Down to 3 web host options - anyone with opinions? Communitech, Combustion, Superb
I have been doing some intense searching for a web host for the past few days and have narrowed my choices down to 3 finalists. Here is what I was using as requirements:
? Good reseller package (discounts + waived setup fees, etc).
? Both Windows and Unix boxes for resale.
? PHP on both boxes (4.2 or higher - anyone who is still on 4.1 shows a lack of maintenance and security consciousness to me- don't talk to me about breaking old scripts!).
? Good control panel.
? At least MySQL on Unix. Access + either MySQL or MS SQL on Windows (MySQL on both unix and windows is a bonus).
? Free or extremely cheap DNS pointing (pointer sites).
? 24/7 phone support.
? Good stats package is a plus.
? Price is important, but solid reliability/speed and features are more so.
PHP on both Unix and Windows boxes for resale really narrowed the field quickly. I ended up with 5 finalists:
<a href="http://www.combustionwebhosting.com"; target="_blank">Combustion</a>, <a href="http://www.communitech.net"; target="_blank">Communitech</a>, <a href="http://www.superb.net"; target="_blank">Superb</a>, <a href="http://www.fluidhosting.com"; target="_blank">Fluid</a> and <a href="http://www.sectorlink.com"; target="_blank">SectorLink</a>
Fluidhosting looked great but offers no reseller options. Next.
Sectorlink scared me off because they were dramatically cheaper than the other three and by default you don't get a static IP (that just seems wonkey to me). I can't help but feeling you get what you pay for.
Communitech is the most expensive to get the features I need but I used to use them years ago and never had any problems. I like their control panel and if you want to pay for it, WebTrends is the best stats package I have seen. If you don't, however, the stats are average (and to pay just for WebTrends isn't worth it in my book). They have tons of features (which I normally wouldn't use anyway - but still nice to have 1 click install of a chat application just for the fun of it!) Install, uninstall, install, uninstall. Weee!
Combustion seems to offer reasonable features for a reasonable price. Disk space and traffic limits seem really low, am I crazy? I can't seem to find nearly any mention of them anywhere however, which makes me nervous.
Superb has that nice option of sharing account space for multiple domains. They offer all my basic requirements and seem competitively prices but being a web designer I have a hard time getting past their hideous website
Also they charge a monthly fee for DNS pointing which I think is stupid.
Support is really important in this decision. I am shopping around for the company I work for and I am only going to be here another 4 months. This company is currently using RapidSite and I have found every aspect of them nauseating. On top of their crappy services, they are more expensive than any of the above options, and their email is consistently down - come on guys, this is the 21st century here!
I was curious about what opinions people have about these three finalists - Combustion, Communitech and Superb.
Thanks for any help!
[ 12-10-2002: Message edited by: The Pie Man ]</p>
? Good reseller package (discounts + waived setup fees, etc).
? Both Windows and Unix boxes for resale.
? PHP on both boxes (4.2 or higher - anyone who is still on 4.1 shows a lack of maintenance and security consciousness to me- don't talk to me about breaking old scripts!).
? Good control panel.
? At least MySQL on Unix. Access + either MySQL or MS SQL on Windows (MySQL on both unix and windows is a bonus).
? Free or extremely cheap DNS pointing (pointer sites).
? 24/7 phone support.
? Good stats package is a plus.
? Price is important, but solid reliability/speed and features are more so.
PHP on both Unix and Windows boxes for resale really narrowed the field quickly. I ended up with 5 finalists:
<a href="http://www.combustionwebhosting.com"; target="_blank">Combustion</a>, <a href="http://www.communitech.net"; target="_blank">Communitech</a>, <a href="http://www.superb.net"; target="_blank">Superb</a>, <a href="http://www.fluidhosting.com"; target="_blank">Fluid</a> and <a href="http://www.sectorlink.com"; target="_blank">SectorLink</a>
Fluidhosting looked great but offers no reseller options. Next.
Sectorlink scared me off because they were dramatically cheaper than the other three and by default you don't get a static IP (that just seems wonkey to me). I can't help but feeling you get what you pay for.
Communitech is the most expensive to get the features I need but I used to use them years ago and never had any problems. I like their control panel and if you want to pay for it, WebTrends is the best stats package I have seen. If you don't, however, the stats are average (and to pay just for WebTrends isn't worth it in my book). They have tons of features (which I normally wouldn't use anyway - but still nice to have 1 click install of a chat application just for the fun of it!) Install, uninstall, install, uninstall. Weee!
Combustion seems to offer reasonable features for a reasonable price. Disk space and traffic limits seem really low, am I crazy? I can't seem to find nearly any mention of them anywhere however, which makes me nervous.
Superb has that nice option of sharing account space for multiple domains. They offer all my basic requirements and seem competitively prices but being a web designer I have a hard time getting past their hideous website
Also they charge a monthly fee for DNS pointing which I think is stupid.Support is really important in this decision. I am shopping around for the company I work for and I am only going to be here another 4 months. This company is currently using RapidSite and I have found every aspect of them nauseating. On top of their crappy services, they are more expensive than any of the above options, and their email is consistently down - come on guys, this is the 21st century here!
I was curious about what opinions people have about these three finalists - Combustion, Communitech and Superb.
Thanks for any help!
[ 12-10-2002: Message edited by: The Pie Man ]</p>