Well I dumped my hosting company of 3 years about a month ago, and now I'm looking for a replacement.

Requirements:
* Linux
* 500MB Storage
* 2GB Transfer
* Reliable! My portfolio will sit on this server, and I do not want downtime / server changes affecting it. My last host decided to do an 'upgrade', breaking all hot-linked images . That was a big no-no.
* 2+ Domain hosting
* $5-$10/Month
* MYSQL
* PHP 5

Would be nice:
* SSH support
* 5-10 Domain hosting

I do feel weird about asking this, but I just don't know what a good choice would be. It seems everybody is into providing shared hosting these days; and companies are going under as quick as new ones are being put up. I plan on keeping this host for years to come, and I don't want any hassles, just reliability (the Honda of hosting).

Thank you,
V

Three options so far...

cpwebhosting.net
aplus.net
polurNet.com

While Aplus has been and is probably going to be around for quite a while, I would suggest a thorough research on them, especially regarding their marketing techniques.

http://www.sectorlink.com/hosting/bronze.php <--- it's everything you wanted and then some (I think).

I've been with Sectorlink 6 years (I'm not a host, but I am a happy client). They've only been down twice in that time period, and once was due to tornadoes AND hurricanes hitting the Michigan area simultaneously (I'm willing to give them a free pass for that). Before that, they were down in 2003 due to a failed hard drive, which is going to happen, but they were only down for a couple of hours.

Other than those two incidents (really, only one counts), not once...and that's 6 years.

I've heard of APlus myself, but don't remember why (never used them). The other two are new to me.

Hmmm ... I might give Sectorlink 6 a try. Do even the Windows plans use mysql?

Check for hostmonster or hostgator it will be better for you i think

I checked out the sectorlink, it looks great. The biggest selling point is the company is based in Flint Michigan, about an hour drive away from me. My two turn offs would be their no adult content policy and lack of SSH. I don't host porn, but I do have parts that may fall under such a category.

Here's the one I think I'm going to go with:
http://www.crucialp.com/vhosting/

V

Don't know Forrest...but they did put it on my dedicated box without an issue.

Just say you know me and ask them using their ticket system. If they treat you like they treat me, you'll have an answer within 2 hours (and that's a conservative estimate).

I'm not sure if this is sufficient for advanced users, but I highly recommend LUNARPAGES.

Features are listed below:
Cost per month†
$21.95
Set Up*
FREE!
Free Domain Name For Life:
4 Included
Storage:
Unlimited
Bandwidth per Month:
15,000 GB/Month

30-day money back guarantee Included

EDIT (by mod) - the long list of features (some included with most hosts) was taking up too much room - look at the link instead yourself.

Originally Posted by Servo888

I checked out the sectorlink, it looks great. The biggest selling point is the company is based in Flint Michigan, about an hour drive away from me. My two turn offs would be their no adult content policy and lack of SSH. I don't host porn, but I do have parts that may fall under such a category.

Here's the one I think I'm going to go with:
http://www.crucialp.com/vhosting/

V

Servo,

Most companies require a dedicated host for adult content.

Try checking out http://www.cavecreek.com/index.php

CaveCreek has shared hosting that allows for Adult.

They're not quite in the price range you mentioned, but they're also an enterprise quality host for businesses. Have been around about 10 years, you wouldn't ever run into the kind of issues you described in your original post.

features and pricing stuff:
http://www.cavecreek.com/shared-hosting.php
http://www.cavecreek.com/shared-comparison.php

I can tell you exactly where you SHOULD NOT go to host your site.

Visit a few of Web Hosting Directories and look at Top10 lists. Record them all and then stay away from them as far as possible. Whoever left will do the job for you much more better and more professional than Top10 bozos.

That is of course if you stop asking for Telnet/SSH access but if you manage to find some incompetent idiot who will give you root access, I would hope you are intelligent enough to run from that host with speed of Formula1 Honda


fastreplies

Originally Posted by fastreplies

I can tell you exactly where you SHOULD NOT go to host your site.

Visit a few of Web Hosting Directories and look at Top10 lists. Record them all and then stay away from them as far as possible. Whoever left will do the job for you much more better and more professional than Top10 bozos.

That is of course if you stop asking for Telnet/SSH access but if you manage to find some incompetent idiot who will give you root access, I would hope you are intelligent enough to run from that host with speed of Formula1 Honda


fastreplies

I always wonder how those type of hosts stay profitable. I just Googled web hosting directories and stuff like 1500gigs of disk space for 1.95/m comes up. At prices like that if you even use 15 mins of a tech support persons time in that first month, they're in the red.

They'd have to charge massive setup fee's or find some way to nickel and dime you on top of the monthly fee. You get what you pay for, and when some one offers so much for so little I can't help but wonder what they're up too.

Only way I'd ever recommend hosting of that quality is if my grandma wanted to put up a website dedicated to her cat or something. An online business can do better.

Most of hosts say they don't allow ILLEGAL adult, so if your content doesn't fall into this category, you've got nothing to be afraid of.

Originally Posted by ADAM Web Design

due to tornadoes AND hurricanes hitting the Michigan area simultaneously (I'm willing to give them a free pass for that)

hurricanes in Michigan? I'm from Chicago and in the past 20 years no hurricane has ever gotten that far north. They're "tropical storms" long before they reach us, and are pretty mild compared to normal midwest weather. Michigan would have been even less effected as they seem to get even fewer tornados than us. I can believe they got hit by a tornado, but hurricanes just don't hit Michigan....

Sorry for going kind of off topic, but that just sounded really really strange when I heard it....

Sucks because I can't find the story now, Keith...but I remember it being both of them at the same time.

I would suggest you add to your list hostgator.com mmhosting.com siteground.com

I believe you need to find "Honda" web hosting for your target audience and that might depend on their location. Just one TIP: choose the company by location.

Originally Posted by ~ServerPoint~

I believe you need to find "Honda" web hosting for your target audience and that might depend on their location. Just one TIP: choose the company by location.

The location can have some importance, but, IMO, there are others that can to be much more important. One is the host's ability to keep its servers performing well (which is often connected to the selling price), the other is, obvious as it may seem, keeping the pages light (not exaggerate with images and flash).

I've read good things about MediaLayer when it comes to server performance.

you can add to your list amrayhosting.com
for 7.00 per month you will get 5000mb of space, 30gb transfer, php, mysql, cgi and in addition a line of free services and exceptional technical support.
i am using them for 6 years now and i know what i am talking about