Black Cap Design Resources > Recent Articles

Articles ~ July 2007

Top 5 Web Hosts

What is this "Hosting" thing and why should I care?

What is web hosting?

Every site you visit on the Internet – including this one – is stored on a computer somewhere. And all of those computers link together to weave the fabric of the Internet.

Web hosting companies exist to store web site files and make them available 24 hours a day, 7 days a week – for a fee. If you want a web site to profile your business, show photos from your latest trip, or publish your blog, your site will need to be hosted somewhere. That's where hosting companies come in. And there are thousands of them to choose from, with a wide range of prices, features and quality.

So, what should you look for when shopping around for hosting? To simplify the process, we've broken it down into six categories:

Shared vs Dedicated Hosting:

What's the difference? The vast majority of small to mid-size web sites share the resources of a single computer or server; that's shared hosting. Large corporate sites, web sites generating a significant amount of bandwidth or businesses particularly concerned about air-tight security are typically hosted on dedicated servers. A dedicated server stores only your files and shares its resources with no one else. Shared hosting involves creating distinct accounts on a single server for numerous customers and sharing that server's resources. Shared hosting is much less expensive than dedicated hosting.

Cost for shared hosting:

How much should you expect to pay for shared hosting? The least expensive quality-hosting that that we have been able to find starts at $3.95 USD per month (or $48.40 USD per year). Most competitively priced, quality shared hosting packages cost in the neighbourhood of $7 USD per month. That being said, there are countless hosting companies charging three times that amount. You don't need to pay more than $10 USD per month to get a really solid hosting package.

Track Record:

Perhaps the most important thing to consider when choosing a host is their track record. Has the company been in business for less than two years? If so, take a pass. Hosting companies come and go – and some make a living at opening and closing companies and taking their clients' cash with them. Check online user reviews such as www.hostingreviewsbyusers.com.

Features:

Another thing that distinguishes one hosting company from another is their advertised features. These include things like unlimited POP3 mail accounts, web-traffic tracking tools, MySQL databases and PHP, scripts that you can plug into your site, and a control panel that allows you to manage your account online.

Technical Assistance

Hosting companies generally offer an e-mail or "ticket" support system. Make sure there is also toll-free telephone support available. Hopefully you'll never need it, but phone support can sometimes save you a lot of time and hassle. Before you buy, call customer support and field a few questions. The experience will give you an idea of what to expect from them in the future.

Speed

Speed is another factor to take into consideration. Given the global nature of the Web, you might purchase hosting from a company with servers on the other side of the continent – or the world! That distance will have an impact on how fast your pages load. You can test the speed of this transfer by doing the following:

For Windows operating systems:

  • click Start and select Run
  • type 'command' (don't type the apostrophes) and click OK
  • type 'ping hostname.com' replacing 'hostname' with the name of the host you want to test (ditto the apostophes)

For Unix and Mac operating systems:

  • Open Terminal
  • type ping.hostname.com
  • type CTRL-C to stop running ping

This will return an average time in milliseconds – the lower the number the better. Anything less than 80 milliseconds is good. Anything over 100 is poor.

Thanks to Brad Marshall at Analog Daydream for the Unix and MacOS tip.

Other tips to consider:

  • Consider registering your domain separately. Some companies offer 1 free domain when you register for hosting for as long as you stay with that host. If you run into hosting trouble down the road and decide to switch hosts, it could be tricky moving your domain name with you. If you do agree to free domain registration, make sure you can take it with you and ask how much it will cost to do so.
  • If you can, pay for hosting by the month. Some entry level plans don't offer that as an option. If you run into a problem down the road and decide to switch hosts, a monthly plan allows you to leave without paying for service you're not going to use.
  • If Black Cap Design is developing your site, look for a host that offers Linux or Unix hosting, NOT Windows hosting – Unix/Linux supports PHP and MySQL which we will use when developing your site, and they offer greater security than Windows servers (also referred to as ASP.NET Servers).

Top 5 Web Hosts
(for shared hosting - as selected by Black Cap Design)

1. Lunarpages

What makes it #1? Price, reputation and comprehensive features. Lunarpages has been around since 2000. And they have a social conscience: they provide free hosting to K-12 school programs across the USA. Lunarpages is currently offering a 2 year hosting package that works out to $5 USD a month ($60 USD/year). User reviews are consistently positive – check out their Awards page. Their hosting packages offer all the usual bells and whistles; unlimited e-mail accounts, ample storage and bandwidth. 24/7 telephone and ticket support provided.
(Note: the $5 special has ended; the cost for a 2 year package is now $166.80 USD ($83.40 USD yearly), the same price as the #2 host, Hostgator. Thanks to Dave at www.sharpconnections.com for the update!)

2. Hostgator

What makes it #2? Quality, reputation and ease of use. The only thing keeping Hostgator out of the #1 spot is price. The entry level hosting package starts at $83.40 USD per year. They consistently get top user ratings and have feature-rich hosting packages. Customer service is solid and they offer a series of How To videos in their customer support area. They offer 24/7 telephone and e-mail support.

3. Dreamhost

What makes it #3? Bells and whistles. Dreamhost provides a huge amount of disk space and bandwidth, allows you to host as many domains as you want and there is no limit on the number of databases you can have. The price for entry level hosting is $95.40 USD per year for a 2 year contract; the cost for the flexibility of paying monthly is $9.95 per month ($119.40 USD per year).

4. HostNine

What makes it #4? Price! at $3.95 USD a month, this is as cheap as it gets for quality hosting. Their entry level package provides ample storage capacity and bandwidth. At this price, why isn't it #1? HostNine has only been around since 2006, so its track record is short.

5. Hostvector

What makes it #5? Quality, price, and it's Canadian. Hostvector is based in Mississauga, Ontario and they've been around since 2003. Their entry level package is competitively priced at $79.50 USD per year. User reviews of Canadian hosting companies are not as easy to come by as larger US companies. Our clients' and associates' experience with Hostvector has been consistently good. They offer both telephone and e-mail support. Their package of features is top-notch.

Help us build the Top 5 list

What has your experience with hosting been? If you have recommendations for or comments about our Top 5 Web Hosts, drop us a line at .

What if my Internet Service Provider includes hosting with my Internet service?

Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) – the people who deliver Internet service to your home or mobile device – include a modest amount of web space on their network for clients like you and me. This kind of service is great for posting family photos or hosting a personal blog. The down-side is these accounts typically provide little or no technical support, no advanced features, and limited space and bandwidth. If you require anything more than a very modest site, the small fee for professional hosting is worth every penny.

Your comments and questions about any material at Black Cap Design are welcome. You can reach us at .