The3rdNipple
Wed 4th Feb '09, 10:03pm
Choosing your Host for Beginners
Written by Kevin of www.AllBoutLife.net
Before you start skipping through, I know how it was like when you're a beginner and have abosolutely no clue on what webhost to choose when they're millions of them out there! You say to yourself.. "Is this one better? Or is this one better?"
So after looking at and searching for many guides on which web hosting to choose, you feel like giving up.. The answer is don't give up and try this last guide (Don't give up if you think its to long aswell). Why not I just get to the point, so your here to know the answer to "Which is the best web host I should use?" Remember this answer, and always know its true. There is never a best web host. Why? Everyone vBulletin user may have different goals, and depending on what you plan to do, every webhost will be different.
If you are a beginner, I would read this paragraph here, and If you aren't, you can move on. So assuming you're the beginner.. :D, you would usually choose ones that are very good and want the best for your forums, but have absolutely no clue which is the "good one". The most common thing a beginner would do is look at the big words saying things like UNLIMITED and Thousands of GB's and the price! Right now, I'll drop down to a more easier example for you guys to see -
WebHost A
Unlimited Bandwidth
Unlimited Disk Space
Unlimited Accounts (FTP, SQL, Webmail!)
Unlimited Domains
Only $4.95 a month!
WebHost B
100 GB Bandwidth
200 GB Disk Space
Unlimited Accounts (FTP,SQL, Webmail!)
Unlimited Domains!
$5.95 a month
Many beginners would target WebHost A, assuming that you've have a small sense of what disk space and bandwidth is, if you haven't, I'll describe it in a short sentence - bandwidth is the tube, the bigger the tube is (the more bandwidth in that case), the more water can flow through your tube (the faster people flip through your forums). Now diskspace, the diskspace is your pool, the more diskspace you have, the bigger your pool is. And when you have a bigger pool.. you have more water, meaning you can upload alot of files. So most beginners would choose Webhost A because they offer unlimited or maybe up to thousands of bandwidth and disk space. But do they live up to what they say? Your chances of "Too good to be true" is not often, maybe even rarely. If webhost A offers everything Webhost B has but better and even cheaper, do you think webhost B would get any customers? Maybe they don't have as much as webhost A, but they have enough to keep everything running smoothly and have enough to pay for everything they need and keep money in their pockets.
The point is to use your head and think about why they are offering that much, and why do others don't? After a while of browsing through and been asking site owners questions, I've gathered enough to put together my own guide. Lets move back to webhost A and think about that if they offered unlimited usage, I can put a forum with up to couple thousand members on the site at the same time and expect it to be still running smoothly.. The server can't hold it up, many shared hosting servers will crash down immediately from the huge memory loss. Webhosts that provide more then they actually can provide is called overselling. After you've joined their host for a while, you would notice alot of unusable features. The most common web hosts who have this are ones who usually offer unlimited.. such as HostGator, HostMonster, BlueHost, DreamHost.. etc. Many of these webhosts manages them pretty damn well, so if you're pretty sure you'd like them, give them a try or continue reading.
Choosing your webhost and what to target.
Before you start looking at the prices and the ones who offer alot of usage, I would always look for what you think you would need the most. If you can buy vbulletin, you know what to do here.. and If you don't, luckily I'm here to provide you it :). As a beginner, you will slowly build, first think about the small steps such as how many users you think might be on your forums after an amount of time you've created your forum. If your just starting off, it is recommended that you choose the smallest package and upgrade when you need to. At one point of your hosting, you will always need to either upgrade or migrate to another host. Like I said, as you grow you will learn more about web hosts and what you need. Then, the next time you plan to move, ask their host if they have everything you need on your list and try them.
Choosing the most popular servers are not good! Many people say the service is awful when they have to take care of that many users. But I don't find that true. Nowadays theres stuff called "Live Chat". The only reason why they're getting that many users is because they're tons of people who are clueless and do fall for their overselling. I target ones that aren't well known as much. When thats so, it usually means you can use a bit more then what others can provide because their server isn't over populated with users using memory. Also read the web hosts reviews if they have a forum, and remember, just because there is more bad reviews then good ones, you should still give them a go! Think about it.. lets say the webhost had 5,000 users and only 1,000 actually visit their forums, and out of the 1,000 users visiting the forums, 600 members posts bad reviews, and 400 posts good reviews. Does it mean that you should go choose another one? No. There are always the one who are happy and living their internet life off enjoying the webhost so much they don't even have the time to tell you how much they love that host. Here is a quote from Tachyon of ASO, which I support and fully agree with
When it comes to service, those who have had a negative experience are often more likely to talk about it than those who haven't had any problems. For everyone who posts here about experiencing downtime, there may be many other customers who don't even bother coming to these forums.
You always should test out their support when you choose them, because when you're encountering a big problem and their support is slow, your most likely to be unhappy and move once again. So to round up this guide, I would say don't target what others think is the best and always choose what isn't the most well known. Always try something new! After you feel like you've known enough, read this thread written by Alex of PcArmada and learn more about web hosts! - http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292365
Thanks, and If I have anymore to say, I will be sure to edit and add more :)!
Written by Kevin of www.AllBoutLife.net
Before you start skipping through, I know how it was like when you're a beginner and have abosolutely no clue on what webhost to choose when they're millions of them out there! You say to yourself.. "Is this one better? Or is this one better?"
So after looking at and searching for many guides on which web hosting to choose, you feel like giving up.. The answer is don't give up and try this last guide (Don't give up if you think its to long aswell). Why not I just get to the point, so your here to know the answer to "Which is the best web host I should use?" Remember this answer, and always know its true. There is never a best web host. Why? Everyone vBulletin user may have different goals, and depending on what you plan to do, every webhost will be different.
If you are a beginner, I would read this paragraph here, and If you aren't, you can move on. So assuming you're the beginner.. :D, you would usually choose ones that are very good and want the best for your forums, but have absolutely no clue which is the "good one". The most common thing a beginner would do is look at the big words saying things like UNLIMITED and Thousands of GB's and the price! Right now, I'll drop down to a more easier example for you guys to see -
WebHost A
Unlimited Bandwidth
Unlimited Disk Space
Unlimited Accounts (FTP, SQL, Webmail!)
Unlimited Domains
Only $4.95 a month!
WebHost B
100 GB Bandwidth
200 GB Disk Space
Unlimited Accounts (FTP,SQL, Webmail!)
Unlimited Domains!
$5.95 a month
Many beginners would target WebHost A, assuming that you've have a small sense of what disk space and bandwidth is, if you haven't, I'll describe it in a short sentence - bandwidth is the tube, the bigger the tube is (the more bandwidth in that case), the more water can flow through your tube (the faster people flip through your forums). Now diskspace, the diskspace is your pool, the more diskspace you have, the bigger your pool is. And when you have a bigger pool.. you have more water, meaning you can upload alot of files. So most beginners would choose Webhost A because they offer unlimited or maybe up to thousands of bandwidth and disk space. But do they live up to what they say? Your chances of "Too good to be true" is not often, maybe even rarely. If webhost A offers everything Webhost B has but better and even cheaper, do you think webhost B would get any customers? Maybe they don't have as much as webhost A, but they have enough to keep everything running smoothly and have enough to pay for everything they need and keep money in their pockets.
The point is to use your head and think about why they are offering that much, and why do others don't? After a while of browsing through and been asking site owners questions, I've gathered enough to put together my own guide. Lets move back to webhost A and think about that if they offered unlimited usage, I can put a forum with up to couple thousand members on the site at the same time and expect it to be still running smoothly.. The server can't hold it up, many shared hosting servers will crash down immediately from the huge memory loss. Webhosts that provide more then they actually can provide is called overselling. After you've joined their host for a while, you would notice alot of unusable features. The most common web hosts who have this are ones who usually offer unlimited.. such as HostGator, HostMonster, BlueHost, DreamHost.. etc. Many of these webhosts manages them pretty damn well, so if you're pretty sure you'd like them, give them a try or continue reading.
Choosing your webhost and what to target.
Before you start looking at the prices and the ones who offer alot of usage, I would always look for what you think you would need the most. If you can buy vbulletin, you know what to do here.. and If you don't, luckily I'm here to provide you it :). As a beginner, you will slowly build, first think about the small steps such as how many users you think might be on your forums after an amount of time you've created your forum. If your just starting off, it is recommended that you choose the smallest package and upgrade when you need to. At one point of your hosting, you will always need to either upgrade or migrate to another host. Like I said, as you grow you will learn more about web hosts and what you need. Then, the next time you plan to move, ask their host if they have everything you need on your list and try them.
Choosing the most popular servers are not good! Many people say the service is awful when they have to take care of that many users. But I don't find that true. Nowadays theres stuff called "Live Chat". The only reason why they're getting that many users is because they're tons of people who are clueless and do fall for their overselling. I target ones that aren't well known as much. When thats so, it usually means you can use a bit more then what others can provide because their server isn't over populated with users using memory. Also read the web hosts reviews if they have a forum, and remember, just because there is more bad reviews then good ones, you should still give them a go! Think about it.. lets say the webhost had 5,000 users and only 1,000 actually visit their forums, and out of the 1,000 users visiting the forums, 600 members posts bad reviews, and 400 posts good reviews. Does it mean that you should go choose another one? No. There are always the one who are happy and living their internet life off enjoying the webhost so much they don't even have the time to tell you how much they love that host. Here is a quote from Tachyon of ASO, which I support and fully agree with
When it comes to service, those who have had a negative experience are often more likely to talk about it than those who haven't had any problems. For everyone who posts here about experiencing downtime, there may be many other customers who don't even bother coming to these forums.
You always should test out their support when you choose them, because when you're encountering a big problem and their support is slow, your most likely to be unhappy and move once again. So to round up this guide, I would say don't target what others think is the best and always choose what isn't the most well known. Always try something new! After you feel like you've known enough, read this thread written by Alex of PcArmada and learn more about web hosts! - http://www.vbulletin.com/forum/showthread.php?t=292365
Thanks, and If I have anymore to say, I will be sure to edit and add more :)!