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Choosing a Web Hosting Provider

If you're reading this, you have hopefully come to the determination that you need a web hosting company to house your website, deciding not commit "business suicide" by trying to do it yourself in your own office or home. Now, comes the hardest part - finding a reliable hosting company to do it.

There are probably a million web hosting providers, virtual hosting resellers, and affiliates out there. Most web hosting companies are terrible and literally shouldn't be in business. Some are homes to spammers and have been blacklisted, which can seriously damage all of your web marketing initiatives not to mention cause you e-mail problems. Where you host your site matters.To make matters worse, getting candid advice and honest reviews is nearly impossible because most of what you find is nothing more than a sales job disguised as a review.

Even though every customer we work with needs it, we do not offer hosting. But, we do offer our opinions and honest information to keep you from wasting your time, money, and compromising your business through inferior and almost criminal hosting plans.

Here it is...

Step 1

Pick a hosting plan that's right for your business or personal needs.
If you didn't read our information about hosting plans and haven't figured that part out yet, go back and read that first.

Step 2

Find a company to host your website for you.
We offered web hosting for several years, so we know a thing or two about it. We have also researched web hosting providers for countless hours over the years - not only for ourselves, but for our customers. Finally, we have worked with a lot of them along with our customers on just about every level imaginable.

Here are the following web hosting companies we recommend. These recommendations are based on our own personal experiences as well as a survey we did with Internet Marketers across the country.

Main Criteria:
  • Reliability and Performance of Website - Zero to .01% downtime
  • Excellent Support - Can reach someone by phone quickly and have issue resolved satisfactorily
  • Good Hosting Features


Windows Hosting - ASP.NET


We'll cut to the chase here. We thought it was virtually impossible to find reliable Windows hosting out there. However, thanks to the survey of Internet marketing professionals and an excellent customer experience, we have found two excellent sources for Windows hosting.

Alentus

Overview: All they do is Windows server hosting. They've been in business 10 years, and they have an impressive customer list, featuring the likes of Coca-Cola, Fidelity, and LG. They offer shared hosting and dedicated web hosting along with other Windows applications.

Verdict: We have first hand experience and received high recommendations for their shared hosting from our survey. They get excellent marks for shared hosting plans, which are suitable for most small to medium-sized companies. We have heard their dedicated server plans are also excellent, but we have no first hand experience. Our top choice for shared Windows hosting.

View the Windows Hosting Plans at Alentus


Hostway

Overview: Another award-winning host that has been in business for several years servicing customers big and small. Offers both Windows and Linux hosting along with an array of other Windows business applications.

Verdict: We have first hand experience with their excellent managed and unmanaged dedicated servers for Windows. Customer feedback has been tremendous. Performance, reliability, and support have all been excellent. We believe their pricing is about the best for their dedicated hosting options, which include Plesk management console. Our top choice for dedicated Windows hosting.

View the Windows Hosting Plans at Alentus



Linux Web Hosting


Linux is the most popular hosting option, running on approximately 2 out of 3 web servers out there. It is also generally cheaper and more reliable. It is cheaper because Linux is a "free" open source operating system and more reliable predominantly due to the fact it is more commonly used for web servers and has more support. We'll leave the Windows vs. Linux debate for another time.

At any rate, with so many choices for Linux hosting, we've narrowed down the choices based on reliability, service, support, and features to bring you what we feel are among the best hosts in the business.


HostMonster

Overview: In business since 1996, they specialize in complete hosting solutions for small to medium-sized businesses and individuals. They offer one hosting plan only.

Verdict: We have a HostMonster account that houses several websites as well as work with many people in the industry who use HostMonster. For the money, it is impossible to beat. It is perfect for internet publishers, bloggers, and companies/individuals who want an easy plan to setup and host several websites. Uptime and support for websites and e-mail have been excellent. cPanel with Fantastico makes setting up blogs, Content Management Systems (CMS), and other robust (and free) tools a piece of cake. Unlimited space, e-mails, ftp accounts, subdomains, and more. Our top choice for inexpensive Linux hosting for publishers and companies who want features but don't need complex DNS setups, pre-installed libraries, or static IP addresses.

View the Linux Hosting Plan at HostMonster


IX Web Hosting

Overview: In business since 1999, they host nearly a quarter of a million domains. They offer three different tiers of shared hosting at their newly upgraded data center in Hopkinsville, KY.

Verdict: We have an IX Web Hosting account that houses several websites and e-mail accounts. We work with companies who also use IX Web Hosting. They have made several upgrades to their data centers, customer tools, and service departments. You can usually get someone by phone immediately, and e-mail support is very fast (not as good as phone). They offer multiple domain accounts that are very easy to set up and administer. We like IX Web Hosting because they offer dedicated IP addresses for each domain in your account, often on different A class IP addresses, which is great if you want to house multiple websites dedicated to increasing search engine traffic to your main website. They also offer dedicated IP addresses for FTP and subdomains as well as a lot of control over things like DNS. Installation of third-party tools is usually pretty easy because they have excellent server configuration and supporting libraries. E-Mail is rock solid, but it doesn't seem to filter out spam as well as other hosts. Our top choice for inexpensive but powerful Linux hosting for small business. Note: although they do not market Windows hosting aggressively, they do offer it. We do not recommend their Windows hosting packages.

View the Linux Hosting Plans at IX Web Hosting


WeDoHosting

Overview: WeDoHosting owns and operates its own data center in Canada. However, there is absolutely no reason to prevent US based companies from hosting their site with this award-winning provider.

Verdict: WeDoHosting got high survey marks, and their staff is easily accessible by phone. They offer complete hosting packages, including shared, dedicated, managed, and co-located hosting. Their services are suitable for small companies all the way up to serious e-Commerce sites. Additionally, they offer Windows hosting. We cannot recommend their Windows ASP hosting only because we have no experience or feedback regarding it. However, we would think it should be a safe bet. Their pricing is in Canadian dollars, so there is a savings on the exchange rate.

View the Linux Hosting Plans at WeDoHosting


Rackspace Managed Hosting

Overview: Customized solutions for dedicated managed hosting.

Verdict: Rackspace's Fanatical Support program and managed dedicated hosting service got excellent marks. Managed dedicated hosting is suitable for high-traffic websites, corporate solutions, and large companies. Reviews were mixed on small business options. Rackspace customizes hosting plans are expensive. If you have the need, you will want to contact a RackSpace rep and discuss configurations.

More information about RackSpace
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