Best host for a small board that might grow very large?

[irc]

I am thinking about starting a new site that would likely start out on a shared account with maybe 20-30 users at peak, but might grow very large and need a dedicated server.

Any recommendations for a host that excels at both ends of the spectrum?

[JamesT]

I am thinking about starting a new site that would likely start out on a shared account with maybe 20-30 users at peak, but might grow very large and need a dedicated server.

Any recommendations for a host that excels at both ends of the spectrum?

I can Recommend a few websites off the top of my head,

iPowerWeb.com - Great Prices/Uptime Support
xStreamHost.net - Great Prices/Great Support
UnitedHosting.com
Pair.com


If you want more information i highly recommend you go to http://www.webhostingtalk.com.

Hope this information helps you.

[tgillespie]

are you looking for anything in particular? Only thing I can say is to find a host that allows you to upgrade packages. Some hosts make you purchase a higher package rather than doing a seemless upgrade. Some hosts don't even have assorted packages.

[Naresha]

You can have a look http://www.duoservers.com/?r=naresha i think it will suit your needs :)

Happy surfing
Naresha

[irc]

Well, I'll give you an idea of what concerned about. I don't mind upgrading my service when it's needed, but I've read stories about hosts who notice a lot of hits or users connected and force the site to upgrade to a dedicated server too soon. It's great to have an account with 10gb bandwidth, but that is meaningless if you are told that you must upgrade to a dedicated when you are only using 4 or 5gb bandwidth a month.

[tgillespie]

Well, I'll give you an idea of what concerned about. I don't mind upgrading my service when it's needed, but I've read stories about hosts who notice a lot of hits or users connected and force the site to upgrade to a dedicated server too soon. It's great to have an account with 10gb bandwidth, but that is meaningless if you are told that you must upgrade to a dedicated when you are only using 4 or 5gb bandwidth a month.That happens very often. A friend of mine ran www.mysqlsoftware.net (http://www.mysqlsoftware.net) on a cheap virtual account and they forced him to upgrade or disable his account because they predicted he would go over his limit. He hadn't even met the bandwidth he had been allocated, but they had fear he would. Anyways, hes running pdwebs and has actually upgraded from pd200 to pd300 last month.

All that info was given with his concent of course.

[I, Brian]

I have never seen a sustained recommendation of ipowerweb! Or am I onfusing company names here?

Another vote here for www.united-hosting.co.uk (http://www.united-hosting.co.uk/) - I have my comparative-religion forum with them for precisely the same reasons - start small, looking to grow much bigger - and more importantly, the support is really second to none (I've experience with 9 hosts for different projects).

[WichitaRacing]

I'm with ipowerweb and am looking to change, I think. Now, I'm not super web-savvy, so I'm wondering if some of the problems I just don't know how to fix.

Anyhow, when I had IBF they could never get it to work right. Moved my account to another server. One day it was down for 5hrs. Later I had problems w/ ftp and cpanel - finally figured out they moved my account to a different server w/o telling me.

Anyhow, now I'm on vB3 w/ 30 users max (usually 15-20) and sometimes certain accounts don't get emails from me. Not sure if it's vB or the host's email server. :confused: Plus there's no SSH/telnet support. It

It's usually fairly fast, although last night it was horrible. I am disappointed w/ 500MB space for $8/mo. I ran short on SQL connections - they increased it for my by 3x w/o any trouble.

Maybe I'll give them another chance if people say they're good. *shrugs* Otherwise I'm looking at pdwebs.

[tgillespie]

I'm with ipowerweb and am looking to change, I think. Now, I'm not super web-savvy, so I'm wondering if some of the problems I just don't know how to fix.

Anyhow, when I had IBF they could never get it to work right. Moved my account to another server. One day it was down for 5hrs. Later I had problems w/ ftp and cpanel - finally figured out they moved my account to a different server w/o telling me.

Anyhow, now I'm on vB3 w/ 30 users max (usually 15-20) and sometimes certain accounts don't get emails from me. Not sure if it's vB or the host's email server. :confused: Plus there's no SSH/telnet support. It

It's usually fairly fast, although last night it was horrible. I am disappointed w/ 500MB space for $8/mo. I ran short on SQL connections - they increased it for my by 3x w/o any trouble.

Maybe I'll give them another chance if people say they're good. *shrugs* Otherwise I'm looking at pdwebs.If you decide to move to a new hosting provider and find pdwebs to be the solution, I can give you our Switch service for free. One of our techies will move your entire site to your new account. This includes MySQL data, files, and your domain(s). The process is fairly simple and usually lasts 30 minutes or less. If you interested, be sure to contact me before signing up so I can notify Damon that you need the Switch plan for free. Normally we charge a one time fee of $50 for the Switch service.

If you have any questions in the mean time, feel free to pm me anytime or email trent.gillespie@pdwebs.com.

[Inland Mike]

Most hosts offer this switch as a common free service. We do so also. All is required is your running cPanel with your current host.