Hello,

 

I'm trying to find a host that will offer my client expandability for when their site grows, The main content of the site is a large database of pictures, There shouldn't be excessive bandwidth used and there will videos that need hosting too. There will be an e-commerce element added to the site at some point.

 

Can anyone recommend a host that would be able to reliably support this type of site and not break the bank.

 

Regards

Hi Mark,

 

Not sure what our policy is with video hosting (I work for the digital agency team)but we certainly have scalable hosting and the guys in the hosting team would be able to advise. If we can't host it I'm sure they'd be happy to advise on a company that could.

 

In terms of scalability, your best with a VPS: http://www.nublue.co.uk/web-hosting/vps

 

But get in touch and someone more knowledgeable than me on the subject will be happy to help

Can anyone recommend a host that would be able to reliably support this type of site and not break the bank.

Can you define "break the bank"? It's typically some function of turnover, but without a guideline it's difficult to know what your budget is like!

 

Incidentally, we can scale from a single virtual server to clouds to servers distributed across two data centres, and work with you to manage that scale-out expansion. But obviously the more complex and resilient the hosting, the higher the cost.

 

We'll customise everything as you require but as a guideline on monthly costs, an unmanaged minimal-install virtual server is down in the ~£20 range, a single budget dedicated ~£65, managed enterprise dedicated server ~£150 (we can do a special deal if you have fewer requirements than we offer as standard) and multiples thereof for multiple servers with discounts on larger numbers or longer contracts.

 

All solutions come with backup space, monitoring, authoritative DNS, 24/7 support and (where applicable) management of common server software.

 

Website: http://www.connetu.com (virtual servers aren't currently listed: we customise individually on request)

Hi Mark,

 

Our company could provide you with the hosting you need. Our prices start from £1 per month (or £10.99 per year) and we also offer domain names for £7.20 for 2 years (for .co.uk's). We can also offer a bespoke hosting package if none of our standard packages are what your client needs, so if you have any questions, please do get it touch.

 

Our website is http://www.citycm.co.uk

Whatever you do, just stay away from "unlimited" hosts. I'd look at maybe getting a reseller account, as they usually don't oversell.

I wholeheartedly recommend Hostgator.

Hello,

 

I'm trying to find a host that will offer my client expandability for when their site grows, The main content of the site is a large database of pictures, There shouldn't be excessive bandwidth used and there will videos that need hosting too. There will be an e-commerce element added to the site at some point.

 

Can anyone recommend a host that would be able to reliably support this type of site and not break the bank.

 

Regards

 

Hi Mark

 

Sadly with a question like this, all the replies are mostly going to be from poeple telling you to host with them, which truly doesnt help. Sams advice is 100% spot-on, never ever go with any company who advertises "unlimited space/bandwidth/everything" because it doesnt exist.

 

Good quality shared hosting does cost money, but still doesnt break the bank, and can be expanded upon as your website grows, but you should ideally look to host the website closest to your target audience too, both for search ranking purposes, and more importantly, not driving your visitors elsewhere if its hosted far away from your visitors.

 

If its a UK based website, then the last thing you will want to do is host it in the states on oversold servers/networks, just look at all the US host's selling "unlimited everythings", do you want all those customers as your neighbours? Long distance phone calls everytime you need help?

 

Dont just go with any firm here who say "Host with us", do your homework and look for as many reviews as possible, see what people are saying about the host's, or not saying, if you dont find ANY reviews at all, are they so new to the scene to not have the experience?

 

Dont be afraid to ask the host's questions too, check the spec's of their servers, if they dont advertise them on their websites, ask them, and ask them to prove it too. We've seen many a host offer stupid amounts of space/bandwidth on servers totally unfit for shared hosting, and other host's blatently refusing to give out their server spec's saying "its not public information" and if they have a phone number on their website, call them, even if only to say hello...

 

Do they have one of those awful automated systems or do real people actually answer the phone and speak the same language as you?

 

Oh, and if anybody jumps in to say "I recommend x company" and you see that is their first or first'ish post, chances are they are from that company too, thats a common spam ploy to "look like" a customer....

If your after reseller hosting i really recommend heartinternet, i have a reseller account with them and they are very helpful and there is always someone there to talk to. They are pretty easy with payments too, i have been short of cash on some months and they will happily let me pay a few days late.

If your after reseller hosting i really recommend heartinternet, i have a reseller account with them and they are very helpful and there is always someone there to talk to. They are pretty easy with payments too, i have been short of cash on some months and they will happily let me pay a few days late.

 

Read the terms and conditions, and the acceptable usage policy, carefully, then go read their reviews. They may be great while everything is working and you have a small handful of not-very-big websites, but if you ever get into the realm of ecommerce, forums or other dynamic software.

 

Then if you ever need to go elsewhere, things will need to be moved manually because their custom control panel "extend" doesnt allow easy transfer to to something like a cpanel server. 1&1 and Fasthosts/Streamline are just as bad...

....and so enters all the advertisers. Honestly, this section of the forum is just one huge advert for hosting companies.

 

It has turned into a bit of that huh...

 

Well - I recommend hostgator (as i've said above) because they have 24/7 technical support who are always superb. They have served our needs perfectly and inexpensively. They also offer us great deals to upgrade when we need to.

 

I'm by no way affiliated with them except they have provided very good service to us.

Hello,

 

I'm trying to find a host that will offer my client expandability for when their site grows, The main content of the site is a large database of pictures, There shouldn't be excessive bandwidth used and there will videos that need hosting too. There will be an e-commerce element added to the site at some point.

 

Can anyone recommend a host that would be able to reliably support this type of site and not break the bank.

 

Regards

 

 

Hi mark, i recommend you this site...http://www.thewebpole.com/ This site has image gallery, flash animation, Photo albums, forums, tables, RSS feeds, video and audio, guestbook’s and more. There are Widgets for weather, maps, news, clocks, Twitter and Flickr (Deluxe and Premium plans). This site really does offer all you need to create a professional-looking, successful and FUN site. You can choose dedicated hosting for videos, picture and e-commerce...

Ohh i haven't been on here in a long time! Nice to see everyone again!

 

To the OP, there are literally hundreds of thousands of hosting providers on the internet all thinking that they offer something unique when in actual fact they don't.

 

There are a few questions you need to ask yourself when choosing a hosting provider... In my experience, I used to use the following:

 

1. Do they have a track record - look for reviews, do some speed tests etc on there systems & network... Most hosting providers have testfiles / IP's that you can check.

 

2. Do you actually in all honesty need 24/7 support? If your looking for shared hosting then 9 times out of 10 you wont need that level of support. Chances are that if your site goes down at 3:15am your hosting provider will know about it and will already be working on it!

 

3. What do I get for my money & budget? Don't look for a hosting provider who offers everything for nothing... Take a step back and ask yourself 'Is this for real???' check out the T's & C's!

 

4. What is their support like? Personally I like to deal with companies & suppliers that have a personal touch as opposed to just being dealt with as a number and a load of standard responses.

 

5. Where is your customer base? If you are targeting the UK, then why host in the US or anywhere else... You need to operate in your customers / businesses best interest and not your best interest.

 

At the end of the day, you need to make you own decisions as who to go with... Shop around and remember its always good to ask questions!!!

Hi mark, i recommend you this site... thewebpole.com This site has image gallery, flash animation, Photo albums, forums, tables, RSS feeds, video and audio, guestbook’s and more. There are Widgets for weather, maps, news, clocks, Twitter and Flickr (Deluxe and Premium plans). This site really does offer all you need to create a professional-looking, successful and FUN site. You can choose dedicated hosting for videos, picture and e-commerce...

 

thanks friend!!

Hostgator has a great support team over 200 worker.