“Can you give me advice on which host to go with to host my blog?”
It’s a question that I’m asked a lot – but one that I can’t offer a lot of personal advice on as my blogs have been successfully hosted on b5media’s servers for a couple of years now. We use LogicWorks at b5 but I’m interested to hear who you use and recommend to host your blog?
Who do you use to host your blog? Why do you use them?
No affiliate links in comments please – they will be deleted.
I first had webspace on an American Server but then I moved to a vServer (more space and more possibilities) in Germany (united hoster). They are very cheap and very helpful. They also have a nice Service-Team and you can choose which OS you want to use.
My brother and I both use HostGator for our sites. I like them a lot – they are very responsive.
http://www.Hostgator.com
I use HostMonster. It offers some amazing services at cheap cost. Unlimited space, unlimited sub domains, permitting multiple domains for the same account etc. These met my requirements. In addition, the reviews for host monster have been great so far.
I use http://www.HostRocket.com – and I have only good things to say about them.
Reality check network
Expensive, but reliable and quick to respond
I have a Yahoo Small Business Account. Initially, I was using their MovableType. However, when I recently had my blog re-designed, the designer switched me over to WordPress (.org, not .com). From what I’ve read WordPress is supposed to be more user-friendly. That has not been my personal experience so far though! I have had a lot of problems with including images and video. (I hear that it’s because of certain Yahoo plugins, but it has been a pretty frustrating experience…)
I have been using 1&1’s home package for almost a year and haven’t had any issues. It’s a pretty cheap package, about $30 USD for six months, and it’s perfect for those just starting off. You get plenty of space and mysql databases to set up several blogs.
I can’t speak on experience with customer service because I haven’t had any issues. I don’t think 1&1 is the best choice but they are acceptable. I’m sure there are better choices out there if you can afford them.
I started my personal blog on blogger as my hosting company destroyed my original VPS. Now both my blogs are there and I’m only now starting to feel constrained. I’ll be moving to a WordPress install on my new, better VPS (clustered.net in the UK) as soon as I can.
Really need to get some better URLs for series pages and there’s a couple of resources I’d like to host with permanent addresses too.
Anybody have hints for migrating from blogger?
I echo Bluehost. I started out with Netfirms and I am afraid they were awful. Just did not offer any advanced functionality at all – no proper access to .htaccess, hence no SEF URLs, a basic requirement. Also, the servers were REALLY slow (heavily shared server farms, no doubt). But I was a newbie then and didn’t know…
I cut my losses (no pro rata refund) and moved to Bluehost and am very happy – pretty reasonable customer support, not very common with hosting companies, LOTS of space, bandwidth (I’ve never come close to using them up!), unlimited domains (which was only introduced after I signed up but which they gave me on request with no quibbles) and full access to most server configuration stuff like php.ini, .htaccess etc. Very little downtime, too.
All for about $80, pretty good I reckon, I’m happy.
I’ve bounced around quite a bit over the past few years.
Currently with Bluehost for several sites.
I used to be with Reseller Zoom, but I need Ruby on Rails for non-blogging related purposes so I was forced to switch.
My first host was Hostony, but after some billing and email downtime issues I moved.
My first pick would be MediaTemple, but I just don’t need that kind of computer power at the moment.
I’ve been using Rimuhosting, and I’m not satisfied at all.
Another Media Temple user here. Love it, and with a coupon code making it $15/month and referring a few people for free money, it is a great deal :)
I’m using BlueFur hosting for most of my sites. Their level of service (including uptime) is outstanding, I’m able to host multiple domains on one account (could not do that with last host) and their prices are very affordable.
I very much enjoy using http://www.squarespace.com — they do both the hosting AND all the back end (a la wordpress) in a very graphical user interface kind of way.
I would strongly not recommend BlueFur
Nice post. Right now I’m using a small VPS from GoDaddy. I thought GoDaddy would be reliable (and they are). I’m happy with their service and uptime.
My blogs are hosted on Midphase and they have been there since early 2005. Good price and no significant problems during these more than three years.
I’m a fan of Media Temple and their Dedicated Virtual hosting. Anything less than that is equivalent to high end shared servers. They have solid up time, outstanding customer service, and plenty of resources.
Another provider I have herd raves about is Joyent. I haven’t used them myself but hear nice things.
I’m with Media Temple. I have both a (gs) account (which is what I use for my blog and all my side-projects) and I manage a (dv) account for my dad’s business site.
Other than some very minor issues with uptime (that didn’t even really affect me), they have been fantastic. Customer service is great, you can call them any time of day and get an intelligent, friendly and COMPETENT person. The (gs) deals with the Digg effect very, very well and the (dv) is just rock solid.
If you are fully competent with the command line and want the best price/performance option, Slicehost is also an excellent, excellent provider. I’ve worked on a few sites that run on Slicehost and it is very, very slick. Probably not as ideal for bloggers as you don’t get any kind of control panel, but for anyone who is looking at building their own app, its a great host.
They are all so similar, but what can make a difference is customer service.
Bluehost is my preference. They are awesome. Even when it is not the hosting servers problem, I have a question, they try to be helpful on how to solve your problem…most companies are quick to say “Um, mam, we don’t support that blah blah” They are always overly helpful.
Bluehost rocks!
We use Typepad. It’s pretty powerful, the cost is right and we can create / host an unlimited number of blogs. Typepad came highly recommended from our blog “coach,” Debbie Weil, and we’re pretty happy with it so far. The downsides: It’s not very intuitive if you are using a custom design. For design novices like me, it’s better to use a custom header as part of one of Typepad’s themed designs. That gives you plenty of control over the content.
I use apis networks for my personal and travel sites, they’re cheap, reliable and have a wonderful control panel interface.
Brinkster… third year running… Good support, pretty good prices…
That said, I have no idea why I don’t just use one of my webservers at work… “flamin’ geek” that I am…
sime
I’ve been with InMotion hosting now for a year and they’ve been great. Their base packages aren’t that great with regard to number of databases, but the uptime and service is excellent.
I have used HostGator.com in the past and they were great and I didn’t notice any downtime, but I upgraded to a ServInt.net VPS and haven’t looked back.
A Small Orange, Love ’em.
I use MediaTemple’s Grid Service (http://mediatemple.net/webhosting/gs/) because it’s fairly cheap and it can totally handle Digg traffic. I got tired of my previous host shutting down my site every time I got some Digg or StumbleUpon traffic, so I gave MT a try and they haven’t failed me yet.
blogger
All my blogs are hosted on WordPress.com but I host my projects on MediaTemple, BEST HOST EVER!
I have used 1and1 (http://www.1and1.com) for several years now and absolutely love them. Their support and uptime has been top notch. I have used several other major hosts in the past and not one compares to the quality of service I have received from 1and1. It’s no wonder they have been one of the top rated hosts for many years now.
Little Oak
They have an installatron thingy for installing WP and updating it. Almost immediate response (email) from support.
I use a small orange http://www.asmallorange.com/services/hosting/ They’re really affordable, their “tiny” is only $25 a year and is enough for most personal sites/blogs. I have the “small” because I like to store more, it’s still just $5 a month.
While they do occasionally have a technical issue, the respond quite quickly.
I, and most of my clients, use http://www.liquidweb.com/.
I’m using http://www.thiswebhost.com and I’m very pleased with the service. They don’t oversell and have excellent customer support.
I also use Doreo like Daniel from DailyBlogTips.com, it’s weird how not a single person uses it other than him and me (mentioned in the comments)
I use hostmonster. I read as many reviews as possible before selecting them. They are inexpensive, and have been very reliable.
I use bluefur.com. Lots of space, great prices, easy to use control panel and very reliable.
Dreamhost private server. Can configure the server as you wish, and control resources available to it in real time. 99% of the time I keep it at the lowest setting and when I’m about to have a digg FP I crank up the memory and it handles the spike like a champ. Costs an extra $15 over shared hosting prices on it’s lowest setting. Support has been great and responds very quickly if I have a question. I’ve heard some people complain about them, but I’ve had nothing but good experiences in the 3 years I’ve been using them as a host on various sites.
Did you possibly write this with me in mind Darren? ;-)
Well as you know I’ve only had one blog host experience so far. So in consideration of recent events would I recommend them? I’ll give you 3 guesses. ;-)
Rest assured, I will be reading the comments here with great interest.
I have used HostGator, 1and1, Aplus.net and currently use Rochen.
1and1 was very cheap (I still have all my domains there) but when I first started with blogs, etc, their support was absolutely horrible. It would take three calls to get anything taken care of.
I then moved my personal accounts to HostGator and was amazed by their service. They are based in Texas, I think, and they are great about customer service and tech support. The only reason I left them was because I moved to Rochen, which came highly recommended.
At the same time, I was using Aplus.net to host my e-commerce platform because they included a license to Miva 5 and provided a payment gateway. This was also a disaster.
Since I moved to Rochen, I have not had a single problem. They do a great job of balancing their servers, their customer/tech support is beyond description, and their members forum is packed with great information. I have posted a few tech support issues to their forum and almost always get a response from another member or a staff member within 20 minutes.
I have never had a support ticket go more than 19 minutes. EVER. Even for the smallest of problems or requests, like installing a SSL.
They are obsessive about taking care of their customers, for example, they had a free dinner for their customers at the last Joomla! Expo, held at Morton’s Steakhouse. Please tell me what other hosting company does this…?
Their prices are on the high end of normal, and if you are used to HostGator or BlueHost, you will be surprised by their seemingly small bandwidth and file space, but they absolutely refuse to oversell either diskspace or bandwidth. They have a great reseller setup and also offer VPS and Dedicated Servers.
I cannot recommend Rochen enough. You will not be disappointed.
I have had many different blog postings but I have to say my favorite so far is the one I’m currently using blue hosts. The reason I have enjoyed it so much is that I’m getting unlimited bandwidth, which I didn’t believe was true at the time, and unlimited disk space. I have all three of my blogs currently hosted on it.I used to try and use godaddy but I never had enough bandwidth or disk space. I could have bought more but it just got too expensive.
I’ve used DreamHost for over five years and generally have been happy with them. They did have a rough spot a while back, but they handled it with aplomb and I’ve never considered moving off them.
http://www.mediatemple.com for me.
They have a really good reputation, and they do offer great support and more on their GS (Their version of shared hosting) than other shared hosts do.
But they charge much, much more, and they just haven’t been that much better. The amount of downtime I get with them is no better than what I got on other hosts.
I use Host Gator, and they’re the best hosting company I’ve ever used. They have the most incredible customer service I’ve ever seen. I can call them anytime day or night and get help with anything I need.
I use Dreamhost for my blog because it is a recommended one for WordPress self-hosted blogs. I’ve had it several months and so far so good. Zero down time, and every one of my tech support questions has been promptly and cheerfully handled. By the way, every tech support question was due 100% to user error.
wow, I didn’t realize that everyone would be using such a huge variety of hosts.
I just priced out GoDaddy so that I can move from wordpress.com, but now I will definately check into a few others including MediaTemple.
Thanks for the advice everyone.
z.
Media Temple (mediatemple.net) – excellent service, customer support and great pricing. I’ve been very happy with them.
Well, I host all my blogs, which all run WordPress btw, on my own server. I mean for the blogs themselves a simple shared hosting deal or vps would be enough, but as I’ve got other sites that eat a lot of cpu and bandwidth it’s the best way for me…
I’m surprised nobody has mentioned The Planet yet. I have 3 dedicated servers with them that runs me about $400 a month.