Can you let me know what you think about 123-reg

I host with them and have been trying to get a new form working without using FP extensions - I am fairly new so not a web wizard or anything, I did what 123-reg suggest on their support pages and downloaded a perl formmail script from matts archive - altered it as they suggested (their downloadable help guide for formmail must have been put together with the final page missing as it doesn't cover all the bases), I then try to get some help but they DO NOT offer support for Perl...

How can they suggest/recomend that we download a script to use on their servers and then not support the script they suggested????
Their web site states that if you need any other language I can switch to webfusion (who own 123-reg I belive) or get a dedicated service from themselves, that later is overkill for my useage.

I tried phoning their premium rate number which was ringing for an age
(I would have no problem paying for support if someone picked up the phone but to charge a premium rate number and then to leave people hanging...)

- they dont support php on their shared hosting (aka starter packages) which I signed upto when I was completely green (new nothing), I am thinking of upgrading but want to know whether I should upgrade or just move companies.

I could do with someone who is a little more familiar with 123-reg and other companies, as I mentioned earlier, as a begineer support is a must and whilst I wont allow myself to get ripped of I can appreciate that you get what you pay for, (please dont just post a link to a hosting company, I would appreciate some real opinions and advice)

- has anyone else dealt with 123-reg and if so were they any good? are webfusion any good?, is their support any good? would you recomend another hosting company all together?

thanks in advance.

What exactly is your budget? you won't see to many hosts these days that won't offer PHP and MySQL on their services.

Also, just a side note, most hosts have PERL installed on their servers but it doesn't mean they are sufficient at writing in it. Most customer support teams are there to help manage your site as it goes down but cannot exactly explain the details of each scripting language.

I understand what your saying but the hosting I have is supposed to be a 'starter' package which would suggest they know the people buying it wont be very experienced. I was suprised when I found out they only allow perl / CGI scripts on their starter packages also

My budget...well its whatever it takes, I am not too bothered if its down 0.5% of the time but I do need good suport, I need the support as I am not good with server side scripts (I dont really have the time to learn either as web development isn't my profession) although could probably learn what I need about perl to get it to work, I know I do not need a dedicated server but I have been doing some readin up on VPS which, whilst at the moment is still overkill may suite me better in the future as, from what I understand- it will allow a number of domains on one account.

Again, I have been reading up a little on Perl and it doesn't seem that difficult to understand (or at least the little that I would need it for) so I may learn what I need or end up paying someone to write the stuf for me.

As far as I know

123-reg

used to be domain name registrar and I do not know anything about their web hosting dservices

If possible, having someone experienced in the language to help setup the program might be best.

As your site is just starting out VPS is pretty much overkill as is a dedicated servers, however, depending on the script, it might be a different story.

Honestly, your going to want PHP and MySQL support. You might not need it now but just to have the option for expandability is quite useful. There are plenty of hosts who offer this along with add-on domains so you can host more than one domain on a account.

If you have any questions regarding this, just feel free to ask.

Thanks ephasenetworks.

at the moment 123-reg do not any php on any of their shared hosting packages.

At this time there is no support for php on any of the shared hosting packaged. If you require php, consider a dedicated server or one of the webfusion packages.
You do however have the use of Perl and cgi on your 123-reg.co.uk shared hosting package

they suggest using webfusion, their starter package is below, is it any good?

Fusion StarterTraffic:15GBDisk space:1GBMail Boxes:350

• Control Panel
• Advanced Webmail
• Anti-spam / virus
• Scripting Enabled

@ £5.95 per month

Should I be looking at linux or mysql? they offer both, is 5.95 per month reasonable for what they offer?

Are webfusion any good, can anyone suggest a shared hosing package that is reasonably priced that will support php?

Thanks in advance for any replies

Honestly, its entirely up to you as what type of Operating System you use.

Personally, Linux has had quite a good reputation in the hosting community and theres no need for change in my opinion. Unless you have specific windows needs (ie: you are running .asp or MS SQL) I would just stick with a Linux based server. Much easier to work with. I know some will disagree.

Honestly, I've never heard of WebFusion before so I can't really say much about their packages and service.

Their starter package however I believe you have to pay in yearly intervals. I just checked the website and didn't see anything in regards of monthly payment. Plus its in pounds.

Quite expensive but maybe theyll be able back it up with excellent services.

Do you prefer a British hosting company or can it be stateside as well?

I'm not sure, as long as the hosting is not overly priced and is 'worth' the money, webfusion do allow monthly payments but you get 2 months 'free' if you pay yearly (I would probably pay yearly anyway)

I will be needing to move in about a month just before my new site is up and running.

I know this is off topic and I dont think it will but will changing hosting companies change my rankings at all?

Most rankings go by domain name and not by IP but it all depends on who is ranking the site and what form of ranking they use.

Up to you. cPanel is a pretty well known control panel and is pretty easy to use which is the control panel we currently use.

Any host with Plesk is good as well.

I had as client who registered a domain name with 123reg.
It took hime days to finally get hold of someone when he had problems setting up the email.

They said it was his ISP causing the problem (BT) which was total rubbish...

In the end I suggested a host that I normally use (PM me if you want the link - there will be no shameless name dropping here!)

even that was a mission to get moved over, their control panel looks like it was set up by a toddler - and uses frames!!!!

even that was a mission to get moved over, their control panel looks like it was set up by a toddler - and uses frames!!!!

The more I learn the more I would have to agree, in hindsight I would not have hosted with them. your client had better luck than I have LOL - I've never been able to get hold of anybody and every email request has come back as solved without being answered!

Honestly, I personally can't wait to find a developer to create our own control panel.

cPanel is nice and easy to use but I'd rather have something a little more branding on it.

Originally Posted by ephasenetworks

Honestly, I personally can't wait to find a developer to create our own control panel.

cPanel is nice and easy to use but I'd rather have something a little more branding on it.

What do you mean saying it?

Hi have domains reg'd with them only, thats bad enough for setting the DNS and that. As for webfusion had a VPS with them for 2 1/2 years only reason i got rid was i needed US servers. Phone support was long and painful. I used to use matts scripts in fact still use his whois one and would like to help you pm me and we'll see if we can get you sorted.

may suite me better in the future as, from what I understand- it will allow a number of domains on one account.

You can host multiple domain on one account with shared hosting (in other words a VPS would not be a requirement for that reason alone), though I don't know if 123-reg or webfusion shared hosting accounts come with that ability.

Should I be looking at linux or mysql?

Are you going to be using ASP? if not, chances are Linux will do fine.

Mysql may be needed at some point, as most advanced applications make use of one.

they offer both, is 5.95 per month reasonable for what they offer?

Depending on the quality of the service, it could be.

will changing hosting companies change my rankings at all?

If the switch is done with no downtime and you maintain the exact same site structure, your rankings should not be affected. If you don't use a .uk domain, your main target market are UK residents, you might want to consider getting a host with UK based servers. Google uses the IP location or the domain name to determine whether to list a page in the "pages from <country>" searches.

Thanks everyone...From what I can gether then shared hosting is fine for what I want, I will want UK hosting for the reason mentioned above and need to have no down time.

Thanks for the help.