Choosing a good host is a lot harder than choosing a good domain registrar. There are more of them, and they cost a lot more, so if you get screwed over it can be devastating. If you're new to the hosting business, this guide is definitely for you.
x. Don't just focus on the price of the host, look at the whole package. So what if the package is only $5 a month if you only get 300MB of space and 20GB of bandwidth? If you want a package with that little amount of space and bandwidth, there are a lot of free hosts you can get it from, it's not worth paying for. Also watch out for the 80GB space and 200GB bandwidth for $7/mo if you can only host one domain, 5 subdomains, and 20 MySQL databases. That is not a good deal. Here's a rundown of some hosts, and their deals.
SimpleHost - My first paid host. They were actually very good when I had them, but things could have changed since then. What you get? For $7.50/mo you get 50GB of storage and "unlimited" space. Don't let the unlimited thing put you off (sometimes unlimited means "until you use too much and we can't hold anymore") odds are they can handle your site. You also get unlimited subdomains, addon/parked domains, email accounts, and databases. They also use cPanel, the best website managing control panel out there, but they may no longer included Fantastico (a pre-installed script... script?). SimpleHost also has great tutorials that can help out when you're a newbie. Yes, I used them a lot, before and after I signed up! Added bonus: I registered my domain for free through them when I signed up and when I left they let me keep it. I don't know if they'll do this for you, so read my domain guide if you haven't already. Downsides: There can be some downtime, but not normally a whole lot, and the fact that it doesn't look like they include Fantastico anymore.
GoDaddy - In addition to registering domains, GoDaddy also hosts. You can also get your domain at a discount if you buy hosting with it. GoDaddy offers some good deals. For their deluxe package you get 100GB of space and almost a TB of bandwidth, plus 1,000 email addresses, unlimited subdomains, and addon domains for $7/mo. Added bonus: Wonderful uptime! I have never seen a site down that was hosted by GoDaddy. Downsides: You only get one FTP account which means you are the only person who can have access to editing your site, no staff members, hostees, or anything. And only 25 MySQL accounts. They also have their own 404 error page, which comes up when you try to view directories that don't have index pages. And finally, they have their own control panel, no cPanel or Fantastico.
Lypha - My current host, and they do have some good deals. For $8/mo you get 250GB of space and 6000GB of bandwidth, more than enough to host most sites. You get unlimited addon domains, subdomains, email accounts, and MySQL databases, plus cPanel and Fantastico. Awesome right? Added bonus: You get a years membership to SubmitCentre.com, which means you can submit your site to hundreds of search engines all around the world. Downsides: Horrible connectivity. The server I'm on only has 99.3% uptime, when they guarantee 99.9%. My site is down for probably 10 minutes every month. They also have a new server feature than bans you when you get your password/username wrong 3 times when trying to enter cPanel. Now that's fine if it didn't ban you for nothing. I have been banned from my server (which means I can't access the cPanel to edit my site, webmail, or even get on my own websites) several times since they added this new security feature, even though it usually never takes me more than once to login. There are problems with adding additional domains and subdomains. They don't always work right when you add them. Support is quick (about 3 hours response time), but no always effective.
DreamHost - DreamHost is quite popular and well-known for it's great deals, but are they really so great? For $10/mo you get 160GB of space and a TB (a little over a thousand GB) of bandwidth. You also get unlimited MySQL databases, 3000 email accounts, 75 FTP accounts, and unlimited addon/parked domains and subdomains. Added bonus: The amount of space and bandwidth you get increases by a few 1-16GB weekly, and there is rarely any downtime. Downsides: No cPanel or Fantastico. You do get a few pre-installed scripts, but not as many choices as Fantastico and cPanel offer. Members say there can be some problems with support and with the hosting company in general.
Surpass Hosting - Surpass Hosting no longer lists all their features in detail, which I find extremely annoying. This does not allow you to get a good idea of what the company offers. For $6/mo you get 200GB of space and 2000GB of bandwidth. You can have unlimited email accounts, subdomains, and addon domains, plus you get cPanel and Fantastico access. They do not list how many MySQL databases you are allowed. Added bonus: Good uptime and forums for the Surpass hosted community. Downsides: They do not have a clear list of features like other hosts, and their site is messy and does not display well in all browsers and resolutions, which is unprofessional.
InMotion Hosting - InMotion offers 200,000MB of space and 2,000GB of bandwidth for $8/mo. I'd tell you the features, but with this plan there aren't any. To get anything you have to pay for the $10/mo plan, which really isn't worth it. Added bonus: You can earn money refering others to the service, but do you really want to be that mean? Good uptime. Downsides: You get only one MySQL database, 1 FTP account, and only one domain, the one you sign up with.
HostGator - 100GB of space and 1000GB of bandwidth for $10/mo, is what you get with HostGator. Features are unlimited FTP accounts, MySQL, domains, and subdomains, plus cPanel and Fantastico. Added bonus: There are none that I can see. Downsides: You have to get the $10 account to get any features at all. Like InMotion you get a pathetic one domain account and only 20 subdomains and FTP accounts. You also don't get 99.9% uptime if you choose the $7/mo, you only get 99.5%, which is not good at all.
Fan St - Our last host is Fan St. Though geared specifically to fansite webmasters, this host is open to all. For £4/mo (around $9) you get 20GB of space and a TB of bandwidth, plus unlimited email addresses, addon domains, subdomains, FTP accounts, and MySQL. Added bonus: You're being hosted by a person, not a corporation, and practically perfect uptime, I have never seen a Fan St hosted site down. Downsides: No cPanel or Fantastico, there are some installed scripts, but they're not really that great. Though you get unlimited addon domains, you have to contact Niu (the host) whenever you want one added, you cannot do it yourself. The last downside is the prices are in pounds, once it is changed to dollars (if that's your currency) the prices are exactly the same as everyone else, minus some of the features of the bigger sites.
x. Bad hosts: Watch out for HostMonster! Yeah, the deals are great (except for the fact they do not offer hotlink protection, an important feature if you want to stop people from stealing your bandwidth) but they are not a good company. I signed up with them after the free host Dark Obsessions went down. A few days later they suspended my account saying it was fraudulent. I argued with them for a month, and they said they'd reinstall my account. A month later they hadn't, I emailed them and they said they weren't going to reinstall my account and finally a few days later they sent my money back. However, I lost the domain I had registered with them, niamhme.com, because it was a part of the package (see domain guide). They are a bad host! Be aware that Bluehost and HostMonster are the same company. Second bad host: Dark Obsessions, mentioned earlier. Now, this host is gone for right now, but the owner, Jenny, said she was going to bring it back. When it does start hosting again, do not join! I lost my sites about 3 times on there, the first time I lost everything on one of my fansites when Dark Obsessions was hacked, the second time Jenny's host deleted everything, and then Jenny deleted my account by mistake. Dark Obsessions was very good when it first opened, it offered what no other free host had, but that's over now. Jenny is no longer the nice host she once was and I do not reccommend Dark Obsessions if you want to keep your stuff.
x. Newbies be aware that although it says price per month, most hosts require you pay yearly. Those who do allow you to pay monthly charge more. Whatever the price is you must multiply by 12. So if the host you're looking at costs $7/mo make sure you have $84 to pay them.
x. All the hosts list the amount of space and the amount of bandwidth. What is bandwidth? Bandwidth is basically the number of people visiting your site x the number of pages they're viewing x what type of content those pages are. Images and especially audio, video, and large files use more bandwidth than HTML pages do. To cut down on the amount of bandwidth your site uses, turn off hotlinking for your site (if you host offers that option) and put audio and video files into zip or rar files. This makes the person download the file, instead of streaming it from your site.
I hope my hosting guide has helped you! If there are any hosts you want reviewed, or you have any questions just let me know. Remember that your questions will help everyone, because the information I give you will also appear here.
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Megan. Liberal. Depression. Harry Potter. Night Shyamalan. Zoe Bell. Japan. Avatar. Anime. Gunslinger Girl. School Rumble. Death Note. Evanescence. 
