Needing shared hosting that doesn't suck

March 24, 2007 10:39 AM

I need a recommendation for decent shared hosting (NOT Dreamhost.. see inside).

Every Dreamhost site I've set up has had serious latency problems (and I've run 10 of them under 2 accounts). Just last week I set up a new site on Dreamhost, on yet another server I've never seen before, and boom, right off the bat, 4-second latency on all page loads. Dammit! Last summer I tried Verio from a recommendation and it sucked worse, and had downtime to boot.

My basic requirements are 4 GB of storage, about 40 GB a month of bandwidth, PHP, MYSQL, and shell. I'm going to be running MediaWiki with tons of content but it won't be busy at all. I don't mind paying a little extra, say in the $15-25/mo range, but $50 for a dedicated server is too much. A U.S. server is preferred.

Can anyone vouch for shared hosting that doesn't suck? Has anyone moved away from Dreamhost and found better performance?

posted by zek to Computers & Internet (18 answers total)

We use www.crystaltech.com and have had great luck with them so far, and for a web based business it's crucial that our web service works flawlessly.

We used www.serverbeach.com for a while also, but had less luck with a self managed dedicated server and wanted to switch to a more managed environment. I'd still recommend them though.
posted by mazienh at 10:52 AM on March 24, 2007

pair.com.

I've been with them for 3 or 4 years (hosting several of my own sites and a half-dozen clients & friends) and have absolutely no complaints. Great service & uptime! (And believe me, I used a half-dozen different hosts before them, including Dreamhost. This is the first place my site has *always* been up.)

Be sure to check out their specials - you get 24% off if you pre-pay for a year & free setup if you're switching from another host.
posted by belladonna at 10:54 AM on March 24, 2007

Prohosters resells Carpathia hosting for small accounts. I use them to host 10 or so different websites. Some have mysql, some have php scripts, and all are accessible through a unix shell. Plus, their datacenter is through Equinix, which is pretty much the most reliable and coolest datacenter in the world. Highly recommended!
posted by fvox13 at 11:02 AM on March 24, 2007

If 10 sites under 2 accounts on DH are having latency problem, it would suggest to me that the problem is with you. My DH-hosted sites are (and have always been) speedy as fuck.
posted by Jairus at 11:35 AM on March 24, 2007

Pair++, I'm going on six years with them and I'm still happy.
posted by migurski at 11:55 AM on March 24, 2007

I've used pair in the past for clients and been pleased with it. I jumped ship from dreamhost after nine years and went with a small orange but it doesn't look like they have the right plan for your needs.
posted by fluffy battle kitten at 12:16 PM on March 24, 2007

i've been happy with a small orange. (Their "super" plan 4500MB/100GB/$30 fits your specs). You have to manually request shell/ssh access, but it's a freebie.

i've found that there is downtime here and there when servers are being rebooted - but it's much cheaper than pair. (who i also used years ago and were excellent.) on the upside, ASO's support is fast and excellent.
posted by kamelhoecker at 1:05 PM on March 24, 2007

Sounds like you're having DNS resolving troubles, either at your house or with Dreamhost DNS servers.
posted by todbot at 1:12 PM on March 24, 2007

Response by poster: @Jairus, @b1tr0t, @todbot: Well it's not only that, but Alexa has my sites in the bottom 5% for speed... and those sites are HTML only (basically just product information).
posted by zek at 1:18 PM on March 24, 2007

BlueHost.
posted by IndigoRain at 2:02 PM on March 24, 2007

This is clearly a problem with your system or your ISP. Dreamhost has its issues, but latency of this magnitude isn't one of them.

When I experimented with using Dreamhost for static content on my site, I received constant complains from users about latency - many users in Europe couldn't access the server at all. And this was 100% static content.

I'd 4th or 5th Pair - I've been using them for my personal web space and mail for 7 years and I can't remember a single time that my mail/site was down. I've also used them for clients' sites and they've always been happy.
posted by helios at 2:37 PM on March 24, 2007

I use A2 Hosting. Located in Ann Arbor, MI. Never had a problem, and their support is great!

If I'm reading the services matrix correctly, you're requirements should run less than $10/month.
posted by jknecht at 3:38 PM on March 24, 2007

I'll one thousandth pair. I've been with them since 02 and been nothing but happy. I think I have 8 sites on my account now. Love them. (I also host MT installs and other non-static stuff, no problems.)
posted by miss tea at 3:41 PM on March 24, 2007

Another vote for BlueHost. I've only been using them for about 4 months after switching from Hostway (who can't seem to keep from having e-mail problems all the time), but I'm a satisfied customer. Plus their tech support is actually friendly and know what they're talking about.
posted by edjusted at 4:30 PM on March 24, 2007

What about your local non conglomerate ISP?
posted by evilelvis at 6:31 PM on March 24, 2007

For reliability, quality, uptime, and high price: pair is it. If this site you're running is earning you money, put it on pair.

I use pehosting for my personal and (povvo student) sporting club websites but they don't provide a shell or ssh/scp access, which is annoying. They're cheap, cheerful and helpful but have the occasional annoying technical glitch.
posted by polyglot at 6:57 PM on March 24, 2007

I have sites hosted with BlueHost and A Small Orange and I like them both, although ASO is a little more affordable yet seems faster and maybe even a tad more reliable than BH.
posted by susiepie at 8:10 PM on March 24, 2007

I use Site5, which is ridiculously cheap, only offers email tech support (which is speedy, however, and friendly), and has given me very reliable service for a couple of years.
posted by fourcheesemac at 3:20 AM on March 26, 2007