Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » cheap hosting

Cheap Web Hosting – How to Still get a Good Value

Art — Tue, 13 Mar 2012 00:20:02 +0000

If you are literally counting pennies these days, don’t take it as a reflection on yourself. Everyone at every economic level is doing everything they can to tighten their belts. If this means that you are looking for good, cheap web hosting, then this is nothing to be ashamed of.

It also doesn’t mean that you have to settle for an inferior product. There is a major quality fight going on in the web hosting world among inexpensive web hosts. Believe it or not this is a buyer’s market, or perhaps more accurately a user’s market. They want your business bad, and are willing to do what they can to get it. These are some of the common features and strengths you should look for when browsing among potential hosts:

Customer service still reigns supreme

The tech world may like to sometimes think that it exists somewhere outside of universal economic laws. It doesn’t, though. All of the same principles that apply to the rest of the business world apply to it as well. This includes the necessity of having a good customer service team.

With our world moving to a more service-oriented economy this in itself is now an entire industry, which means that everywhere you look you will at least see claims of strong customer service. But how do you know if you’ll get it?

There are a few things to check. See if they offer 24/7 chat support: most places offer 24/7 phone, but you will honestly prefer chat to phone service: it’s not as easy to copy and paste something someone says to you (not to mention, as much as it is considered a bit uncouth to say so, that you don’t need to worry about understanding the person on the other end).

Ignore the “unlimited”

One thing to not get caught up in are cheap plans that offer “unlimited” anything. It’s a weird statement on the web hosting world that this is considered something of a norm when any can tell you that nothing can ever be unlimited. Usually that means that the host won’t, for example, restrict your bandwidth unless your really naughty: but then, how do you know exactly how naughty you can be?

How cheap is “cheap”?

Prices have come down since the early days of web hosting. This is a reflection of how much more technology has advanced than the average user has needed. This means that what was once dirt cheap is now commonplace.

Right now, if you are looking for something inexpensive but good, you probably don’t want to spend any more than $12/month, and that’s near the high end. More common are packages for under $8/month, and they go lower from there. Steer away from free accounts: you are generally better off paying even $4/month (also a common offer) than you would be dealing with the drawbacks of a “free” host. And keep an eye out for specials, though do note that some providers live in a constant state of “specials”, meaning that you don’t have to drop everything when you see one.

Cheap web hosting is probably here to stay. This means that good and cheap web hosting is as well. Follow a few simple tips as you compare possible companies to work with, and a good one will not be hard to find.

Windows Hosts with the Mosts

Art — Mon, 19 Dec 2011 17:33:05 +0000

Even today not everyone is looking for the cheapest web host. If you are a serious web developer you may want a wide variety of features at your fingertips without having to pay the fees associated with a dedicated server.

For those focusing their attention on Windows web development there are a number of quality, reliable, web hosts that provide an extensive library of development, support and security applications. Here is a list of 5 of them that should provide you with everything that you’ll need:

1. iPage

iPage has a little bit of everything, or maybe quite a bit of everything. Three photo galleries applications, 3 forum apps, 3 blogging apps, 4 content management apps, lots of multimedia and E-commerce support (including PayPal integration) all make their feature list. We’re not focusing on cheap here either, but at $2.95 month for their most economical accounts it’s hard to ignore it. It also doesn’t hurt that for many of these features iPage offers setup wizards that will guide you through the process.

Read iPage Customer Reviews.

2. JustHost

JustHost not only has a great list of features but makes working with them easy as well. Many of their applications, especially their content management applications, are 1-click install. Add on to that all types of scripting support, streaming support, several shopping carts, and in case you are still using them they still support the last few version of Frontpage extensions.

Read JustHost Customer Reviews.

3. IX Web Hosting

IX’s list of features goes on and on. Extensive multilmedia streaming support, chat support (not common, especially on Windows servers), and Cold Fusion scripting are among their offerings. For the latter, you have to appreciate a host that tells it like it is: explaining why it’s more expensive than Linux, they point out the increased costs of Windows licensing and asks “Don’t blame us, blame Bill!” Can’t say they’re not giving you truth in advertising.

Read IX Web Hosting Customer Reviews.

4. Celeres Web

This professionally outfitted host has many software packages for each category of need. Need content management? Celeres Web gives you eight options, from the common Drupal and Joomla to the not-so-common anyInventory. If you need project management Celeres gives you five options. They have three E-commerce solutions, four messaging board applications and three wikis. Even though we’re focusing less on cost in this article, you still can’t complain about a list of shared hosting plans that run $3.99 to $14.99 a month.

5. Applied Innovations

This host often gets skipped by those looking for a discount host, and proves why that isn’t always such a good idea. Their Windows support is one of the most comprehensive we’ve seen. They support five versions of ASP.NET all the way up to 4.0, MSSQL 2005 and 2008, several different web analysis tools, multiple email protocols, and lots of database support, including a PHP driver to interact with your SQL 2005 or 2008 database.

We forget often in talking about Microsoft that one of their prime advantages as a operating system tool is just how much software exists for it. Someone who is serious about web development would do well to stop and take a look at how much is available and what good hosts exist for making use of it.

A Look at Dirt Cheap, Quality, Web Hosts

Art — Wed, 21 Sep 2011 16:17:45 +0000

Ah, cheap web hosting, how you please us so! It’s every webmaster’s dream to find a host that’s high on quality, and very low on price. There are a few out there, but sifting through the wave of terrible (but oh-so-cheap) hosts can be quite the mess. We understand your woes, though, and to help you along, we’ve compiled this short list of some of the best and cheapest web hosts around.

Host Papa

Nothing perks up our interest quite like the word “unlimited.” Unlimited bandwidth, unlimited transfer, unlimited storage space, and unlimited potential. Life without boundaries is a blissful existence, and thankfully, Host Papa offers just that.

If you’re looking for cheap web hosting, it doesn’t get much cheaper than Host Papa: The service clocks in at $3.95 a month, making it one of the lower-priced offerings around. For that money, though, you’ll get unlimited everything, plus a ton of ad credits with popular search engines (including Google and Yahoo) and enough MySQL to choke a horse. It’s bargain-priced, effective, and uncapped—sounds like a deal to us!

WebHostingHub

This one’s another site to throw under the cheap, reliable, and with great tech support category. WebHostingHub costs about the same as Host Papa, coming in at just under $4. The site also offers unlimited disc space and bandwidth, which is a nice touch. There’s also an instant set-up feature that comes complete with a free domain name. Not to mention round-the-clock tech support in case your site explodes during the night. It’s yet another cheap and quality offering, making WebHostingHub easily worth a look!

HostGator

Love it or hate it, HostGator definitely qualifies as a cheap and professional-grade web host. This legendary service claims to host over 5-million domains, and it’s got the lineage to prove it. Plans start at the dirt-cheap $3.71 a month level, offering several different flavors of unlimited. Among these include unlimited bandwidth, unlimited disc space, and unlimited email. There’s also $100 Google Adwords credit, heaps of site-building utilities, and an easy-to-use cPanel interface.

That’s it for our list today. There are plenty of other cheap and quality web hosts out there, though, and our compendium is far from a totality! Just remember to always do your homework, and to not be snookered by a too-good-to-be-true price. Do the research, and you’ll be just fine: Especially if you use one of our recommendations.

A Look at the Top 3 Cheap Web Hosting Providers

Art — Tue, 13 Sep 2011 08:38:21 +0000

Given the importance of web hosting, it is evident that as a website owner you must be on the lookout for one that is sophisticated, yet does not burn a hole in your budget. Read on for a list of 5 web hosts that are definitely going to capture your attention if you require an inexpensive yet impressive web host.

If you are looking for unlimited web hosting as well as bandwidth at a rate as reasonable as $3.95 per month, then Host Papa could be your best bet. Free search engine ad credits to sites such as Google and Yahoo plus free advertising on leading social networking sites; Host Papa is surely worth a good hard look. Users also get hands on unlimited MySQL.

Another provider that has made a name for itself in providing web hosting services is WebHostingHub. The services are indeed inexpensive, yet them remain reliable. The instant set up comes totally free of cost, and so does the domain name. There is around the clock phone support along with email responses and live support. There is also a 90 days money back clause available as well.

HostGator is another powerful option to consider within the cheap web hosting realm. HostGator claims to host over 5,000,000 domains and they offer a plethora of unlimiteds, such as unlimited disk space and bankdwith, all for as little as $3.96 per month. With 24/7 support and $100 Google AdWords credits, you sure to benefit from this trusted hosting provider.

FatCow offers green web hosting as well as instant set up, unlimited disk space, plus tech support at all hours of the day. This may be an ideal web host for your blog!

Summing Up

In case you had been searching for the perfect host that was cheap as well as reliable, you can easily take your pick from the above mentioned web host providers. Choose carefully after some research and host comparison. Put your requirements above everything else before going for a particular web host. Check out the money back offers available on each as well.

How to Get Cheap Web Hosting that Doesn’t Remind you It’s Cheap

Art — Thu, 08 Sep 2011 12:07:28 +0000

Web hosting in our economy must acknowledge that it is a buyer’s market. Even if you are restricting your options to inexpensive web hosting, say, under $12 per month, you have more potential candidate companies than you can list. Thus, you know that you can get it cheap, but ensure that you also get it good.

With the number of web hosting companies out there, a compromise between cheap and quality can be obtained. The hard part is finding out who they are. Just about every web host has a pretty store front. What you want to know is what’s under the hood. Fortunately, there are a few ways you can find this out before committing any money and effort.

Good tech support – The new best feature

It doesn’t take much to run your own web host: you can actually do it from your own home. Now it’s not the technology that’s hard to obtain, it’s the people who know how to explain it.

It may be surprising given how desperate so many people are for jobs, but the truth is that the entire IT world has a reputation for bad customer service, one which is unfortunately well-earned. To be fair, it’s not a problem which is restricted to the dot-coms, but there are certain truths about a web host’s existence that help feed this problem (for example, almost no support is face-to-face, leading to an “out of touch” psychological dynamic).

If you want to find a web host with good tech support, send ones you are interested in an email with a question that’s a bit difficult and a touch complex, but still reasonable. Here’s an example: “I notice there’s a new version of PostgreSQL, which I use for my site. Do you plan on getting it?” Then, focus not just on the content of the answer they give you, but in how honest it sounds: that may sound difficult, but when you see several answers side-by-side, it’s not as hard as it might seem. Notice, for example, whether or not they address you by your name.

Age before beauty

It may be tempting to go with a flashier web site on the assumption that that must automatically make them experts. Don’t believe the hype. Being pretty is not the same as being functional.

Look instead of how long they’ve been around. If they have at least ten years of consistent operation, then you can reasonably assured that it’s for a reason, and that they’ll be around tomorrow as well. This isn’t to say the newer web hosts are necessarily unreliable, it just means that you’re taking a bigger risk.

Know your features

Some features are worth more than others. Some are meant to sound exciting but really aren’t highly technical. Some hosts may offer you lots of email addresses for your domain name, but in reality this costs almost nothing to do. Better to get a user-friendly control panel or good spam protection.

In truth, really bad web hosting is hard to come by, but you still don’t want to prove it still exists. Use some simple litmus tests, and you should have no problem having it not just good or cheap, but good and cheap.

Finding Quality Cheap Web Hosting for your Business

Art — Thu, 11 Aug 2011 20:42:02 +0000

Cheap web hosting services exist for those webmasters that need to work on a budget. As a result there are thousands of companies on the Internet with a variety of offers. However, prior to saving money, you must consider some details. Selecting the right plan for your needs at an affordable cost is not an easy task. Saving money should never substitute for the proper functioning of your website.

Extensive Budget Hosting Plans

Budget hosting plans are available for almost every type of website. Even with several domain names you can often acquire add-on domain rights. Modern budget hosting companies have become reliable due to the cutthroat competition that exists in the industry. Despite the reliability of the provider, they must suit your hosting requirements.

Comparison Shopping

A critical step toward finding a high-quality but inexpensive hosting provider is to comparison shop using the Internet. With regards to inexpensive web hosting, there is not a large gap financial and service gap between companies. Therefore, you can easily select several providers within your budget and compare them.

Reliability with Excellence

Since web hosting is the lifeblood of your online operation, do not allow the price to circumvent quality. Look for a host that has an excellent reputation for providing reliable services, even if the cost is slightly most expensive. It is pointless to have a cheap host that does not consistently deliver the services they promised. One method of cost cutting is to have the domain name and registration offering hosting services.

Other Considerations

Other important factors to consider include the company’s uptime percentage and the amount of resources it can offer you. Also, you need to ascertain information about future upgrading. With any startup it is acceptable to begin with the basic plan. However, the hosting provider must offer upgrade options to cater to your business as it grows. Furthermore, know if the company hosts multiple domains on a single server and the number of email accounts given with each plan.

There are so many important aspects to finding a high-quality web hosting provider that it can become a tedious task if you do not know what you are searching for. However, to be successful in eCommerce, your website must always be available and that begins with the provider. Your road to eCommerce success begins with thorough research and will end with you selecting the right provider for your hosting needs.

Does Cheap Web Hosting Really Exist?

Dmitry — Fri, 15 Jul 2011 17:32:13 +0000

Perhaps it’s the million dollar question attached to a thrifty price tag. The short and sweet answer is yes: cheap web hosting really does exist. Website owners looking for a hosting provider may follow the initial question up with an inquiry was to whether or not the services are watered down due to the inexpensive monthly hosting fees. The answer is absolutely not. The secret to finding reliable cheap hosting providers, however, is opting for a host with a proven track record of delivering affordable and quality hosting services depending on your needs.

How Can Web Hosts Offer Services at Affordable Rates?

Many customers may wonder how in fact is it that providers offer hosting plans at such affordable rates. There are a couple of reasons for the affordability. Competition is a huge factor in the reasoning behind cheap web hosting. With new web hosting companies emerging every day seemingly by the hundreds, the competition tends to drive down the costs. For example, if web hosting company A provides the exact same hosting features as company for several dollars more every month, chances are the potential customer will opt for the cheaper package offering the identical bang for the buck.

(According to Netcraft, there were 676.9M websites and 32.6M hostnames in April 2012)

Competition also cause providers to advance with the technological times and provide the most and fasted features currently being offered by competitors. Hence, unlimited storage space, bandwidth, e-mail accounts, MySQL databases, FTP access, respectable network uptimes, cPanel support and quality customer support are generally included in most hosting packages.

Another factor that force the price of hosting services to go down is the gradual decline of hardware costs. It’s not a secret that in cheap web hosting a single server is usually shared among multiple users. By allocating disk space to numerous customers, web hosts save on resources and additional maintenance costs. Although customers share one server, hosting resources such as disk space, bandwidth, free domain names, MySQL and FTP access are shared among customers to support individual websites.

Reliable Hosting. Just $3.95/mo

Take WebHostingHub for example. These guys run their marketing campaign very aggressively by taking global market share without the impact on the quality of services and products. One of the first thing’s that you might be worried about with a budget host is that their customer service would suffer. This certainly seemed to be the case with a lot of the hosts we surveyed, but it wasn’t with WebHostingHub. Their customer service got rave reviews from our research, and it didn’t impact their cost.

Conclusion

Although there are many affordable web hosting providers, it is important to perform in-depth research to find only those hosts that offer an abundance of free features and services at very affordable prices. Even small business ventures have the ability to launch and maintain a professional-looking website on any budget. Just remember when choosing a web host to make an initial assessment of your needs, and then determine which best accommodates your website needs.

What Type of Hosting Has the Cheapest Startup Cost?

Art — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 21:28:54 +0000

The majority of novice webmasters allocate a very limited budget to their beginning endeavors online, as they are not yet confident in their ability to generate web traffic and bring in a residual income with their websites. In fact, many novice webmasters don’t even know how to build a website, have never owned a web hosting plan before, and are therefore understandably cautious about the amount of money they want to invest in web hosting. While more experienced webmasters may opt for hosting types such as dedicated hosting (which provides access to a server which is solely dedicated to the websites of a single webmaster), inexperienced webmasters usually opt for cheaper hosting types such as shared hosting. When trying to find the hosting type with the cheapest startup cost it is important to consider two types of hosting – shared hosting and VPS hosting.

The Startup Costs of Shared Hosting

Although shared web hosting provides the cheapest monthly costs, with prices starting at as low as two dollars per month, the start up cost of a shared hosting plan is usually much more. It is important to note that, the longer you pay in advance, the lower the monthly cost will be, and many shared web hosting providers will require you to pay at least one year up front. If you choose to only pay a year, it is very unlikely you’ll receive a price as low as two dollars per month, as the average price (when paid on a yearly basis) is about $5-$10 per month. Thus, the minimum startup costs associated with shared hosting are usually about $60-$120, plus any additional setup fees that may be charged by the hosting company.

The Startup Costs of VPS Hosting

Although the monthly cost of a VPS hosting plan varies widely at about $10-$200 per month, depending on the plan capabilities and hosting provider. However, the majority of VPS hosting providers do not require you to pay a year in advance, and instead will allow you to pay on a monthly basis. Thus, the startup cost for VPS hosting plan is no more than the cost of the first months hosting (which can be as cheap as $5-$7 in some cases). It is important to realize that you can also pay in advance of VPS hosting in order to receive a lower monthly cost, just as you can but shared hosting. It should also be noted that some VPS hosting providers do require payment for a year in advance, so it is important to shop around to find a VPS hosting plan with a low start up cost.

Conclusion

While shared hosting is ultimately cheaper than VPS hosting the long run, it is cheaper to purchase a monthly VPS hosting plan for $5-$10 per month if you are on a strict startup budget for your first web hosting endeavor. If you find that you would like to continue with your online endeavors, VPS hosting gives you the advantage of being able to cancel your plan without losing any of the money that you would have paid in advance.

Keeping Your Website Free of Malicious Scripts

Art — Wed, 30 Mar 2011 20:09:58 +0000

Most webmasters understand the importance of protecting their personal computer from viruses, as a compromised operating system is the first security flaw that often leads to stolen hosting credentials and hijacked domains. However, many people aren’t aware of the fact that web servers that are responsible for hosting sites can also be infected with malicious scripts rather easily. Although web hosting providers take all the necessary precautions to ensure that this does not happen on a regular basis, it remains rather common, especially for webmasters that utilize cheap shared hosting services. When a website is infected with a malicious script or virus it can be impossible for visitors to access pages, as their antivirus software, or the integrated protection included within some search engines such as Google, may automatically notify them that the page is high-risk. To prevent loss of traffic due to such an occurrence it is important to follow the tips below to keep your website free of malicious scripts.

Create Routine Backups

The first step in protecting your website’s data from being affected by malicious scripts is to create routine backups. By doing this you can effectively eliminate the possible negative repercussions associated with having your site infected, as you’ll be able to instantly restore it to the state it was in before the security lapse. Some malicious scripts are specifically designed to erase data on the server, while others give the hacker access to the server and allow them to “deface” the site by placing their own content on the home page and other pages. Fortunately, within your control panel you’ll be able to use the backup utility to backup your entire portion of the web server or a specific website individually. In addition to storing these backups on your local hard drive, it is recommended to have redundant copies stored on external media like a USB flash drive, external hard drive, or even an online file hosting service.

Utilize Reputable and Powerful Hosting Plans

It is well known that the most reputable hosting providers are the most secure, and have the most qualified staff to deal with security issues 24 hours a day. If you choose to utilize a cheap form of web hosting, such as plan that operates within the shared hosting environment, you’re placing your website at a much higher risk. This is because with shared hosting you are sharing a web server with dozens or even hundreds of other webmasters, and if one of their sites becomes infected with a malicious script and proper safeguards are not in place, it is possible for the script to become “contagious” and begin spreading to other sites on the server. In fact, this is the most common cause of websites being infected with malicious scripts.

What Do Malicious Scripts Do and Why Is It Important to Avoid Them?

Malicious scripts can perform a variety of functions for the hacker, including gaining administrative access to a server or site by installing a fraudulent login page that collects the credentials of the website owner, defacing the site with embarrassing or inappropriate content, installing spyware, adware, or viruses on the computers of individuals that visit the site, and simply causing site downtime and loss of sales for competition. If you do not take the proper precautions and deal with a web hosting company that is known for providing top-notch security, you could experience a significant loss in sales and reputation.

The Continuing Price War among Web Hosting Providers

Art — Fri, 25 Mar 2011 21:06:36 +0000

The latest release of budget web hosting providers shows Netspaceindia offering monthly hosting for the low, low price of $1 on the Linux operating system. This monthly package is equipped with 500 MB of disk space. For most businesses this is not nearly enough, however, for any startup company or personal website, this is one of the best deals available besides free hosting.

Based out of Nasik, India, Netspaceindia is widely regarded as India’s fastest growing web hosting provider and domain Registration Company. Established in 2004, Netspaceindia has been providing users in India and other countries across the world with a variety of web hosting types including:

Windows hosting
Linux hosting
Reseller hosting
VPS server hosting
Dedicated hosting
Tomcat hosting

In 2011, Netspaceindia has found a way to offer the most basic services at $1 per month. With this package, webmasters can host a single domain, have 10 email accounts, are granted 500 MB’s of disk space, can utilize 2 MySQL databases, are able to utilize cPanel control panel software and can access around the clock customer support with instant activation. There is a small fee for the customer service.

The executives at Netspaceindia boast that their main priority is to deliver a reliable web hosting product and offer support to their customers to ensure they will succeed in the internet game. The Linux web hosting deal for $1 provides enough disk space to initially create and run a website. However, this will not last long and users must upgrade. Luckily, Netspaceindia has a plethora of upgrade packages that are affordable and provide a variety of features.

Every month you read about a web hosting provider that is lowering their price to beat the competition. Well, Netspaceindia is doing exactly that. At $1 per month with basic features, the price almost cannot get lower than that. Of course this is a marketing ploy to draw customers in and have them upgraded as their website grows. However this is simple capitalism and a great way to increase the number of clients.

Although their $1 Linux hosting plan does not offer much, do not judge the company solely on this. That plan is their most basic and the company provides a variety of other service and monthly plans chalk full of features. If you are looking for a web hosting company to start a site, try Netspaceindia and work through their many hosting plans.

Web Hosting Geeks' Blog » cheap hosting

Cheap Web Hosting – How to Still get a Good Value

Related posts:

Windows Hosts with the Mosts

Related posts:

A Look at Dirt Cheap, Quality, Web Hosts

Related posts:

A Look at the Top 3 Cheap Web Hosting Providers

Related posts:

How to Get Cheap Web Hosting that Doesn’t Remind you It’s Cheap

Related posts:

Finding Quality Cheap Web Hosting for your Business

Related posts:

Does Cheap Web Hosting Really Exist?

How Can Web Hosts Offer Services at Affordable Rates?

Reliable Hosting. Just $3.95/mo

Conclusion

Related posts:

What Type of Hosting Has the Cheapest Startup Cost?

Related posts:

Keeping Your Website Free of Malicious Scripts

Related posts:

The Continuing Price War among Web Hosting Providers

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