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Desperately need new web host - specific requirements - pls. read!

cleo

cleo

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 21, 2002
1,186
0
Tampa Bay Area, FL, USA
I am ready to chuck the host I've been with for 2+ years, as they've begun overselling their server space for shared hosting, with the result that my sites are unreachable more often than not.

Here is what I need: a host that provides TRUE multi-domain hosting. Not like I've seen in hosts that use CPanel, where additional domains are subdirectories of the "primary" domain. My current host allows me to have up to 15 domains, all of which have the exact same services (ftp, mail, etc). They share the the space I've bought in my plan, and as long as they don't collectively exceed my limits, all is kosher. I'm not looking for a reselling plan, as I'm not reselling -- these are truly all my domains.

Further requirements: ability to run MovableType, preferable that the Hsphere control panel is used. Most of my sites are less than 5 static HTML pages; I only need, say, 300MB storage, 3GB bandwidth or something like that.

Any thoughts? I'd be deeply indebted... :)
 
R

reh

macrumors 6502a
Oct 24, 2003
639
1
Arkansas
I believe that Dreamhost meets your needs. The only thing I'm not sure about is Hsphere. I've got 4 domains with them and have been quite satisfied. Each domain has a separate directory in your user's directory and services can changed on a per-domain basis.
 
munkle

munkle

macrumors 68030
Aug 7, 2004
2,580
1
On a jet plane
Yeah Dreamhost is good, it'll meet all your requirements bar the Hsphere control panel. They use their own control panel, which takes a bit of getting used to but once you do it's actually pretty good.
 
cleo

cleo

macrumors 65816
Original poster
Jan 21, 2002
1,186
0
Tampa Bay Area, FL, USA
Thanks for the pointers. LivingDot looks very good to me. MediaTemple looks awesome, but their prices are a bit steep for what I need (which is, essentially, many add-on domains not sharing much space). Also, has anyone had any experience with A Small Orange? I've posted a few questions on their pre-sales forum and it seems to be quite good.
 
munkle

munkle

macrumors 68030
Aug 7, 2004
2,580
1
On a jet plane
ASO are excellent, and a forum fave :)

I used to host with them and can't recommend them highly enough. Their support staff are frankly amazing. The only reason I moved was because DH offered so much more bang for the buck.

I don't regret the move but do secretly pine for ASO sometimes, they're just so fuzzy :p
 
E

Euan

macrumors regular
Sep 1, 2005
199
0
UK
I've heard a few people talk about A Small Orange. Looked into them but never hosted.

Living Dot have excellent support, particularly for MT installations, as do Media Temple.

The Movabletype website has 6 partner hosts... you can get details at http://www.sixapart.com/partners/current (Media Temple and Living Dot are 2 of them).

Good luck.
 
T

theappleguy

macrumors 6502
Apr 19, 2005
321
0
Not like I've seen in hosts that use CPanel, where additional domains are subdirectories of the "primary" domain. My current host allows me to have up to 15 domains, all of which have the exact same services (ftp, mail, etc). They share the the space I've bought in my plan, and as long as they don't collectively exceed my limits, all is kosher. I'm not looking for a reselling plan, as I'm not reselling -- these are truly all my domains.
Click to expand...

If you want to keep each site totally seperate, you will need to get a reseller account. Remember that 'reseller' is just a description, you don't actually have to resell the space. It just provides you with an easy way to keep everything seperate. I normally recommend TJR Networks but I'm not sure whether they offer reseller plans.

Edit:
Further requirements: ability to run MovableType, preferable that the Hsphere control panel is used. Most of my sites are less than 5 static HTML pages; I only need, say, 300MB storage, 3GB bandwidth or something like that.
Click to expand...

You probably won't be able to actually find a reseller account with such small requirements. I guess you could contact the hosts you are considering and ask them if you could order one of their plans and then have them split it into 15 pieces for you. :)
 
X

xelterran

macrumors 6502
Dec 28, 2001
291
0
mediatemple.net seem popular for hosting Movable Type based websites, i know a few high profile designers use them.
 
ZoomZoomZoom

ZoomZoomZoom

macrumors 6502a
May 2, 2005
767
0
surpasshosting.com has excellent hosting. great prices, and they're not one of those "take-your-money-and-run" type of services. their customer service is very good, too, and always responded back to me promptly and with useful answers. make sure to give them a look, because their top-notch service along with very reasonable prices keep their offer very competitive with other companies.
 
iindigo

iindigo

macrumors 6502a
Jul 22, 2002
772
43
San Francisco, CA
A Small Orange's hosting has been amazing for me. Incredibly fast, unlimited in almost every feature (except space and bandwidth of course), and their support is even more amazing. Every time I've emailed their support team I've gotten a response in about 15 minutes.

A little tip for your host hunting: Avoid Windows-based hosts like hell.
 
N

Nik_Doof

macrumors regular
Sep 15, 2003
204
0
St Helens, UK
Hsphere maybe a excellent control panel, but finding hosts that use it is impossible as it costs soooo damm much compared to cpanel/helm etc...

At the moment i run my server using VHCS, which is free and has the feel of Hsphere, but it runs one user = one domain principle, so reseller account needed :)
 
narco

narco

macrumors 65816
Dec 9, 2003
1,155
0
California.
I use hostgator.com

I handle multiple accounts from my house and receive a ton of email with giant attachments, so I needed something extremely reliable. Out of the two years I've been with them, email has only gone down once for a couple hours. They have cPanel and are very pleasant to work with. I recommend them highly.

Fishes,
narco.
 
mduser63

mduser63

macrumors 68040
Nov 9, 2004
3,042
31
Salt Lake City, UT
I'll support the recommendation for Dreamhost. My experience with them has been entirely positive. They're hosting 3 domains for me, along with several domains (on separate plans) for people I do web design for.
 
E

Euan

macrumors regular
Sep 1, 2005
199
0
UK
I think you'll find that there are plenty of very good hosts out there. Most will use CPanel though.

You can always send them a few emails to check out how quickly they reply (yes they'll all probably reply quickly when there is the chance of getting new business) or visit their forums, etc to see how active a community they've got.
 
edesignuk

edesignuk

Moderator emeritus
Mar 25, 2002
19,232
2
London, England
ASO are fantastic, and for another $5 a month you can get reseller access which means you can manage multiple sites exactly how you want to (using cPanel).
 
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