InMotion Hosting is one of our favorite options for personal, business, and dedicated hosting, offering a wealth of plans, features, and support designed to keep your Web presence running smoothly. But then again, all of that stuff can be ascribed to just about every web hosting business in the book. So, when the quick hits the bone, who in the heck really are InMotion? Read our InMotion Hosting user reviews.

Who They Really Are

InMotion first took on its name and business way back when in 2001, arriving out of a merger between business and Internet capability. As such, the provider offers a unique focus to the business consumer, bringing an unparalleled level of services and support aimed at keeping Web-necessary content online at any and all times—even during periods of extreme stress.

Todd Robinson, president of InMotion Hosting.

InMotion Hosting Awards

The company has been winning awards for these stellar services since as early as 2003, racking up a truly astonishing number of commendations since. Among these are the Drupal Association “Organization Member” aware, a CNET Certified Service Provider, an A-Rated Accredited Business with the BBB, the “Best Business Web Hosting“, the “Best Ecommerce Web Hosting“, the “Best VPS Hosting” awards from WebHostingGeeks.com, and the “Best Business Hosting” award from 100WebHosting.com—all of these given in the latest 2011 year. In other words, the company has existed for more than a decade, but has not slacked off on its duties during any time in that period.

To see all awards of InMotion Hosting click here.

InMotion Hosting Customers

Backed by a team of experts with diverse technical backgrounds, the company claims to be committed to its customer base, and according to its continued growth, it seems to be living up to all the talk.

As mentioned before, InMotion comes absolutely loaded to the gills with all kinds of awards, commendations, customer testimonials, and general pats on the back. The company has been turning heads since its initial inception a decade ago, and now supports a track record few—if any—other web hosting providers can match.

That all might be well and grand, but when it comes down to things, what in fact are those services that are so award-winning? Is it possible to knock them down into only a few bullets? In fact yes, yes it is!

Blazing Fast Hosting

One of the things we love most about InMotion is that it allows the user to choose their server of origin, an unprecedented level of control that we can’t match to any other web host. Typically, a shared hosting experience assigns the user a databank somewhere in the country. This datacenter may or may not be closest to the user’s home demographic, potentially stripping the consumer’s site of all useable performance. In comparison, InMotion offers two East and West coast oriented options, based on their Max Speed Zones system.

West Coast Data Center

East Coast Data Center

This system provides unparalleled protection and performance across the board, no matter what market you’re attempting to reach within the continental United States. In addition, for those hard to reach spots (like our native Denver) InMotion offers peer-based connectivity to give extra boosts as needed.

Green Like A City-Slicker Rancher

Believe it or not, server banks are actually one of the premier causes of pollution in modern times. InMotion is one of only a few select companies to recognize this fact, and to have taken measures to lessen their initial impact. For example, the company now runs its technology and cutting-edge cooling systems that reduce server grid drain by as much as 70%. There’s also the fact that InMotion plants 5,000 trees a year to offset any negative impact it may put into the ecosystem. All in all, InMotion is green as it gets, and that’s an incredible thing.

InMotion Hosting Support

However, it isn’t just features, or general overviews, that get our goat about the web hosting company. In fact, almost more than anything else, it’s their unique dedication to solving and preventing customer complications as they arise. InMotion offers a fully operational 24/7 chat line for customers to call, day or night, for resolutions to their web hosting conundrums as they appear.

Should you find yourself without a telephone, there’s absolutely no reason to panic. In fact, InMotion offers more than enough additional ways to get the job done, and have your website back up and running in no time. This includes a dedicated email support ticket system, live chat to aide you day-or-night directly from your computer, traditional email, and of course, the social networks.

Telephone Sales: 888-321-4678 x1 or 757-416-6575 x1
Telephone Support: 888-321-4678 x2 or 757-416-6575 x2

Email Sales: sales@inmotionhosting.com
Email Support: support@inmotionhosting.com

Live Chat: click here

Google+: https://plus.google.com/109777154476249834137/
Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/inmotionhosting
Twitter: https://twitter.com/inmotionhosting

More ways to contact InMotion Hosting: http://www.inmotionhosting.com/contact.html.

InMotion Hosting Help Center

In addition, InMotion also offers a full support center that’s loaded with a knowledge base of Alexandrian proportions. There’s website and email tutorials, as well as domain name set-up information, and even tutorials on general website education. It’s as if InMotion secretly has an hidden agenda, and it’s to make you smarter than you were when you went in! And when all else fails, there’s also a community support forum where you’re free to ask other customers for their time-earned and trial-and-error advice.

All in all, InMotion offers quite an impressive package on paper. They’re award-winning, have lasted over a decade, and offer a set of features that can be boiled down into a simple list, yet still strike the reader with a sense of overwhelming pizzazz. But don’t think we’re done with the company just yet: In fact, we’re only just warming up! Stick around, as we now change gears, and head directly into the hosting plans themselves to look for even more reasons why InMotion is one of the premier choices in online Web hosting.

Web Hosting Plans

We have detailed a few of the ways in which InMotion might appeal to the carefully selective web master, and we have given a few of the ways in which InMotion is prepared to help its customers with any technical problems, should they arise. However, what we have not yet discussed was perhaps the most crucial part of the whole scheme—the hosting plans themselves! To this end, we are now prepared to dish the full details on the topic. So without further ado, dive on below to peep the full details on what makes InMotion’s web hosting plans absolutely essential for the conscientious business with a desire for a firmer Web presence.

Shared Hosting (For Personal or Business Use)

Without a doubt, shared web hosting is certainly the largest part of the market, and we have a feeling most of our readers will be looking for a quality package in this category. Shared web hosting is, after all, a great way to save on initial overhead while still garnering an incredible level of performance and Net presence. But how does InMotion stack up? Is it possible to achieve this level of success with the web host? The short answer: Totally yeah!

Right off the bat, InMotion promises to deliver the performance you want at the price you need. Just take this quote, which we’ve pulled directly from the company’s shared hosting page:

“Rest assured, you will get the best quality hosting from InMotion – even if you are shopping for cheap hosting.”

We’re willing to take InMotion at face value, but the facts are all there to support exactly this sort of claim. Consider the fact that the company offers not one, but two different shared hosting plans.

One, the Value Class Hosting is fast, offers SPAM protection, 2 MB attachment size, and even a web site builder. Should you need a little more oomph, there’s also the Business Class Hosting tier, which offers 50% faster server speeds, thanks to the Max Speed Zone capability, as well as increased attachment size, daily backups, 5 bandwidth providers, and a premium-style website creation tool.

And across the board, InMotion offers a mammoth amount of functionality, including MySQL support, dedicated email accounts, FTP access, shared SSL, additional sub domains, and even support for popular coding and development platforms like WordPress, PHP, HTML5, and CSS. All in all, it’s an impressive package, and one that starts at as little as $3.00 a month.

Visit http://www.inmotionhosting.com for more information.

VPS Hosting (For Ecommerce Websites)

But what if you’d like just a step-up, but aren’t quite ready to commit to a full-on dedicated server with your business? What if you’d prefer to have your data physically separated from all the other tenants of the server, but can’t quite cough up the budget to get it done with a unique hardware set? With InMotion, it’s no trouble at all! The hosting provider offers a wealth of comprehensive and powerful virtual private server hosting options that are guaranteed to meet your needs and then some. Best of all, these plans start at only $39.95 a month—a cheaper price than we’ve seen just about anywhere else on the market.

For that money, users can enjoy a bevy of ground-breaking features. These include 24×7 managed support, exactly as we mentioned in the previous articles. This means that, day-or-night, InMotion is available via phone, live chat, or email to help you with your virtual hosting needs. In addition, the company also offers burstable RAM for when peak periods creep up, as well as full data backups to preserve and protect your site from unwanted down-time. Not to mention a full cPanel and WHM license, granting you unparalleled access to the inner workings of your site—without even any need for complex HTML or CSS coding knowledge!

To throw some last numbers into the mix, consider this: A virtual private server hosting experience with InMotion comes stock with up to 1024 MB of RAM, 3 GB of burstable memory, 1500 GB transfer limits, and 160 GB in RAID 10 Fault Tolerant Disc Space. And if that doesn’t sound like a bargain to you, we don’t know what else we can say (except move on to the next category, Soldier).

More information: http://www.inmotionhosting.com/vps_hosting.html.

Dedicated Servers (For Large Portals)

And finally, the big one. If you’re looking for the utmost in performance, security, and personal web power, there’s no better option than dedicated server hosting. Typically, this kind of hosting would run you a quick bundle to own. But with InMotion, it’s nearly a walk in the park! Starting at as little as $199.95 a month, you can own and operate your very own server without even having to lift a finger. This process is made even more powerful by the fully-capable 24×7 support mentioned earlier, which guarantees your server is managed and operated personally by trained professionals. Should you be dissatisfied with the server’s performance, though, the company offers a full, 30-day money back guarantee: An offer we have not seen anywhere else but InMotion for dedicated hosting.

To round out this part of our InMotion overview, have a look at some of the raw statistics (and power) behind the servers. A dedicated server with the company earns you up to 2.53 GHz, Intel Xeon Quad Core performance, tied to an 8 MB CPU Cache, and 8 GB RAM. In addition, pans max out at a whopping 500 GB disc space, and a 2500 GB monthly transfer limit. Add to this a full cPanel license, 2-Hour hardware replacement, and no set-up fee, and you’re looking at a solidly budget way to experience top-end performance.

More information: http://www.inmotionhosting.com/dedicated_servers.html.

InMotion Hosting Reviews

Whether you require a simple personal or business website, a more powerful virtualized environment, or your own dedicated server, InMotion Hosting definitely makes a fine choice for your web hosting needs and our visitors have confirmed that over the years. If you are still not sure about signing up with InMotion, check our user written reviews at http://webhostinggeeks.com/user-reviews/inmotion-hosting/.

I hope you liked this review. Stay tuned, more hosting reviews coming soon!

Related posts:

• September 7, 2011 – Pros and Cons of Shared Hosting
• February 3, 2009 – Benefitting From VPS Hosting
• January 16, 2009 – The Many Faces of Web Hosting
• October 31, 2008 – Shared Web Hosting vs. VPS Hosting, Part 1
• September 25, 2011 – What To Remember When Moving To A New Control Panel
• January 13, 2011 – Shared and Dedicated Web Hosting
• January 13, 2011 – Different Types of Web Hosting
• January 13, 2011 – Difference between Shared and Dedicated Servers
• January 13, 2011 – A Sundry of Options for Web Hosting
• August 25, 2010 – Cheap VPS Web Hosting vs. Cheap Shared Web Hosting

And why shouldn’t it be? WordPress makes it incredibly simple to manage, produce, and distribute content on the Internet through your site. And at the heart of things, that’s really what the Web is all about, right? Here are some stats about what people do on wordpress:

Philosophical pander aside, though, there are a few things you’ll want to really look for in a web host when you’re shopping for WordPress compliance. In fact, if you don’t snag just the right features, you may find your CMS blog in high water before the ink is even dry on your contract. With that in mind, here are a few of the top features you want in a web host with WordPress in mind, as well as a few quality places to find WordPress hosting, beginning with:

In-House WordPress Transfers. Often times, we see webmasters start a blog on the traditional WordPress site, only to suddenly find their content inundated with fans and adoring readers. If you’re in a similar boat, and are looking to make the swap to a truly dedicated domain and website, you’ll want to be sure of a few things. First and foremost, you’ll want to be sure your new web host can directly transfer your domain from WordPress, establishing it as a proprietary DNS. From there, you’ll also want to ensure they can port most (if not all) of your content. You worked hard to create it, so why should you have to leave it behind on that old, stuffy WordPress blog? If your new web host can’t help you with your baggage, it’s time to shop more.

Speed and Performance. On a similar note, if you’re swapping your old WordPress account for a dedicated number—or even if you’re just starting from scratch—you’ll want to find a web host that offers totally comprehensive performance and top-notch hardware. WordPress is a lightweight web application, but you’re still running an additional software engine over the server’s operating system. This requires processing power, and if you go with an anemic web host, you may find your blog is no better off with a dedicated location than with your original WordPress spot. And besides, signing to a web host is like buying a new car. If you have the money, why not spring for that souped-up model that packs a real punch? Get the most bang for your dollar and look for speed in a web host.

Easy Installation. Lastly, you’ll want to be sure your web host can provide an easy WordPress installation for your site. A good web host makes this a one or two click process, max. If your web host instead wants you to do a long string of complicated terminal commands that may jeopardize the entire system, it’s time to move elsewhere and cancel the contract.

That’s by no means a survival guide for WordPress shopping where web hosts are concerned, but instead of talking about finding a web host until the cows come home, we thought we might instead offer up a few of our choice suggestions. Beginning with:

InMotion Web Hosting

Customer Ratings & Reviews

As an industry leading web hosting provider, InMotion Hosting provides all of the features we mentioned above and more. With the company your WordPress installation takes only a click, thanks to the brilliantly inventive, server-side gem Fantastico. Furthermore, InMotion also boasts secure suPHP, the latest versions of both MySQL 5 and PHP 5, as well as free domain transfer. If you’re looking to port over your old WordPress account, like we talked about earlier, InMotion also makes it a smooth process, bringing along your old content and name without any additional hassle on your part. All in all, InMotion is a brilliant (and cheap, clocking in at $5.95 a month) option for your WordPress-based site.

Visit www.inmotionhosting.com or read our Inmotion Hosting review.

HostGator

Customer Ratings & Reviews

Another industry veteran, HostGator offers even more features than InMotion, and at a lower price, to boot. Plans with the provider begin at only $3.96 a month, and come loaded with 100% WordPress compatibility, a one-click installation of the latest WordPress software, 99.9% up-time, and a full 45 day money back guarantee. Another feature unique to HostGator is its focus on unlimited features. With the provider, users can enjoy fully unlimited disc space and bandwidth, even at the lowest possible plan. And, of course, signing with the provider also earns you the latest versions of Apache, MySQL and PHP. Best of all, transferring your old WordPress site to the provider is easy-peasy using their ready made transfer service.

Visit www.hostgator.com or read our HostGator review.

WebHostingHub

Customer Ratings & Reviews

Last, though certainly not least, is WebHostingHub. The provider offers unparalleled support for the modern WordPress blogger, besting both HostGator and InMotion in our user review polls. First and foremost, those who choose to sign with the provider gain the full benefits of the latest software, including Apache, MySQL 5, and PHP5. And, of course, all of this technology comes ready loaded with a one-click WordPress installation that requires no additional effort on your part. Add to this about 1,000 unique and custom-made WordPress themes to choose from, as well as simple transfer of old WordPress materials, and you’re looking at a truly impressive offering. However, WebHostingHub is also notable for its unique dedication to hardware optimization. The provider has taken great pains to fully prepare its systems for WordPress, including a full PHP caching overhaul that maximizes available RAM, a reduction in overall I/O requests, and blazing fast base connectivity. All in all, if you’re looking for an incredible, simple, and efficient way to host your new WordPress site, there’s no better option than WebHostingHub.

Visit www.webhostinghub.com or read our WebHostingHub review.

Related posts:

• January 1, 2012 – Fastest WordPress Hosting in Town
• December 9, 2011 – WordPress vs. Blogger
• October 3, 2011 – WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
• September 21, 2011 – Drupal – An Essential Primer
• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• June 15, 2011 – Drupal 7 to Further Simplify Website Management
• May 6, 2011 – New Content Management System Released by TYPO 3
• January 17, 2011 – Understanding the Benefits of CMS

But today we wanted to talk about HostGator.com (read our HostGator user reviews), another great web host with pretty solid background. All of this excellence begins with their lineage starting in 2002, the year of HostGator’s birth. Since that first initial step in Houston, Texas, the company has grown to support a whopping 12,000 servers, all under direct, controlled management. In addition, HostGator proudly services and aides a network of some 400,000 customers in more than 200 countries. No other web hosting provider can claim to support such a varied network of people, much less put their name to half the global presence HostGator offers. All in all, the company’s track record alone is enough for us to hand over our digital keys. However, we know you might need a bit more convincing. With that in mind, below you’ll find a few of our choice reasons to sign with HostGator, though its hardly a comprehensive list: With HostGator, its hard to find an end to all the pros!

Varied Web Hosting Solutions

First and foremost, HostGator offers every kind of hosting imaginable and then some. Furthermore, if you’re a bit lost about which hosting variety is best for your needs, HostGator can help with that, too. For example, let’s say your business already has a shared hosting plan (that’s a plan in which you share a server with potentially thousands of other users) and needs a more stable environment. As such, HostGator offers, and will suggest, their dedicated hosting plan, which provides you with a fully managed server of your very own to place your website on. Though, if you require traditional shared hosting, HostGator is more than happy to provide this level of service as well. Likewise, should you need the localized control and stability of a virtual private server, which blocks your content off from outside abuse through operating system virtualization, HostGator is ready out-of-the-box to help. Not to mention the company’s extensive support for reseller hosting, which allows you to take a chunk of the HostGator network, and redistribute it for a profit to others.

Support When You Need It

HostGator also offers 24/7, round-the-clock technical support for any and all problems you may encounter. This support can not only be reached when you need, but also where you need it: With phone lines, chat rooms, and email inboxes open all day long, HostGator is sure to return any complaints with a speedy solution—every time!

Bookmark http://www.hostgator.com/contact.shtml just in case you ever need to contact HostGator.

One of the Best Shared Hosting Around

In terms of sheer quality and performance, no one out does HostGator’s shared hosting plans. To begin with, choosing to sign with HostGator will only cost you $3.71 a month with a new contract. That is a special offer for WebHostingGeeks.com visitors! And for that low price of less than four dollars a month, HostGator offers truly unlimited service from the ground up.

HostGator 25% OFF Coupon Code: “GEEKS“.

With unlimited disc space and unlimited bandwidth, you will never again have to worry about size or data transfer limitations. In fact, at the next price range—which begins at only $6.36 per mont—you can also enjoy unlimited domains, making shared hosting a definitive reality for your multi-domain business.

Lastly, HostGator’s shared hosting plan comes stock with a wealth of additional features including a 99.9% up-time guarantee, as well as a no contract 45-day money back guarantee. Add to this a world-class cPanel experience, a free website builder, and almost 5,000 free Website templates, and you’ve got one seriously incredible shared hosting plan on your hands.

Unbeatable Reseller Options

If you’re a new web hosting provider looking to take a superior chunk out of your peers, HostGator’s reselling options will give you an instant leg-up on the competition. The provider works hard to make your reselling experience an easy and efficient one, providing you with the tools you need to please clients and turn a profit. For starters, HostGator provides each and every one of its reseller accounts with fully functional client management and billing software. These tools are indispensable when it comes to managing your growing business, and make the difference in your livelihood as a reseller.

In addition, HostGator also offers a bevy of unlimited options, including unlimited domains, sub domains, email accounts, MySQL databases, cPanels, and FTP accounts. And with plans starting at only $19.96, becoming a reseller host has never been cheaper, as well as easier.

Visit HostGator.com for more information about their reseller hosting services.

Virtual Private Servers With a Punch

If you’re looking for a dedicated server experience without the budget bite of the real thing, there’s no better option than virtual private servers. And if you’re looking for a quality VPS host, there’s no name worthier than HostGator. The provider’s comprehensive VPS plans start at only $15.96 a month, earning you a wealth of additional features for far less the cost of a physical dedicated server.

As with its other hosting plans, HostGator offers a menagerie of unlimited options for its VPS costumers. These include unlimited domains, sub domains, email accounts, MySQL databases, and FTP accounts. HostGator’s VPS accounts are also fully managed with cPanel or Plesk, and support several different levels of experience, working to meet your  needs where they are.

Yes, the list continued and don’t turn that dial just yet! there is much to say about HostGator. Thus far we have not quite covered all of the critical elements, a fact that should come as no surprise, considering the mountain of features and feature sets that HostGator offers. With that in mind, let us continue to examine the host and offer you, the reader, a deeper look into the incredible services the company offers.

If you’re considering a quality VPS host, shared host, dedicated host, or even reseller host, HostGator is one of the best in the business, and we’re about to show you how! Starting with one of our favorite aspects about the provider, its incredible dedicated hosting potential.

Visit HostGator.com for more information about their VPS hosting solutions.

Linux Based Dedicated Hosting

Within the realm of dedicated server hosting, HostGator splits its services across two unique operating systems. The first of which is Linux. All HostGator dedicated servers in this category come stock with a free and secure, server edition of CentOS that’s guaranteed to manage your files easily and with the tightest possible safety. Best of all, those with the technical knowledge can benefit from HostGator’s full root access that’s allowed to the webmaster, as well as the available choice between either a 32-bit or 64-bit hosting experience. Even better, all HostGator dedicated servers with a Linux flavoring come loaded to the gills with the latest in web hosting software: This includes cPanel with WHM, Apache Web Server access, MySQL 5, PHP5, Perl support, Python ready hosting, Ruby on Rails, FFMpeg support, and even free WHMCS or WHM client management and billing software. All in all, signing with HostGator for your Linux-oriented dedicated server needs is a great way to get the most bang for your buck, right out of the box.

HostGator’s Linux dedicated server plans begin at only $139 a month, a rock-solid bargain for the business or personal user looking to form a dedicated presence on the Internet. For that money, users can enjoy a full Intel Xeon Quad Core processing experience, 2 GB DDR3 memory, a dual 250 GB hard drive, and 10 TB in bandwidth. At a lowly one-hundred and forty dollars a month, that much functionality is an incredible steal, regardless of the budget you’re operating on.

Visit HostGator.com for more information about their linux dedicated servers.

Windows Dedicated Servers

Like HostGator’s Linux dedicated server hosting, the Windows side of the company’s dedicated options sports an impressive array of features and hooks designed to obtain your business and trust. For example, all HostGator Windows servers come stock with Windows Server 2008 R2, complete with remote desktop and a 64-bit system on demand. Likewise, the latest in Parallels Plesk is offered here in conjunction with IIS Web Server, MSSSQL, MySQL, FTP Server, DNS Server, and even a SmarterMail Professional Mail Server. All of this functionality, of course, is kept under guard by a secure Firewall and IPsec Policy. And like HostGator’s Linux servers, all Windows dedicated offerings are fully managed, requiring no additional overhead for you or your board to worry about. All in all, HostGator is simply one of the best places to find secure, stable, and up-to-date Windows dedicated hosting.

Visit HostGator.com for more information about their windows dedicated servers.

HostGator Superior Control Panels

And it’s not just server excellence that HostGator is offering: The company is also responsible for some seriously killer control panels, too! With every Linux-based shared hosting account, users are given full, unrestricted access to the latest edition of the popular cPanel platform. This platform comes totally loaded with Website statistics thanks to such quality plug-ins as AWStats, Webalizer, Raw Log Manager, Referrer and Error Logs. There’s also support for popular services like Fantastico, password protected directories, and custom error pages for all of your sites. In addition, users who choose such an account can benefit from an easy-to-use and graphic file manager that makes moving and creating files a cinch.

If you recently purchased a new account with HostGator, you should type the following information into the address bar of your browser:

http://yoursitesIPaddress/cpanel (For example, type http://50.22.22.170/cpanel).

If your domain name is already pointing to HostGator, then you can use the domain name to log into cPanel. Here is an example:

http://www.yourdomainname.com/cpanel or http://cpanel.yourdomainname.com/

Try HostGator’s cPanel Demo.

HostGator Web Host Manager

For everyone else (Reseller accounts, VPS hosting, and Dedicated subscribers) the same cPanel quality can be obtained, even with many of the same features. This includes the latest WHM Control Panel with multi-language support, server status monitoring, package limiting, disc space distribution, and complete control over passwords, DNS accounts, tenant restrictions, and even branded materials like client panels. And, of course, the Windows side of this server coin comes loaded with the extremely popular Plesk control panel, offering all of the above features and more, including an application vault and redirected URLs.

There are a few ways to log into WHM. The best way depends on if your domain name has propagated yet.

If you recently purchased a new account with HostGator or have run out of bandwidth, you will type the following information into the address bar of your browser:

http://yourIPaddress/whm (For example, type http://50.22.22.170/whm).

If the domain name is already propagated, then you can use the domain name to log into WHM. Here is an example:

http://www.yourdomainname.com/whm or http://whm.yourdomainname.com/

Extensive Application Support

Lastly, we’re blown away by HostGator’s unprecedented support for popular dynamic web applications like WordPress, Joomla, Magento, Wiki Hosting, and phpBB Hosting. Specifically, they’re unprecedented appreciation for the power and potential of WordPress is to be applauded. The company makes it quick, easy, and affordable to create a WordPress-powered website in only minutes, even allowing users to port their old WordPress blog along, adding it to a dedicated space with no additional wrangling. The same applies to other content management systems like Joomla and Drupal, allowing the blossoming blogger to fully realize their potential with hardly a scratch on their budget.

HostGator Awards & Reviews

All in all, HostGator looks to be one of the largest, most trusted, and most feature rich hosts around. If you’re looking for quality shared, VPS, dedicated or reseller hosting, there’s (on paper) hardly a better choice. The plans are cheaper, the features unbeatable, and the customer support truly rock-solid. The performance itself also looks to be absolutely superb, when compared to other industry leaders. The company has won hundreds of awards over the years, including some of the most prestigious from WebHostingMagazine, FindMyHost, and WebHostDir.

However, our users here at Web Hosting Geeks have had some other things to add. If you’re looking for a quality web host, HostGator looks a fit to us, but before diving into the provider, be sure to check some of our quality, user written reviews at http://webhostinggeeks.com/user-reviews/hostgator/.

Feel free to inspect the provider yourself at HostGator.com. And, of course, their trained representatives are always standing by, at the ready to field your questions as they arise. In other words, don’t just take our word for it: Let HostGator dazzle you as it’s dazzled us.

If you decide to sign up with HostGator, don’t forget to use our 25% Off Coupon Code “GEEKS“.

Related posts:

• January 18, 2012 – InMotion Hosting In-Depth Analysis
• January 1, 2012 – Fastest WordPress Hosting in Town
• December 18, 2011 – How to Find Web Hosting Service Provider
• November 24, 2011 – HostGator Black Friday 2011 Special Offer
• September 21, 2011 – A Look at Dirt Cheap, Quality, Web Hosts
• September 20, 2011 – Cheap VPS hosting – Considering the Top 5 Options
• September 14, 2011 – Three Incredible Windows-Based Web Hosts
• September 13, 2011 – A Look at the Top 3 Cheap Web Hosting Providers
• September 9, 2011 – Top 4 Windows Web Hosting Providers to Consider
• January 16, 2011 – Top Three Paid Web Hosting Companies

Security – Winner: Linux

In terms of raw security, it’s really quite hard to do better than any available Linux distribution. This has to do with the very way in which Linux is coded—including Unix branches of the operating system, if you were wondering. Unlike Windows, Linux has a superuser known simply as “root.” To access this level of control, a webmaster must have a direct connection to the server shell, as well as the password of the server itself. Once this link has been established, an administrator can do basically anything they’d like to the server, including the hacking and stealing of precious data. However, because this level of authority requires root access—and simply cannot be had any other way—it’s nearly impossible for an artificial-intelligence based virus to “hack” into a Linux system. The probe would first need to tunnel into the server, establishing itself as a secure connection. Next, it would need to know the master password, which theoretically could be hacked, though to little purpose. Once inside the server, the bug would still need to pass several security checks to access privileged folders, guaranteeing a much harder fight than with Windows.

Windows, it’s worth noting, features little to no administrative control, a la the “root” user. Rather, the server establishes a single account as its admin, and then ties a password to that user. However, because of the registry that lies at the heart of a Windows system, it’s relatively easy for a digital worm to wind its way into the heart of the hardware, accessing files as it pleases and relaying the found data back to another server: Or worse! All in all, Linux simply cannot be bested in terms of its superior security from outside threats.

Support – Winner: Windows

However, Windows does have the upper hand in terms of technical assistance and support. Because Windows is a proprietary operating system, it comes fully backed by a team of Microsoft specialists that will help and guide you through any unexpected errors or struggles. These lines and forums are available 24/7, 365 days a year, and can assist with any and all malfunctions. They will typically even perform some of the procedure for you, saving you the need to get your hands dirty with code.

Linux, on the other hand, historically comes with no dedicated technical assistance, save the community itself. And though the world of Linux troubleshooting is alive and well across hundreds of forums spread out across the globe, there’s simply no solid body to deal with the thousands of Linux variations and distributions that float freely in existence. Rather, it is ultimately the webmaster who must deal first-hand with technical complications, and if no quick solution is available, that webmaster’s server may be in real steep stuff.

Cost – Winner: Linux

That being said, Linux easily takes the cake in terms of raw overhead investment. Rare is a Linux distribution that costs anything, as most are available for free via the GNU public commons agreement. Furthermore, should some enterprising webmaster wish to create their own variation of the operating system, they’re fully licensed to do so, as Linux is typically available in its entirety for free redistribution. Windows, however, must be purchased with a server license, which can be quite expensive. Further, technical assistance and software come at a premium, where Linux is loaded to the gills with freeware packages optimized for the system. But as mentioned, this corner cutting in a budgetary sense also comes with a lack of dedicated problem solving support. The difference is really like buying a used car, as opposed to leasing one: Should a problem arise with the used automobile, you’re very likely up a certain creek without a means of locomotion. Should the leased vehicle fail, there’s always an helping hand nearby, ready to handle your needs.

Performance and Up-Time – Winner: Linux

Lastly, if you’re looking for the final word in performance and up-time, Linux is hands down your top pick. A Linux system absolutely never requires a reboot because of a software update, nor does it ever necessitate a restart to unclog the processes. The operating system has been designed from the ground up to create dedicated threads for each open application, activating these threads when needed and closing them when unneeded. This not only preserves processing power, but ensures that no program can “go rogue” behind the scenes, eating away at your server’s resources and potentially causing a meltdown. Windows, on the other hand, typically faults at the background level, leaving software doors open with the lights running. To keep a Windows server clean, a frequent tune-up and maintenance sweep is typically required, in addition to an occasional system reboot. Each of these requires down-time, and without a backup server on-hand to deal with the lost connectivity, you’re potentially facing irritated end-consumers. All in all, there’s simply no more efficient way to run your server for extended periods of time—Linux up-time is typically measured in years—than with a Linux distribution.

Related posts:

• December 12, 2008 – Do You Need Dedicated Hosting?
• October 18, 2011 – coLinux: can Linux and Windows co-exist?
• September 6, 2011 – Is Linux Overtaking Windows Web Hosting?
• January 16, 2011 – The Best Web Hosting Prices
• October 14, 2010 – The Benefits of Virtualized Hosting for eCommerce
• September 10, 2010 – How to Classify Web Hosting
• January 21, 2010 – Parallel’s Plesk: Flexibility and Functionality
• December 17, 2009 – The Power of Cube Panel
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• August 28, 2009 – Five Reasons to Choose Unix Hosting

To begin with, we’re going to assume you’re using a WordPress based site. Why? Because if you aren’t, and your top priority is search engine optimization, you really should be. WordPress makes it quick, painless, and relatively cheap to SEO streamline your site. This is accomplished thorugh a variety of essential plug-ins which do such various tasks as change your URL codes, add meta-tags, create keyword line-ups for search engines to crawl, etc. It’s a brilliant way to go about maximizing your site’s potential, but if you’re looking to get the most out of your WordPress site, you should know it’s not all sunshine and chuckles. In fact, WordPress has one noticeable drawback, which we’ll be attending to with the rest of this article, so stay tuned!

Speed Demons in our Closets

You see, WordPress is what we in the business call a content management software. It takes all of the various articles, images, posts, etc. that you create, and displays it in a pre-set fashion that jives will with themes. This makes it blazingly fast and efficient to create new content, and all without having to write a single line of code. Obviously, this is a tremendous boon for the runoff the mill blogger, who would rather not learn a real skill like HTML coding.

However, there’s one downside to all this ease-of-creation stuff: WordPress is a real bandwidth hog. Sure, it makes it a breeze to add new media, but all of that coded forefront comes with a price tag. Typically, users will experience slightly more load time with a WordPress powered site than with a non-WordPress branded one. Why is this a problem? you might be asking. Usually, it’s not at all: We’re really talking a difference of perhaps half a second to maybe a full second. However, when it comes to search engine optimization, those bare few seconds could be all it takes to put your site in the tank. Don’t believe us? Consider this.

Search engines collect data using software “spiders.” These little critters are designed to do one thing, and do it well: Poll web pages and collect data about them. Typically, they accomplish this through peeping at site text, meta-tags, etc. to gather up a gist that can be used to create a ranking. However, speed is also very heavily considered in a site’s automatic rank. Spiders are busy little buggers, and if your site takes until Christmas to return the data they need, they’ll hike it up out of town and disappear. You heard us right: If your site is too slow, search engines are likely to skip it entirely, or at the very least, file it much further down the line than you’d like. You shouldn’t let this get you down, though. There are steps you can take to prevent this, especially if you’re using a WordPress-powered site—and they all begin with the hosting itself!

Top Hosting Providers for WordPress

To secure the best possible search engine ranking for your data, you’re going to need a good host. The hosting provider, after all, is the source of your bandwidth, disc space, and net presence. Without it, you’re sunk. If you’re looking for a speedy and efficient way to host your WordPress site, we’ve even got a few suggestions lined-up and ready to roll. Firstly, consider—

Web Hosting Hub

Customer Ratings & Reviews

We like these guys for a number of reasons. First and foremost, they’re a tremendous bang for your dollar, as all of their plans come with unlimited support for disk space, bandwidth, and websites. They also offer one of the best technical support services in the business, guaranteeing they’ll be able to solve any WordPress problems that may arise. On the subject of WordPress, they also offer such amenities as one-click transfer of existing WordPress data, a free domain name with a new WordPress plan, and a wealth of themes to choose from. All in all, they’re a solid option for the speed concerned WordPress blogger.

Visit www.webhostinghub.com or read our WebHostingHub review.

InMotion Hosting

Customer Ratings & Reviews

These guys offer a similar bevy of features that we greatly appreciate, including a comparable amount of unlimited support for both bandwidth and disc space. They also offer a wealth of WordPress friendly features, including a similar one-click transfer and a solid mountain of support files to help get you up to speed on how to operate the CMS.

Visit www.inmotionhosting.com or read our Inmotion Hosting review.

HostGator

Customer Ratings & Reviews

If you haven’t heard of HostGator yet, we’re guessing you haven’t been in the business long. They’re legends in the field, and as such, the offer a near perfect storm of WordPress performance and features. With plans beginning under four dollars with an heap of benefits, they’re a tremendous value for anyone looking to quickly set-up and even more quickly manage a WordPress site.

Visit www.hostgator.com or read our HostGator review.

However, when it comes to WordPress, we really can’t recommend anyone higher than WebHostingHub WordPress Hosting. They’ve consistently ranked the highest in our user polls, and offer the most advanced level of WordPress support. This includes servers that run suPHP, which allows for speedier and more secure connections, PHP5, MySQL5, and PHP caching. All in all, they’re an unbelievably fast offering that’s guaranteed to up your website rankings!

Related posts:

• January 11, 2012 – WordPress Website and WordPress Hosting
• January 16, 2012 – Top 4 Ways to Optimize WordPress for Search Engines
• December 9, 2011 – WordPress vs. Blogger
• October 3, 2011 – WordPress Plugins – Making the Most of the Your Site
• September 15, 2011 – Add-Ons That Will Save Your Web Hosting Business
• September 15, 2011 – Alternative’s to WordPress – Other Content Management Systems do Exist
• September 7, 2011 – An Overview of PHP-Based Content Management Systems Beyond WordPress
• September 2, 2011 – When to Transition to a Content Management System
• June 15, 2011 – Drupal 7 to Further Simplify Website Management
• May 20, 2011 – Important Features of Content Management Systems

Free Hosting

This one is really quite similar to shared hosting, and in fact, it typically is. However, free hosting removes the most annoying part of any hosting plan—the cost! Companies like Amazon, Google, WordPress, etc. offer free locations where users can store their websites. Typically, this is only a good idea for small time productions, as these freebies often come with a company-specific URL code.

Based on our experience WHG recommends 000WebHost as a good Free hosting provider.

Shared Hosting

This is a basic one, but one we feel you should be (at least) familiar with. Nine times out of ten, when one is talking about budget or low-end hosting, what one is really discussing is shared hosting. The idea behind the technology is simple, and certainly lends itself to cutting corners in the name of saving dollars. In our eyes, it’s best to think of shared hosting in this way:

Consider your average storage unit complex. There’s only one location that houses all the various units, but at that site you’ll find dozens and dozens of individual storage locations. Tenants come and go, depositing and removing their items at will, but all from a single address: Though their individual unit is, of course, blocked off from the others. In much the same way, shared hosting allows users to access a single server—or sometimes a single block of servers—while still utilizing only their individual space. This is made possible by partitioning a server into hundreds of smaller chunks, which can then be sold to a client. The client uploads their data via FTP to their personal directory, and is then free to mangle, change, or edit their website at will.

Obviously, there are a few drawbacks to this style of web hosting. Primarily, speed and performance are often compromised, as hundreds of users drawing from the same location can reduce bandwidth availability across the board. Likewise, these arrangements typically come with some level of data cap, giving only a set number of gigabytes to the user in both storage and transfer. A good way to think about these limitations is to imagine a shared web hosting server as an apartment complex: If a dozen tenants arrive at once, the elevators will be running slowly, as they’re capacity is quickly met, requiring a slight wait. So is it the same for shared hosting, which is why our next category is so important for business sites.
Based on our experience and reviews WHG recommends WebHostingHub as a reliable shared hosting provider.

VPS Hosting

This service actually comes in somewhere between shared hosting and dedicated hosting. The basic idea behind the technology bears a lot of resemblance to shared hosting, but with an important distinction: A VPS host mitigates its server space through partitions, allowing each partition to run a separate operating system as if it were an actual server. So in this sense, using VPS technology to handle your data is smart, as it allows for similar performance quality to dedicate hosting. However, as it is still shared by several other users on the same hardware, it’s somewhat cheaper than buying an entire hardware set. For the power-hungry user with a tight budget, it’s the perfect compromise.

Based on our experience and reviews WHG recommends InMotion Hosting as a reliable VPS hosting provider.

Dedicated Server Hosting

In this method of web hosting, the need for shared space and bandwidth contentions is thrown out the window, as a single entity controls the entire server. This is in direct contrast to the previously mentioned shared hosting method, which divides a central server or databank into hundreds (or sometimes thousands) of shared units. With dedicated hosting, whichever organization owns the lease also owns all of the server’s power, space, and performance.

There are several benefits and costs to hosting your website in this manner, but no drawback is more noticeable than the overhead cost. If you decide to purchase a dedicated server space from a third-party, your monthly rates will be much higher than with a shared hosting provider. However, as you own the entire server, you will experience drastically improved performance and disc availability over a shared host. Should you decide to purchase a server yourself, your costs will also increase, as you’ll have to invest in a professional to manage the hardware for you. Also, should any problems arise with the hardware, all of the repair and maintenance costs rest on your shoulders, as the sole proprietor of the unit.

Managed Hosting

This one is essentially the same thing as dedicated hosting, but we still feel it’s worth mentioning, in case you run across the term somewhere. Managed hosting is identical in nature to dedicated server services (you still own the server) but instead of having you perform all of the maintenance is taken care of for you. In a lot of ways, it’s like hiring a janitorial service to clean the apartment complex you purchased all the way back in point number three.

Based on our experience and reviews WHG recommends InMotion Hosting as a reliable dedicated hosting provider.

Cloud Hosting

Cloud hosting is a newer service, and one that operates on a completely different scale than both dedicated and shared hosting. In cloud hosting (which is currently trumpeted by companies like Laughing Squid and Amazon Web Services) your data and site are spread out across a network of peer-connected server banks and computers. In other words, rather than storing all of your information at a single location, whether that location is wholly owned by you or a third-party, cloud hosting instead spreads your data out across the “cloud.” By doing so, cloud hosts can avoid a number of complications inherent to more traditional hosting methods.

For instance, bandwidth constraints and a lack of scalability are no problem with a cloud-based provider. If your content is suddenly put on high demand due to an unprecedented number of media requests, a cloud host can simply scale up the number of available points your data can be reached from. This is called scalability, and is a service that a single server simply cannot provide. Likewise, as your site is stored across an entire network of computers, there’s no need to worry about space limitations. Should you require more disc space to work with, your provider can simply open up a few more locations, ensuring your media—no matter how large—is open for distribution.

With cloud hosting, you are also guaranteed a near perfect uptime. Because your site is available at a multitude of locations around the globe, there’s little to no chance your data will disappear with an unexpected power failure. Should a single IP location go down, another will be added to the network map, delivering your media as if nothing had happened.

Based on our experience and reviews WHG recommends Rackspace as a reliable cloud hosting provider.

Reseller Hosting

One of our favorites, reseller hosting has got to be one of the coolest ideas to spring out of the Internet since Al Gore and that video about the exploding whale. Companies that offer a lot of shared hosting, at some point along the line, realized they could just as easily repackage all that space and give it to reseller distributors, instead of proper tenants. It does them no harm, as the new distributor takes the space he leases from the company’s servers, and then sells it as if he were a proper hosting provider. It’s a brilliant step forward, as it allows media professionals like graphic designers and web developers to host their client’s websites without needing to send them off to a third-party. It puts money back into the economy, in case you were looking for a campaign slogan to work with.

Based on our experience and reviews WHG recommends HostGator as a reliable reseller hosting provider.

SEO Hosting

A little more dubious than the aforementioned methods, SEO hosting’s benefits are somewhat vague. The technology essentially allows web masters to assign specific IP addresses to multiple domains, as well as monitor a wealth of SEO oriented data. Then again, we aren’t really sure if this kind of technology works at all, or if it’s really quite worth your time. But, if you’re extremely concerned about the SEO integrity of your media, there’s no better way to host it than with a server that’s got search engine optimization built right into the title!

Based on our experience and reviews WHG recommends SeoHosting as a reliable SEO hosting provider.

Hope you liked my descriptions of the various web hosting types. Please leave your comments below.

PS: I would like to thank Sergey Epifanov (Google+, Twitter) from DesignContest.com for creating these beautiful hosting icons.

Thanks,
Art

Related posts:

• January 18, 2012 – InMotion Hosting In-Depth Analysis
• December 2, 2011 – Is Cloud Computing Worth It for Your Business?
• November 19, 2011 – Know What Cloud Hosting Has to Offer You
• November 19, 2011 – The Future of Cloud Computing – Where it’s Going, and What it Means for You
• October 5, 2011 – A Look at Common Cloud Hosting Lingo, Part One
• September 27, 2011 – Why Your Site Would Be Better With a Virtual Server
• September 25, 2011 – What To Remember When Moving To A New Control Panel
• September 7, 2011 – Pros and Cons of Shared Hosting
• September 2, 2011 – Saving Money and Increasing Sales with the Cloud
• September 1, 2011 – Budget Web Hosting: Is It Worth the Buck?

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.

Related posts:

• September 25, 2011 – Linux and E-Commerce: The Top 5 Best Hosts for Two Long-term Trends
• September 14, 2011 – Three Incredible Windows-Based Web Hosts
• September 9, 2011 – Top 4 Windows Web Hosting Providers to Consider
• December 18, 2011 – How to Find Web Hosting Service Provider
• September 23, 2011 – The 5 Best Shared Web Hosting Account Deals This Week
• September 13, 2011 – Windows Web Hosting: No Longer Second Fiddle?
• September 6, 2011 – Is Linux Overtaking Windows Web Hosting?
• August 30, 2011 – Top WordPress Hosting Sites Announced
• April 12, 2011 – The Popularity of Windows Web Hosting Explained
• March 15, 2011 – ASP Web Hosting Reviewed

Finding Reliable Web Hosting Company

First and foremost, you will need to find a web host for your website. There are a number of web hosts available to choose from which can make the decision even harder for you. Below is a list of some of the most popular web hosting sites in the industry.

WebHostingHub

Web Hosting Hub is one of the best hosting companies on the market because it is dependable, reliable and most importantly, very affordable. There are website owners who are customers of Web Hosting Hub in areas located all around the world. People enjoy the affordability of Web Hosting Hub, which offers its customers monthly plans that are as low as $3.95 per month.

Rated 4.67 out of 5, based on 118 customer reviews. Check Web Hosting Hub reviews.

iPage

iPage is really easy to use, but best of all, if you have more than one website, you will be able to receive web hosting for an unlimited amount of domain names that you own. This web host, iPage, can be activated almost instantly and the set up process is free. With plans as low as $2.95 per month, this is one of the most favorable web hosting providers available.

Rated 4.03 out of 5, based on 446 customer reviews. Check iPage reviews.

Bluehost

Bluehost has been around for quite some time and continues to increase in popularity as it gains thousands of new customers each and every month. Customers who sign up with Bluehost can get their domain name for no extra charge. This web host also offers free templates to customers as well. These templates can come in handy when developing and designing your new website.

Rated 3.16 out of 5, based on 409 customer reviews. Check Bluehost reviews.

Hostmonster

Hostmonster is currently providing service to more than a million different domains, which shows how reliable their hosting happens to be. The set up process will not cost you anything and best of all, you will know about any charges or expenses up front. At $3.95 per month for unlimited space and bandwidth, your website will have room to grow from a provider you can trust.

Rated 3.09 out of 5, based on 249 customer reviews. Check Hostmonster reviews.

GoDaddy

GoDaddy has been around for quite some time now. There are tons (millions actually) of people who use GoDaddy as a web host and can vouch for their services. Therefore, you know you are not wasting your money when you choose GoDaddy as the hosting provider for your website. If you plan to buy a plethora of domain names, GoDaddy will even offer you a discount.

Rated 2.38 out of 5, based on 194 customer reviews. Check GoDaddy reviews.

Selecting the Right Hosting Plan

There are several packages that different web hosts offer to their customers. You can make the decision as to which web host you would like to go with by simply looking at what each web host has to offer. For example, some web hosts will offer special discounts for customers who need to purchase several domain names at once. If you plan to own more than ten domains at one time, you can get your hosting plan at a discounted rate which would be beneficial for you.

There are also packages that some web hosts will provide to customers that offer templates which are useful for building a website. Templates are designs that can help the layout of your website appear more professional. This is something you are likely to need, especially if you want your website to be successful. If this is the case, take free template offers into consideration when choosing which web hosting site you want to go with.

If you got a tight budget, you should also take monthly and yearly pricing into consideration. While each of these web hosts is typically affordable to the general public, some of the web hosting sites are cheaper than other web hosts, and there often is not a lack of quality directly correlated with a lower hosting rate.  If you do the appropriate research to find out which web host will offer you the best package deal for the best price, you can make your decision based on that as well. Some web hosting sites will even offer discounted coupon codes which will help you to save even more and/or longer hosting durations also often lower overall raets.

Conclusion

Any of these web host sites mentioned above would likely be ideal for you to choose when deciding on a web hosting provider. The fact of the matter is, all of these web hosts are quite affordable and will allow your website to run more efficiently and look more professional. Depending upon your website and how many domains you need, along with other factors, the choice for the best web host for your particular website will vary. These are just some of the many web hosts that are available on the Internet.

The hosts outlined above have received many positive ratings and rave reviews and are respected and reputable. Knowing that you can trust these web hosts on the list is important because most web site owners have a fear of being scammed or at a loss due to downtime. Fortunately, these web hosts care about their customers and offer some of the best services that will enable you to be successful with your website.

Related posts:

• August 30, 2011 – Top WordPress Hosting Sites Announced
• September 25, 2011 – Linux and E-Commerce: The Top 5 Best Hosts for Two Long-term Trends
• September 9, 2011 – Top 4 Windows Web Hosting Providers to Consider
• April 29, 2011 – Web Hosting Companies Censor Websites
• January 16, 2011 – Top Three Paid Web Hosting Companies
• January 8, 2012 – HostGator In-Depth Analysis
• January 4, 2012 – Top Domain Registration Services
• January 1, 2012 – Fastest WordPress Hosting in Town
• December 19, 2011 – Windows Hosts with the Mosts
• December 9, 2011 – NameCheap vs. GoDaddy

What types of tasks are completed in this way?

One of those more well-known tasks is PrimeGrid, the project which works to find more prime numbers through the use of distributed computing. It is one of the wider projects and open to the public through the use of software called BOINC (Berkley Open Infrastructure for Network Computing). The user can find a compatible project which can be done through the Wikipedia page here:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_distributed_computing_projects

The user can often download the software from that site, and set it up on their system. From there, the program will proceed to use the computers downtime (that is, the time that the user is not making use of the system and when the system itself is not doing any related tasks, like updating) in order to complete the tasks necessary for the project, often just using the processing power itself if not doing the actual task on the user’s system itself.

Now, before you go and think that this is a project and a program that has little real world use and is essentially the creation of a bored MIT student, you need to understand that this form of computing is actually being funded by some of the nation’s largest science foundations while it works on tasks, such as predicting Protein folding and the finding of prime numbers. In fact, just this past month (October 2011), a PrimeGrid computer and user found the largest generalized Fermat prime number which is 361658^262144+1. Now, this may mean nothing to you, however, it means the world to mathematicians and to those in many sciences that go into protecting our world.

Seti@Home

Seti@Home (Seti at home) was the first significant voluntary, public distributed computing and was popularized by the movie version of Carl Sagan’s fiction book, ‘Contact’. Now, thousands of people are adding their computers downtime energies towards the worthy goal of searching for Extraterrestrial Intelligence. Aside from the goal of observing and reporting on possible intelligence outside of earth, the second goal of the project is to prove the viability of volunteer distributed computing.

This second task they have managed admirably. Many, many projects have moved onward to become distributed volunteer projects and the information gathered from these projects are being analyzed every day and new conclusions about everything from science and health issues to mathematics and interstellar discoveries are being made.

Is this the future of computing?

While this sort of computing bears a passing resemblance to cloud computing and indeed has been misunderstood as such by men, they are not the same. Although, with the power of banks of computers behind a single project, or even that of several super computers, even then, we have a formidable force that we need to take rather seriously. While these sorts of projects did not become really implemented until the early 2000′s (2004 was the beginning of the BIONC project), we do believe that we will see this taken as a more serious way of solving processing power issues, especially at the governmental and defense levels.

Practical uses?

The development of distributed computer networking has led to a fascinating and highly controversial development, Peer to Peer sharing. Now, of course, like with all things, it all depends on how you use the thing; there are legal and illegal ways, always. Breaking copyright laws by sharing copyrighted material with your friends and other network sharing folks would be one example of illegal usage. However, there are many private research projects that have been using this architecture over the past few years and have found it to be useful as well as expedient in their project process.

As far as governmental use goes, it has become well known that most computer nodes that are in use spend 90% of their time in “downtime”, which means that they are not being used as effectively as they could be. By making use of a distributed computing system network, they will take that time and make it useful again by assigning large tasks that may take one computer many hours or days to complete and dealing with the task overnight. It also allows for governments to create peer to peer sharing networks to assist them in sharing information on a hierarchical pattern, thus keeping the security of the system intact and making sure that the information needed is available to those who have access to it, while keeping it away from those who have no need.

In conclusion, the process of distributed computing and the entire field, including distributed programming and volunteer computing projects, will be seeing a renewed interest as processor power on the retail level rises and more users become interested in becoming part of something bigger than themselves. It has been found that those with an interest in the sciences are more likely to become users of the BIONC software and take an interest in a particular project. It is a time and energy saving option for all flavors of users. It is also a method that will make the best possible use of downtime from your computers, increasing efficiency. As more and more agencies make use of the very customizable option for their interests, we believe that we will see an increase in scientific and health related answers.

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The Unity Bar

As minor as it may seem, one of the most common complaints that the Ubuntu user base has with this version is the Unity bar, which is Linux’s equivalent to the Windows task bar.  In this new Ubuntu version, it is permanently stuck on the left hand side of your screen.  Also, the icons available on it are not customizable and you cannot choose which folders are accessible from there.  Being less customizable than Windows is never a good start.

Upgrade Issues

A much bigger reported problem is that users are having issues making the jump from Ubuntu 11.04 to 11.10.  In a great deal of cases, it requires that the user do a complete reinstall, a massive shortcoming for such an ostensibly minor version increase.  Missing files, changed extensions and just about every type of upgrade headache has been reported. Having to re-installing 3^rd party programs certainly doesn’t ease the pain.

Users who had upgraded to VMware Workstation 8 (which is a large percentage, since most Linux users are either IT employees, system admins or “super users” of one flavor or another) experienced the most trouble with upgrading.  Their systems frequently locked up, requiring a rescue disk and many hours spent backing up their data, using a fresh, virgin install of 11.10 and then moving back all their data to the system and reinstalling VMware.  We weren’t exaggerating when we used the word “headache”.

File organization and ease of use

On top of the new problems, Ubuntu 11.10 did not address a lot of the more serious previous issues that users complained of regarding file and program management.  When you get rid of drop down menus and revert to icon-led organization, suddenly being able to find a document you were working on but may have misplaced in the filing system is far more difficult than it needs to be.  While you can still usually find it with a few keystrokes, search results wind up being irritatingly varied.

Inability to use the desktop

If you are like most users, you enjoy and sometimes require the ability to use your desktop to, say, drag a terminal window there and work with it.  Unfortunately, the desktop environment in 11.10 is not a workspace.  This glaring oversight has Ubuntu users so disappointed in the evolution of “Unity” as an interface that many are thinking the sacrilegious and looking towards other options.  It is just too obvious that Oneiric Ocelot needs a few more turns on the wheel of development in order to shave off the rough patches and work out the bugs.  It is usable, but barely, and Ubuntu has in the past raised the bar of expectations far higher than this.

Going to stick it out? Here’s what to keep in mind

Choosing to stick it out and see what happens?  After all, even Windows had Windows ME, which after some work turned out to be not the worst thing they’ve ever done. Here is a list of tools for the loyal to keep handy:

• A rescue disk: In case you make some change to your system and can’t undo it easily.
• The Ubuntu user forums: Here you may be able to find help, tips and tweaks to make your wait more bearable.
• The Ubuntu website: As they release more information there might be usable tidbits that lead to greater functionality, even if it’s only short-term patches for some of the bigger problems.

Lest it sound too much like we’re trying to steer you away from sticking around, remember that this is only a summary of others’ reviews.  As always, your mileage may vary.  Not everyone experienced these levels of problems.  Many who did got around them.  Furthermore, as Linux is a very community-driven project, the kind of feedback that you can provide about the process would probably be appreciated, and could speed the development of fixes.

No, you’ve convinced me.  What are my other options

For those frustrated with Ubuntu 11.10 there are a few alternatives that they might enjoy instead.  There’s always the option of sticking with an older version and waiting around for the bugs to get squished.  Remember, though, there is the option of trying a new distribution altogether.  While we must wade through hundreds of available Linux distributions to say so, the one that comes most recommended for users of Ubuntu is “Mint.”

Mint is a spin on Ubuntu 10.04.  There are a few changes stylistically, but each one is made with an eye towards greater functionality.  All of your favorite Ubuntu perks are there, without the worries of the new “Unity” interface coming along and messing with your setup during an update.

Perhaps the greatest perk about Mint is its new software store and updater.  It allows you to experience a greater range of services while also offering a backup utility so that moving forward, if you decide that you enjoyed your older setup more you can revert with little hassle.

So, what is the bottom line?

The problems with Ubuntu’s recent release versions are widespread and likely will take a while to work out.   For those who are dedicated to Ubuntu, they may wish to stick it out, utilizing the tools listed above in order to make their stay more pleasant.

For those users who can’t wait, there is Mint.  There are also other options: the Linux universe teems with alternate distributions.  This might be your cue to poke around and see what else is out there.  Whatever you choose to do, keep an eye out.  This is still Linux, remember: its open-source nature means that problems don’t stay problems for long.  Still being the most popular distribution out there, it’s unlikely that Ubuntu will stay in the doghouse for very long.

Related posts:

• October 13, 2011 – A Comparison of the Most Popular Linux Distributions
• September 22, 2011 – Choosing The Right Linux Distro For Your LAMP VPS
• January 3, 2012 – Battle of the Giants: Linux and Windows Compared
• December 15, 2011 – Test Drive: Ubuntu, Vista, or Windows 7
• October 18, 2011 – coLinux: can Linux and Windows co-exist?
• September 27, 2011 – Clean Your YUM Out!
• September 25, 2011 – Linux and E-Commerce: The Top 5 Best Hosts for Two Long-term Trends
• September 22, 2011 – Dedicated Server Hosting: How to Tell if Your Getting What You Paid For
• September 22, 2011 – How And When To Offer SSH Access To Your Customers
• September 20, 2011 – Linux Server Logs Explained