated and sound advice.

Nytshade said:

I'll never go to page 3 of Google searching for hosting, NEVER! You're talking about RAM and EIG, but for someone like me, that means NOTHING. Understand that and stop thinking like a company for a second.

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I know that means nothing to you. That's why we're bringing it up. Whether or not you decide to take it as actual advice is up to you, but what I can say, is that if the OP listens to your earlier advice, he's making a mistake. If he listens to mine (or Elixant), he's not.

Nytshade said:

Looking at MightWeb's response and yours ElixantTechnology, you never think about what the "average customer" thinks like, you're only thinking about someone who's a geek in hosting.

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Once again, I can easily place myself in the shoes of an "average customer" - but that doesn't mean I'm going to go around recommending terrible hosting companies, since I know better.

Nytshade said:

As an average customer, I don't have time to do research, I just want to pay the lowest price, that's all.

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That's a bullshit excuse, and a terrible defense. You may be happy with iPage, but there are a whole heap of people who aren't, and it's all down to the fact that they didn't research their provider. You research any other provider before picking them, why would web hosting be different?

Nytshade said:

And people lose jobs everyday, that's nothing new, they're thinking about what's best for them. If you were running the company you would do anything to cut cost, that's simple business rules. Nothing wrong with that.

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I'd advice you to read into what has actually happened with the majority (as stated before, ASO and Arvixie so far being the only exceptions) of the companies. In this case, you're defending the devil.

You have to understand that I never gave OP any advise, I just shared something that will be great for him/her to test the waters. If you read carefully then you would have realized that I just started using iPage for my PBN, I've never used them before so I can't recommend something I don't even know.

I just thought it's good to share it with them and let them decide whether it's good for them and their budget or not.

I'm not against your advise, it's good advise but saying other companies are absolute worst hosting companies you could possibly go for while you're offering web host, it just makes me feel like you mean yours and other underground web hosts are the best and these popular companies are offering crap hosting.

Do you get it now?

I'm not being defensive when I say I don't do research on web host, I don't have time for that. Call that BS, it's fine but I don't see any reason for doing research, maybe you do but I'm just average Joe not a geek so I don't have any reason to do deep research.

Nytshade said:

You have to understand that I never gave OP any advise, I just shared something that will be great for him/her to test the waters.

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I'd classify what you said as advice. If that's not what you ment, that I guess I misunderstood you.

Nytshade said:

If you read carefully then you would have realized that I just started using iPage for my PBN, I've never used them before so I can't recommend something I don't even know.

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And yet you speak of their marvellous reputation.

Nytshade said:

I just thought it's good to share it with them and let them decide whether it's good for them and their budget or not.

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There are heaps of budget hosting companies with far better services compared to iPage. What I've been trying to make you understand here is that whilst you may have perceived what I originally said as self-promotion, what it in the end is, is very sound advice to help OP avoid making a mistake when selecting a provider that he intends to rely upon. EIG-brand companies generally have absolutely terrible services, especially when compared alongside good reputation hosting companies (InnoHosting, CrocWeb, StableHost, MDD Hosting, etcetera). The two exceptions to this rule are once again ASO, and Arvixie - so far.

Nytshade said:

I'm not against your advise, it's good advise but saying other companies are absolute worst hosting companies you could possibly go for while you're offering web host, it just makes me feel like you mean yours and other underground web hosts are the best and these popular companies are offering crap hosting.

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I understand how you may feel that way - but then again, as a web hosting provider, I'm rather well versed in the area. That's why I went into this thread to begin with, to give advice based on actual knowledge rather than opinion.
I'd also like to hear your definition of an "underground web host", since I don't know the term, and it sounds rather odd. As specified before, I'm by no means underground - and none of the companies I mentioned above are either.

But yes, compared to for example InnoHosting, CrocWeb, StableHost, MDD Hosting or even ourselves - iPage is terrible. So is BlueHost, and so is HostGator, to name a few of the large players.

Nytshade said:

I'm not being defensive when I say I don't do research on web host, I don't have time for that. Call that BS, it's fine but I don't see any reason for doing research, maybe you do but I'm just average Joe not a geek so I don't have any reason to do deep research.

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So if you were to base your income off web-services (such as e-commerce), you don't find it adequate to do a bit of research before you decide who hosts your website? Even if money is at stake?
Hosting performance, uptime, features and customer service play a huge part in your success - and as a customer, you expect your provider to live up to certain requirements. Finding out if they do beforehand seems like a proper thing to do - but that's just my opinion, of course. When I select my providers, I tend to choose providers whom I can trust.

This is no different from when you're discussing what TV-provider to choose, or which cellphone contract you're going to have. They are all providers of services that you need, and I am absolutely certain you didn't just select those two based on who ranked best in Google.

Nytshade said:

If you underground guys have the best hosting then you should do a better job in marketing your stuff.

Seriously though, you should work on your marketing (including the other hosting companies you think offer the best hosting). For someone like me, who doesn't know anything about hosting, I'm going to use whatever is on the first top 2 pages in Google.

That's a big advantage and if you don't see it then too bad for you and other underground hosting sites who think they have the best hosting as compared to the popular companies.

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What is this term you speak of when you refer to my legally registered, licensed, tax-paying, established and trusted business as being "underground"....

Nytshade said:

You guys are missing the most important thing here. You are thinking like a web host company, take a moment and put yourself in my shoes (think like the customer).

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Not only are we thinking a web hosting company, we are also thinking as customers as well. You need to consider that every company is, and has started off as a customer themselves. You don't just suddenly jump into any sort of industry being a leader; you introduce yourself to said industry, as a customer. I've been involved with the Web Hosting / Web Development / Programming industry now since I was 11 years old (14 Years), I've owned my company now for 2 years. The 12 years before I launched Elixant Technology, I was a customer. I've been up and down damn near every company that you can think up, and I can tell you the ups and downs of every single one. It is my job to be well informed and educated.

Nytshade said:

I'll never go to page 3 of Google searching for hosting, NEVER! You're talking about RAM and EIG, but for someone like me, that means NOTHING. Understand that and stop thinking like a company for a second.

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Jeez, never trust reviews on the first page if you're planning on building a business and establishing your presence on the internet, it's pretty much Business 101. RAM is an important aspect, and huge companies such as EIG and Godaddy have a very small amount of resources that they give their customers access to. What does this mean? A maximum of 15-20 concurrent connections to your website at any given time. What else does this mean? Things can get really slow, really quick. What does this mean for you as a customer? You will need to upgrade much sooner than later to a much more expensive resource as recommended by your current hosting provider (upselling), when with small-medium sized companies (or as you refer to them, Underground) you will have twice as much room to grow your business without having to worry about your services being suspended or terminated for over-consumption. Not only does this save you time, but it will also save you money in the long run.

Nytshade said:

Actually that's some really good advise, if you think about it

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* Advice

Nytshade said:

Looking at MightWeb's response and yours ElixantTechnology, you never think about what the "average customer" thinks like, you're only thinking about someone who's a geek in hosting. As an average customer, I don't have time to do research, I just want to pay the lowest price, that's all. Before you start thinking like a company again, I'm not saying these companies offer the lowest prices. I'm just giving you a customers perspective.

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The average customer is misinformed, and unfortunately due to this they are directed towards a service that (maybe not right away) eventually they will regret purchasing; at which point they WILL conduct their research (if they are in fact educated on operating a business) and make a properly informed decision. What we are trying to do is simply educate people on circumstances that they may encounter when going with the specific umbrella company, rather than them having to deal with these issues themselves. Whether or not they choose to utilize the discussed service is solely their decision, however, they can be proud knowing that they made the decision, and IF/when something goes wrong, they will know that they had been warned prior.

Nytshade said:

And people lose jobs everyday, that's nothing new, they're thinking about what's best for them. If you were running the company you would do anything to cut cost, that's simple business rules. Nothing wrong with that.

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Jeez, show some sympathy guy. Just think, hundreds of people lost their full-time jobs. Now, those hundreds of people have families that relied on their paycheck and medical benefits that were provided by their employer. One day, they got told that they were being replaced by [Removed By Moderator] with language barriers that know nothing about the services they company offers just because they are willing to work for half the amount of money. Now, these people have to look for new jobs and during their time unemployed they will will have to live much more frugal; maybe that means their children don't get the packed lunch that they are used to; maybe that means Christmas gets cancelled; maybe a couple of these families lose everything and end up on the streets. Keep in mind also, that is a LOT of money that leaves the local economy, and whether you realize it or not, it has a negative impact on many businesses in the town that said office was located. So, for all you know, even more job losses took place..... Now tell me, wouldn't you be upset if you were in their shoes?

There are a thousand other Hosting Companies out there that if recommended we would not of said anything, and would otherwise wait to hear about the customers experience with them before judging. It is a proven fact that EIG has been an issue to the industry for quite some time; this cannot be argued. I'm not saying "Screw EIG, come to Elixant Technology RIGHT NOW!!!" what I am saying is to be careful where you put your business. Saying you are looking for the cheapest host out there is like saying you would put your life savings into opening a retail business out of a crack shack in detroit just because the rent was the cheapest that you could find. You know you are going to get robbed and have all your merchandise stolen from you if you were to make a decision like that, why not consider the same thing when selecting a Hosting Provider?

You guys are hilarious, then you say you get my point haha D:

But it's cool and then you thank each others posts. Thnx for the great laugh guys it's fun D:

And it's cool if you believe your company is commercial not underground.

I've seen worse, I'm from South Africa. I see people from poor African countries taking jobs from South Africans because their willing to get paid half the salary. I'm not talking about 1 company here or a couple of 100 people, I'm talking the whole country and the situation is getting worse day by day.

[Removed By Moderator] are opening shops in ghettos here in SA and local shops are closing down because these [Removed By Moderator] are selling stuff at good prices that poor and middle class people can afford. This is messing up the economy in our country.

The government is opening fancy malls in the ghetto which is killing local businesses. I can go on the whole day about South Africa not just 1 company. There are worse situations than what you're telling me about.

Yes, I feel sad but to complain about it doesn't solve anything. I can show sympathy but that won't solve anything. I see poverty everyday of my life guy and I know sympathy doesn't solve problems.

At least I'm helping people from my neighborhood to build a better tomorrow for themselves instead of complaining about the government and foreigners. What are you doing about the situation you're complaining about? What have you done for the people you're talking about?

Are you just showing them sympathy?

Anyway it's cool, I'm out since this is now going off topic!

This thread is definitely going off topic with taking the ridiculous to the sublime... First of all:

1) The OP should know better to ask such questions... No one is going to hold your hand... You need/want web hosting then do your own research and just get on with it... It seems to me you are procrastinating and further I've seem some of your other threads and its clear you are apprehensive and lack a lot of the basic knowledge to even begin starting an online business... When starting out YOU must get on with things and along the way you will indeed make mistakes... Mistakes are good thing as you learn from them... For example I've been with bad hosts - but if it wasn't for that I would not of learned about effective strategies to backup/restore my site as well as optimizing performance and in the end how to migrate to another host.... as well as use of CDNs to overcome DDOS attacks/improve performance etc..

2) Another thing I have noticed is that a lot of unknown web hosts are resellers of the big names.. For example its pretty easy to set-up shop as a web hosting firm as a reseller e.g. with hostagator as well as many others... So my question to all concerned here is how can I know beforehand that such a firm is not a reseller of the same cr**??? There are so many of these guys around.... Further it also raises the question of who actually owns the physical equipment and infrastructure... and why its a mine field when choosing a web host... Alot of these guys are found on pages 2,3,4,5.. on the SERPs etc...

3) Indeed there has been some useful info on this thread... For example - I agree unlimited storage/bandwidth is all BS... No such thing.... Also the comment "EIG-Brand hosting account is capped off 't with the Betterlinux minimum of 256MB of RAM" is worth noting but doesn't mean much to most folks unless supplied with the info why its not so great i.e. are they issues with traffic numbers at a certain level etc.. and what the alternatives are... I think its worthwhile to compile a list of factors which can help us all - as I too find it confusing when we get into binary numbers without any discussion on actual reasons/benefits... Also its definitely worthwhile to include the limits on number of sites on a shared hosting which should be in place - that is something you never really see on webhost sales pages... I wonder why lol...

4) I will add I have many websites on many hosts... I do have concerns with EIG as I'm not a fan of large monolithic firms... However I will say that its not all that bad... For example my opinion of Bluehost is good... They have 24/7 support via chat, extremely professional and to date all my problems have been resolved without any issue... and further website performance has always been good... Just dont ask me about godaddy ;-) However I also suspect that its a lucky draw as you can end up on a server which has issues due to shared hosting so I can understand negative comments but that also applies to all web hosts in cases of when things go out of control such sites being hit by DDOS attacks and you happen to be on the same server (its happened a few times for me due to other sites on the server causing me to leave/move ASAP but to be fair you cant blame the webhost for that...)....

Finally my best recommendation for all concerned and my biggest lesson to date with web hosting is the following:

Never use your web host for domain registration... Separate the two... That way if your web host goes down you can quickly set the DNS to point to a new web host without hassle....

On that note ;-) ....

I agree it's going off-topic. I do however find it interesting that you completely missed all of the important parts throughout this thread, and now replied to one of out several points that were made. I'd further much appreciate if you'd stop referring to proper businesses as "underground". Is offensive, especially considering you've yet to define what you mean by it.

To the OP:
Basically, my suggestion for you is to look at my original post, assess your situation, your requirements and your budget - and then do proper research on whatever provider you're thinking about. If you go for an EIG-company, you're likely to be unhappy. There are also simply much better alternatives at the same or lower costs out there - so there's no valid reason to choose them.
If you're considering a company and want our opinion, then post back!

heal the world make it a better place, for you and for me and the entire human race <3


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D:

Jeez, I left this party yesterday thinking that the conversation was over. No need to continue arguing guys.

@elcidofaguy you ask how to check whether a host is a reseller of another shared hosting provider's services; By utilizing network lookup tools you will be able to deterrmine who the IP Address space and Network space is assigned to. Yes, a lot of providers will utilize similar network infrastructure and datacenter space; however, that does not mean that the host is the same. Keep in mind also there will be trends as per good and bad infrastructure. I reccomend starting at http://www.network-tools.com; something you want to look for would be WHO the IP Address space has been assigned/reassigned to. Look for the Arin Org-ID to determine this.

As an example:

http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/AMS-360.html (Elixant Technology)
http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/BLUEH-2.html (BlueHost)
http://whois.arin.net/rest/org/EIG-12.html (Endurance International Group / EIG)

(The above is not considered as self-promotion; but as a quick example)

Okay, so what are you getting at?

Basically, a reseller of solutions will be utilizing IP Address space of another provider. Though a web host may not be operating their own infrastructure (i.e. owning a Datacenter), services vary between companies that may be housed within the same building. Though, to show independence, companies will have either their own IP address space; or space that has been reassigned to them by the Datacenter. This will require verification on behalf of ARIN (the guys who govern IP Address space in North Amrica, it's RIPE in Europe and AFNIC in Africa).

This may not mean much to most people, though you did ask how to technically differentiate companies.

I do apologize if this post is kind of rushed. Please feel free to ask me questions if you don't exactly understand where I am getting at.

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Everybody smile.