Hosting Recommendations
Think of shared hosting like an apartment building for websites: you have your own space, and it is reasonably secure (only you and the super have a key), but your overall security and speed are still dependent on the other tenants. If the guy in the penthouse is having a huge party, it might take a while for the elevator to come. That kind of thing.
Shared hosting is ideal for small businesses with little proprietary information included on their websites. Features like automated backups and chrooting help to make shared hosting more secure. Do keep in mind that “unlimited” means something special in the web hosting world, and does not truly mean “unlimited” resources for a low price!
MSDLab
MSDLab now offers WordPress hosting for its clients. We only host sites that we’ve developed, and only those on a WordPress platform. With our hosting, security and backup software are installed and regular off-site backups, security checks, and software updates are performed. We request a minimum 24-month contract.
Standard Hosting (1GB Disk Space, 10GB/mo Traffic) $25/mo or $275/yr.
- Additional package options are available
- Discounts are available for 501c3 clients
VPS hosting is more like a land-o-minium. Someone else owns the property, but you own the “building” on it. The host maintains the physical hardware, which you share with other VPS users, but the software and all the server setup is yours.
VPS hosting is ideal for agencies who may host several clients, sites with moderate-high traffic, and clients needing custom server setups. It’s your own playground! Package upgrades/downgrades allow you to select hosting built to fit. Cloud-based options are ideal for redundancy and organizations that may be affected by the Slashdot/Digg/Drudge effect or viral overloading. (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Slashdot_effect)
Our top picks for VPS hosting include:
LiquidWeb
(https://www.liquidweb.com/products/vps)
Fully managed cloud VPS from an established leader in the industry. Incredible support and customer service, some of the best I’ve ever experienced. We have several clients with high traffic and content needs on LiquidWeb and all are very satisfied with this recommendation.
- Starts at $59/mo or $360/2-year pre-paid
- Includes InterWorx subscription & management
- Secure Certificates start at $50/yr installed.
Pros: Good tools and amazing support. Cloud-based for redundancy and responsiveness. Choice of Linux distributions. Extremely configurable including (paid) options for extra bandwidth, offsite backups and more. Daily billing available; pay for what you need.
Cons: While less expensive, InterWorx is a bit more “techy” than cPanel.
Zimcom.net
(http://www.zimcom.net/hosting/cloud-vps/)
A Cincinnati-based company offering a cloud VPS. This means your data is distributed. If one piece of hardware goes down, your site should still be accessible. Quality support and customer service. We have had several clients on Zimcom’s server and are very pleased to work with them.
- Light VPS starts at $65/mo with a $99 setup fee.
- $50 hosting + $15 cPanel subscription per month
- Secure Certificates start at $49/yr installed.
Pros: Local company, good tools, and support. Cloud-based for redundancy and responsiveness. Choice of Linux distributions.
Cons: Higher price, the small company means support lag time may occur.
Amazon Web Services
Nerd-ware at its finest. AWS offers multiple hosting options that are inexpensive and literally “pay for what you use”. The pricing is too nebulous to cover here, but it does tend to be quite inexpensive for small sites and low volumes.
Pros: Extremely flexible and secure. True cloud management/load balancing is available, as well as easy storage solutions and emailing options.
Cons: Support is extra. The system is designed with the IT tech in mind, not for beginners.
In today’s hosting world, dedicated hosting is rarely necessary. Think of dedicated hosting like homeownership: you own the property and the land; someone else maintains traffic and utilities. In dedicated hosting, you own the actual hardware and software outright. If something goes wrong, it’s on you to support it. There are very few instances where this is necessary or recommended.
Unfortunately, there are a small number of providers that we’ve had to work with due to client choice, but that I cannot currently recommend in good conscience due to those experiences. In this industry, things are constantly changing though, and sometimes my opinion of a provider does change!
Network Solutions
Old school, bigtime. Proprietary setup, ancient systems, and bureaucracy. The registrar is ok, but the hosting...ugh.
ISOC
Cincinnati-based host that really, really doesn’t like WordPress. They are a fine host in all other respects, but they don’t care for WordPress and their servers aren’t set up for an optimal experience with it.
BlueHost
This organization used to be promoted by MSDLab, but in recent years service and security have gone downhill severely. They are darned cheap, that’s for sure. If the price is worth the headaches, go for it, but I have “unhacked” too many sites on their servers to feel good about it.
Yahoo! Small Business
No. Just no. Outdated technology, no .htaccess overrides, and useless “support”. Do yourself a favor and make a good decision for your small business...don’t use Yahoo! hosting. Out of all the “big, professional” hosts I’ve ever worked with, this one is hands down the worst.
GoDaddy
Due to recent improvements and their cloud VPS options, I have removed GoDaddy from the no-go list. It’s still not my favorite, but I am happy to work with GoDaddy hosting as I never was before.
This is usually where a company shoves an old PC into a corner and tries to serve their website on it. Sometimes it’s a viable server, but it’s inside the corporate firewall, which can lead to addressing issues. They think they are saving money, but usually, they are just adding hours of IT headaches to the project. In 1998, this wasn’t the worst idea. In 2020, it’s a very bad idea. Much like dedicated hosting, there are very few instances where this is necessary or recommended.
Unless you are a hosting company, it is best to get a hosting account. For most needs, a simple, small, inexpensive account will do just fine. Hosting companies are only doing one thing, so they have someone on staff to babysit the server all the time, they have the wholesale tools to make the administration straightforward and simple, and they do enough of it to make it truly inexpensive.
There are also providers that don’t stand out as excellent or as extremely poor. If your provider of choice is not listed, that doesn’t mean that we have no experience with them. There are also many fine providers (such as DigitalOcean, WPEngine, etc.) that we simply don’t have enough experience with to provide a qualified recommendation.
Feel free to ask for our experience with your provider before engagement.