Web Hosting for Cheap

These notes are out of date. I generally do not maintain them. My current preferred hosting is via www.neitsolutions.com.

These notes were used in deciding upon hosting for the American Printing History Association. Cost was a major concern since APHA is a non-profit with limited budget for non-mission critical things like a website. I've shared this page sometimes with colleagues. Bear in mind that cheap, reliable and stable (both technically and financially) don't necessarily go hand-in-hand. Also, the cheaper the host is, the less hand-holding, service and features you can expect.

Overall Sources

To check the domain availability and name/patent infringement, check with StartStorm (formerly Namestorm). Searches a variety of databases. Highly recommended!

I can also recommend these sites:

• See The List, http://www.thelist.com, OR
• HostIndex.com, http://www.hostindex.com.
• ISP Check Check out your Web Service Provider for satisfaction.

For really low-end hosting (but without third party commentary), check:

• Budget Web's Index of Cheap ISPs (downside is that it doesn't allow much sorting). AND
• www.hostfind.com/packages (very useful, but not always up)
• This Cnet article on web hosting might also be helpful, http://www.builder.com/Servers/WebHosting/.

In addition, the following proved useful:

• A good article "The 21 Things You Need to Know" by Bill Machrone for PC Magazine (11/99) AND
• http://www.hostcompare.com AND
• http://www.hostinvestigator.com

Epinions.com, so useful in checking other things, is incomplete and not fully reliable for WSP's.

Specific Vendors

• www.neitsolutions.com Neit Solutions (Maryland) (Lots of features; fantastic customer support; highly recommended. Choice of 3 web stats; PHPNuke support.)
• www.web66.com NSSB/Web66/Route66 (San Bernadino, Ca.; Unix; sometimes a little slow; lots of features; customer support a bit weak and unresponsive)
• www.newglobalnet.com (similar to NSSB/Web66; Chicago area; flashier)
• www.affordablehost.com Linux; no Frontpage extensions support (11/02) MySQL, PHP; access to raw logs; mailing lists. (discounted non-profit; credit card thru www.2checkout.com)
• www.telaweb.com (interesting; low-cost; WinNT; mid-range has dbase/ODBC for $14.95/mo; weak self-support help pages)
• www.westhost.com (Linux servers; Frontpage, Miva)
• ImHosted.com, services starting at $9.95/mo. Frontpage, PHP?
• www.simplenet.com Simplenet (cgi and Frontpage are extra) [From 1999 owned by Yahoo!]
• www.Cyberhosts.net
• http://www.pennyhost.com (WinNT; $10/; 5 years old; pretty fast, but not much online docs; Looks good. NB one recommender "Startplace.com" is a subsidary of their parent company.)
• PairNet, a mid-range, respectable hosting provider. Said to be reliable. Nice commerce package with FTP package and Americart.
• http://www.inr.net/ (Business oriented with room for little folk)
• http://www.halfpricehosting.com (WinNT option; good rating from C-Net 10/99. I found their billing and cancellation policy confusing. Not recommended due to billing and other disputes I had with them.)
• http://www.hostingsolutions.net (WinNT; Busines plans are $19.95/mo)
• www.Interland.com PC Magazine's editor's Choice 12/99.
• Verio, one of the largest major hosting providers.
• www.hiway.net Hiway Net (one of the bigger hosters, now part of Verio)
• www.Designspot.com Design Spot (Big sites but looks flukey) ($29.95 per month /150 megs; includes mSQL)

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