web host confusion

[selfinflicted]

I wasnt sure where this post should go so i hope it doesnt get overlooked.

I have a website on an Australian host (windows) at the moment which we pay the earth for but it is never down and I don?t want to move it right now. Im after linux hosting now so I can do some other things but am getting confused by everthing im reading on hosting sites.

I searched the forums and some review sites which helped me narrow it down to:

cernax.com
sonataweb.net
telnap.com
addaction.net

I think any of them might be ok but if someone with experience in this area could look over my requirements and let me know if im asking too much, itd be much appreciated

1. Uptime is most important to me as our website is always up (itd wanna be for the $$$ we pay) and I?d like uptime of the board/webstore to be consistent with it.
2. Will run a phpbb (about 100 members, likely to grow to 200-300 over next yr) and a small oscommerce store (less than 20 products). I imagine I wouldn?t need much more than 200MB of space.
3. I also have a mailing list of over 2,000 names which we mail out to every month (or two, depending if theres anything to tell people). Only text of about 30 lines tops.

I can only afford up to US$110 per year, or US$50 per year without the mailing list function (as id still need to be able to afford to pay ymlp.com to handle the mailouts).

Im not sure if mailing out such large numbers would get me into trouble or not? its not spam..everyones agreed to receive the emails, but its a lot and might cause problems/take too long to send/use up too much bandwidth/cause other issues. I really don?t know.

Comments would be a great help.

Thankyou.

 

[NikPreviousAcct]

http://www.webhostingtalk.com

 

[zimu]

think a bunch of people will respond to this saying you can't get good hosting for $110/year and you get what you pay for and what not. from my experience with gazzin.com, 6.95/month with reseller plan with quite amazing features, i'd say they were wrong. 100% uptime by my books, get support responses for the basic stuff (request shell access for subaccounts etc) within 5-10 mins around the clock. strongly recommend them.

do your research at www.webhostingtalk.com to read up on reviews etc. once again there are loads of people who say you won't get good services for <$10/month, but i find that theory quite outdated today.

 

[selfinflicted]

Originally posted by: Nik
http://www.webhostingtalk.com

sorry, shoulda mentioned thats the main review site i spent time at. all the hosts i mentioned above had good reviews and seem to be in my price range.

 

[EyeMWing]

PM RossMAN. He's literally the MAN around here to speak to with regards to web hosting and/or getting things cheap

 

[OZEE]

HostPC, basic account is $29.99/year. I've been with them for 3+ years and have absolutely no complaints!

But they won't let you have phpbb -- they've banned it because of its many, many security exploits.

 

[psiu]

Originally posted by: OZEE
HostPC, basic account is $29.99/year. I've been with them for 3+ years and have absolutely no complaints!

But they won't let you have phpbb -- they've banned it because of its many, many security exploits.

yup, yup and yup.

Good host and they take security very seriously there. Great help service too, and they stayed up when their datacenter got drilled with 3 hurricanes last summer.

Definitely check out:

http://www.webhostingtalk.com/

as previously recommended. Also I would suggest emailing the different hosts with the questions you have, and see who responds/how they respond/how quickly. That should help you make a decision as well.

I know HostPC has a category for pre-sale questions in their forums.

Good luck.

 

[tami]

Originally posted by: EyeMWing
PM RossMAN. He's literally the MAN around here to speak to with regards to web hosting and/or getting things cheap

...but RossMAN's PMs are off.

anyway, wait until he comes into this thread. he will.

 

[skyking]

I've got a few sites with telnap, and it has been smooth sailing.

 

[DeviousTrap]

2,000 names for an mailing list isn't too large. Most hosts shouldn't have a problem, or should have a test box that they could use for sending them out, provided that you give them a bit of notice to expect you doing it.

 

[Safeway]

:thumbsup:

 

[hevnsnt]

I cant speak to any of the webhosting sites you mentioned, except Telnap. I was having some problems with my previous host (dathorn) with my "semi-large" website I-Hacked.com. Lets just say Dathorn left me High and dry and I was up that damn creek.

I wasnt sure what I was going to do. My website was literly offline, so every second counted. I talked with Rossman several times, and then contacted DeviousTrap (Telnap) and we worked out a deal to move my hosting over to him. (Haha I said worked out, He OFFERED His services to me for FREE for a few weeks to help me out of the bind -- and then we would discuss a plan for the future) Now, I dont know if he wants that kind of information posted, because I he cant get anywhere by giving out free accounts.. But that showed me something.

He went out of his way to help someone that he KNEW was in a bind. He did not know me -- But he literly saved my ass. I dont know where I would be without Telnap these days. I have since bought a Dedicated server though them and I am LOVING it. I very RARELY have any issue (and when I do, it is usually my fault anyway lol) but he is always right there to fix it. I have yet to have any incidents with them, I mean NONE.

I know this is coming off sounding like a late night Infomercial, but I honestly cant recommend them enough. I have since moved all my domains (20+) to them, but in all honesty it is all about I-hacked, and how well they treat their customers.

:thumbsup: to Telnap & Devioustrap.

 

[RossMAN]

Originally posted by: selfinflicted

Originally posted by: Nik
http://www.webhostingtalk.com

sorry, shoulda mentioned thats the main review site i spent time at. all the hosts i mentioned above had good reviews and seem to be in my price range.

Actually since you're in Australia I would check WebHostingTalk AUSTRALIA :thumbsup:

Web hosting with servers physically located in Australia is expensive. If you don't mind your web sites loading a little slower, then look for a web host based in the USA.

Test these web hosts sales response times by sending an e-mail to sales@telnap.com, sales@sonataweb.net, etc.

I would also add Idologic.com to that list of web hosts.

Edit: Thanks Eric