Forum Moderators: phranque
1. They must host .net websites
2. I must be able to use apache
3. They must be a UK company
4. They must have unmetered/unlimited data transfer
I'm probably asking too much but I don't know how to get a static IP address (especially a cheap one).
Thanks in advanced.
Chris.
Please remember to sticky me your recommendations as the mods do not like name dropping
"My 2 cents may only be worth half that, because I am not a pro webmaster or SEO, but with my limited experience I would always look for a local host. That way if there are problems you can drive down, walk in, and butt heads with the manager face to face. I had a problem with a remote site and got in an e-mail war - well you can probably guess how much satisfaction I got.
One other factor might be if you or your customers (if their local) ever decide to set up your own server, the switch would be less painful."
every host is susceptible to problems - it's the nature of web hosting. web hosts are at the mercy of bandwidth providers and at risk of hacking attempts, dos attacks, network flooding and so on. servers are little more than powerful, dedicated computers, and servers can crash just the same as your home computers can.
when a server goes down, the host wants the server back up as soon as possible. the host does not want someone butting heads with him demanding explanations when he is trying to get things fixed. doesn't matter if the host is a one-man band or a large company, they don't need the grief.
and hosting is dirt cheap. a few support enquiries can cost more in support staff pay than the company earns from you in a year.
if hosting is *so* vital that you feel a need to "butt heads" with the web host if things don't go as well as they should, perhaps you should get your own servers? i certainly wouldn't want to host anyone with a need to vent their anger in that way.
apache and .net? can it be done?
>>3. They must be a UK company
>>4. They must have unmetered/unlimited data transfer
any host offering unmetered / unlimited transfer will have a get out clause about "excessive use of resources". once you hit a certain level of use, they will terminate your account or bill you for "excessive use". you'll be lucky to get over 1Gb with most companies like that.
work out roughly how much transfer you need and sign up for hosting that guarantees that much transfer with more available at additional cost.
apache and .net? can it be done?
Apache and .net can be done. I've seen a host advertising and I used them side by side with my old company.
work out roughly how much transfer you need
These sites have not been built yet. In fact, I'm starting this weekend. I'm only expecting about 15 unique visitors a day for the first 3 months but I'm hoping that will radically shoot up. There is no way I can even hazard a guess as to how much I will need. I don't know how many pages I'm going to upload, the amount of imagery or how big the database behind it will get.
Chris.
well i hope it works out better than ASP on *nix servers
>>These sites have not been built yet.
use cheap hosting for development. when you've built the sites, you'll have a better idea of how much usage you should get and how much transfer you will use. then look for a host that provides sufficient transfer to cover your expected needs with more available at extra cost. you might even want to consider getting your own server and pipe. this will be the only real way to guarantee you "unlimited" bandwidth / transfer when you burst your limits you simply phone the provider and increase the limits. this will be the cheapest possible way to do it.
