Web space providers

[ideasguy]

I'm in the process of reviewing providers of web space, as I suspect my provider is a bit expensive for the amount of disc sace provided. Currently I'm with:
http://www.easily.co.uk

I ran out of disc space on the ideasforgardens.net server (which had a palltry 100mb allocation) and find that the cost of extra space from Easily is £50 + VAT (= £57.50) for a extra 100mb of space.

In an email with Malcolm I happened to mention this,and he told me about his provider.

The hosting package we are on is on a linux mid package.
Here is the provider
http://www.supanames.co.uk/
A 1.5gb linux package for 2 years =£39.99 per year
A 1.5gb linux package for 1 year =£49.99 for the year
An extra 100mb cost £29.99

Needless to say, I'm considering moving to that provider, but would like to hear from other members who have their own web sites (Laurie, Chrissie etc).
Are you happy with your provider? Who do you recommend?

[NightHawk]

George, our Hosting company is Hostgator.com, based in USA.

We have the Swamp package which costs $14.95 per month, which gives you multiple domains, unlimited Bandwidth, unlimited Disk Space, and much more, at no extra cost.

We currently have 3 domains in use, so this would suit your needs having a few yourself.  They also accept .co.uk domains so this is not a problem.

We've never had any problerms with down-time and are extremely happy with their service.

Definitely worth a look.

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Thanks Laurie. Unlimited disk space sounds good for hosting the members WPG's

[NightHawk]

That's what sprung to mind when you requested info on another web server.  It still allows you to offer web space for WPG's of our members who don't have their own domain, which would have been a shame if that suffered in any way.

Kathy and I searched all over for a suitable hosting company, that didn't charge extras here, there, and everywhere for adding components to your basic package.  Which is why we ended up in the US.  Hostgator was the most cost effective option for us, with multiple domains, .co.uk support and unlimited data transfer and disk space being the biggest and most attractive features.

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Easily finally got my ideasforgardens.use email account working.
I paid in advace, they failed to renew, then they pulled the plug. I got the message it had expired had a panic attack, paid AGAIN,and they took until Wed this week to fix it, after umpteen emails, each answered by a different person (no continuity in discussion)
I made my complaints and demanded compensation. I asked for 100Mb on ifg.net.
They gifted me 50.
I'll haggle again, but at least it is capable of storing a few more WPG's for a while.

I'm also looking at setting up a server and hosting my own website. No limit there!
My IT colleague in my day job has already done this. Hes an expert in Comms and protocols, IP addresses, DNS admin, Networks, Firewalls, Internet Security etc etc, and hes been at me for years to follow suit. He assures me it is very easy
Problem of course, it has to be on 24x7 ( so what to do during holidays? etc etc) 

[NightHawk]

We did this for a while a few years ago.

We didn't buy our own server because they were very expensive and you're responsible for all the maintenance, repair costs and upgrades.

What we did was rent a server from a reseller company, paying a monthly fee.

The money was recouped by advertising ourselves on the Internet as a web hosting service and charging customers to put their web sites on our server.  We also offered a new domain registration service.  We were doing quite well initially. Then we started getting the inevitable pornographic web site owners wanting to buy space from us, or register porn web addresses for them.  We declined these type of clients and, although we made it clear on our web site that we didn't support adult material, they still insisted on trying to register with us.
Then we had the 'late payers' who we had to chase up.  In the end it was getting to be too much of a hassle so eventually we decided to call it a day and closed down this service.
 
The company we leased it from have their servers in a secure environment, do regular backups and maintain them at no additional cost to their other reseller customers.

The difference between what we were doing and what you plan to do George, was that we were offering hosting to the 'general public', whereas you will just want to offer free space for our members' WPG's.

It won't make you any money, so it's going to be a case of weighing up the cost against the benefits you'll get.

At least you've got the backing of your 'techie' friends to guide you through the process.

Food for thought anyway George.

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Thanks Laurie
That was quite an experience you had! Unfortunately, the undesirables of this world appear to be more energetic than most

When I said server, my friend assures me that a normal PC is quite adequate.

I have another option for the location of the server. My nephew runs this business:
http://www.tennisfundamentals.com/
(I wrote all his business software  )
He has a very good office setup. He lives right "next door" to PC World, so spares should be easily obtainable, and lives a few miles away from me, so I can visit and load stuff on directly.

We shall see. I have a breathing space again to think about it.

[roiphil]

Came across this site for free webhosting no adverts etc, am considering this myself http://www.freevirtualservers.com/free-hosting.htm but still reading through all the blah blah at the moment

[ideasguy]

I'm now looking at this again folk.
Any more info to throw in?

I dont see the SWAMP package on Hostgator Laurie.
I see three - Hatchling Baby and Business. Its been a while since your posting. Have there been changes?

[NightHawk]

I wasn't aware of any name change for that package George as my billing Invoice still shows SWAMP.

I've just been on a live chat with a HostGator rep and they say that the name has been changed and it is now known as the Business Package.

Same benefits that we're getting under the old Swamp name, and same price ($14.95 per month).

I guess they preferred a different name.  Swamp does sound a bit ugly. 

However, I still recommend them highly.  Excellent service, no downtime or other problems.  The Live Chat was very quick and I had my answer within seconds. 

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Thanks Laurie

I'm looking at all this now

[ideasguy]

Laurie
If its not sensitive, please post a link to one (or more if OK) of your websites hosted on hostgator (or reply by PM)

[NightHawk]

I've PM'd you the web site addresses George.

Laurie.

[ideasguy]

Thanks Laurie

[peter1925]

George, after you are all set with Web space, there is a very useful free service that gives you all kinds of
information about visitors of your web page. Including a world map indicating location of your visitors and much more. Statcounter.com

I tried to find you on Skype (name Ideasguy? or Ideasguy2?) but so far no luck, I would like to talk to you
after all these years.

Peter

[ideasguy]

Thanks for the info, Peter. There are a lot of things to consider in making a decision about hosting

I'll send you an email with the Skype details. It would be great to have a chat!

[Lyn and Malcolm]

Supanames increased their web space for same price

3gb web space for 2 years at £3.33 per month

http://www.supanames.co.uk/hosting/linux

Malcolm

[ideasguy]

Yes, Ive seen that Malcolm. Looks good!
I'm looking for a host who offers ODBC.
That allows me to write programs to connect to a database on the server.
If I can do that, IG Pro will have a few new features!

Supanet does that. Thanks for info.
I will be doing some tests with ODBC tomorrow before making decisions.