WebHosting and Domain Name Registrar Reviews
I've used several hosting companies and domain name registrars in my few years of webdevelopment. I haven't had any really bad experiences with hosting and only a few bad experiences with domain name registars. That said, I have moved my websites from one hosting space to another, on more than a few occasions, because the package I was buying at the time wasn't really what I needed. I'll admit I don't know all the ins and outs of hosting, but I would like to share my experiences here of the companies I have used, and hopefully direct you to one that best fits your needs.
WebHosting
Netfirms.com: This is the webhosting company I have used most often. I really like their business account. You get five free domain names, lots of space, an easy-to-use control panel, you can host unlimited websites, and there are plenty of 'one click' add on features. They do offer a pretty good selection of domain names, although I wish they would expand on this (would really like to get my .US's through them). If you are creating a network of more than 10 websites, Netfirms is great, especially if the websites aren't very big. They also offer a variety of hosting packages for whatever your needs may be. All of the site tool examples I will be showing you are Netfirms' tools. Here are some of the key features (business hosting) that stand out for me:
- Five Free Domain Names,
yourname.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz, .ca, .co.uk, .asia, .me, .tel - 300 GB of web space
- PHP 4/5, ASP, and ASP.net
- Applications on demand such as Joomla, PHPBB, PicturePro Photo Galleries, Hit Counters, Commerce Pro Shopping Cart
- Free $50 Google Adwords
- $179.40 USD/Year. Cheaper if you sign up for longer. (Also, there are two plans that are less expensive than this one.)
HostPapa.com: I've used HostPapa off and on for a couple of years. They're good, but my network has grown a little too big to stick with them. Still, in the couple of years that I have used them, their customer service has been exceptional and their downtime almost non-existance. (I've caught my website down once in two years.) Anyways, if you are looking to host several websites, this might be a great option for you. HostPapa has recently upgraded their system to allow unlimited domain names. They also have several popular scripts as part of their Fantastico package. Here are the basics of Hostpapa:
- One Free Domain Name, yourname.com, .net, .org, .info, .biz
- Unlimited Domains hosted on one account.
- Fantastico site tools including Bulletin Boards, Forums, Blogs, Web Auctions, Image Galleries, Polls/Surveys, Online Form Builder, Chat, E-commerce, Guestbook and many more.
- $25 free Yahoo Adwords.
- 100 MySQL databases.
- Money Back Guarantee within 30 days.
- $6.95/month when you sign up for a year. Cheaper if you sign up for longer.
HostMonster.com: This hosting company provides features which are definitely a step up from HostPapa, but not quite on par with Netfirms. Their control panel is exactly the same as HostPapa's, but their features are much more extensive. They have a really great File Transfer program as part of their control panel. I've been with HostMonster for about six months now. The more I look at all the features of their hosting, the more I want to dig in and see what I can do with them. Here are some of the appealing features of HostMonster Hosting:
- One Free Domain Name, yourname.com, net, .org, .info, .us, .biz
- Unlimited Domains hosted on one account.
- $50 Free Google Credits
- Unlimited Disk Space
- Fantastico Scripts
- 100 MySQL Databases
- $6.95/month when you sign up for a year. Cheaper if you sign up for longer.
Doteasy.com: I got a chance to play around with the DotEasy interface while I was building a website for a friend. I think she got the best deal possible for what she was doing. She just needed a .ca domain name, and some space at a low cost. I wouldn't buy a domain name from these guys unless I needed the hosting. The names are a bit pricey, but the hosting they give you with it is free and there are no banner ads. This is great! Another unique feature of doteasy is they have a lot of custom scripts. Also, they are the only hosting package, I've seen, to offer the social networking script, PHPizabi. This could be really fun to play around with! Here are some of the added features of the DotEasy free hosting package:
- Web tools such as guestbooks, email forms, web polls, hit counters, mailing lists and many more.
- Hosted applications such as forums, blogs, and galleries.
- Diskspace - 100MB
- Free Website Creator Tool
- 10 Email Accounts
- Hosting Cost is FREE with the purchase of a Domain name.
One thing of note: The social networking script doesn't come with the Free Hosting. Still, there is a lot here for the price you are paying.
EFree2Net.com: If you just need a little space with not a lot of frills, this might be what you are looking for. My former webmaster hooked me up with this company when I need some cheap Microsoft hosting. I haven't had any problems with them so far. They also gave me one free linux account as a bonus. Check out these features in their 'Free Domain Name Account':
- One Free Domain Name, yourname.com, .net, .info, .biz, .org or .us
- 20GB of web space
- ColdFusion MX 7, Coldfusion 8, CGI, ASP, PHP, SSI, FrontPage, ASP.NET
- Unlimited ODBC (MS Access)K
- Free Blog, CMS, Photo Gallery and SiteBuilder
- Unlimited Email Account
- Free Basic Linux account (worth $19.00)
- 2000 GB data transfer per month
- $25.00 USD/Year
One thing of note: If you are looking to get involved with someone who has an affiliate program. These guys did have one, but it no longer works.
