Web Hosting

[Jezston]

I have a website which I use as for as much as anything an online CV and showreel, along with a space to host files to be transferred between myself and clients, and I've just had an email from my hosting provider stating it's due for renewal soon.

My site is here: http://www.jeremycorbett.co.uk
And at the moment it's kind of in a state of work in progress as I need to update my video content!

I've been with http://www.ukwebsolutionsdirect.co.uk as my host for some years now. At the time I went with them as they were friendly, had a phone number and were uk based. However, compared to what is out there internationally, they are relatively pricey.

I pay £43 a year which gives me 3GB of storage, 20GB of bandwidth a month, and all the usual bells and whistles.

Now one of the reasons I went for them is that they are UK based, and at the time (About 7 years ago!) this apparently was considered important as it meant you were more likely to be found in a google search by someone from the UK or looking within the UK. But is this really relevant any more? May I slip down the Google rankings if I switch to a cheaper offshore host? Do I actually care about my Google ranking anyway as it's just a site that I direct people to rather than want people to find just by searching about? Or am I just perpetuating a feud between myself and my New Zealand TV/Radio presenter namesake and nemesis who bagged the .com domain leaving me with just the .co.uk?

Also, they no longer do telephone support which was a big sell at the time, but then I have rarely needed support.

So would anyone care to recommend me anything? I don't need much more space than I already have - but it would be a bonus if it's available for things like backing up work.

My current host uses CpanelX for administration which is I must say a little dated and clunky - are there any hosts with more elegant and modern site managing tools?

 

[ACS]

34SP UK based provider. I have lots of sites with them and cannot fault them, great support, good comunications and they manage the costs well

 

[thomas]

The research I'm conducting (in sig) about small businesses currently suggests that around £50/year is a common price for this type of thing. If you are getting a good service I would stick.

I am with resellerzoom who are okay (see hostingzoom for your needs). I also use hostgator who I think are better. I will probably move back to them at some point, but don't have time at moment. I left because I was using too much of the server's resources for a shared plan, they offered me a at cost server, but couldn't afford it so moved. I'm selling the problem website, so may well move back later this year

And as you've got a .co.uk I wouldn't worry about the SEO. If you sign up to webmaster tools you can tell google that you're targeting the UK search market.

It might help a little, but I'm based in the US for UK based websites and don't have any problems tbh.

 

[goo_mason]

I've been using Lunarpages for a few years now after leaving the hellish 1and1Internet.

It's just one of the basic hosting packages but I get unlimited storage, unlimited bandwidth and a very long list of features / bells and whistles. Details here: http://www.lunarpages.com/hosting-solutions/basic-hosting/

They're US based, but I've never had a problem getting in touch with them & they've been great at resolving any issues I've had.

 

[S_t_e_v_e]

I use http://www.ukwebsolutionsdirect.co.uk I've had no problems over the years and I would recommend them.

 

[ttcycle]

One thing to check...if you leave your current ISP - do they let you take your website name---ie www.randomnameetc.com

or do they charge you through the teeth for it.

Currently looking into this myself - don't have the cash but hoping when I do to be able to find a decent ISP to host my website...so much out there.

 

[martint235]

I had been hearing good things about 1and1, now they are referred to as hellish.

Personally I'm just coming out of a very bad episode with JustHost so I'd stay away from them if I were you. Absolute nightmare.

I know of a company called Staylinked who are quite good, they have been hosting a website I designed for my local Indian restaurant for a few years now. I would say that they are at the business end of the market though rather than a personal website host.

 

[goo_mason]

I had been hearing good things about 1and1, now they are referred to as hellish.

Personally I'm just coming out of a very bad episode with JustHost so I'd stay away from them if I were you. Absolute nightmare.

I know of a company called Staylinked who are quite good, they have been hosting a website I designed for my local Indian restaurant for a few years now. I would say that they are at the business end of the market though rather than a personal website host.

I lost over a hundred quid to 1and1, was treated appallingly by their 'customer service' team and sent blurred photos as evidence of supposed small-print on web screens that I should apparently have seen. The pics were just coloured smudges - I asked them to send proper, un-blurred shots so I could see the wording they claimed was there - they then refused and told me they wouldn't discuss the matter with me any further. At one stage there was a UK-wide legal challenge by hundreds of similarly affected customers who were stumping up money to take them to court. Having just lost hundreds a week before Xmas, I sadly couldn't afford to take part so I've no idea what the outcome was.

Wouldn't even touch them with someone else's bargepole.