revjim.net

My current webhosting provider bills me $95.00/mo. With this I am allocated 600MB of space, unlimited data transfer, unlimited FTP accounts, unlimited email accounts, full access to my apache configuration files, unlimited MySQL access, custom PHP and Apache modules, unlimited domains, and unlimited subdomains. The problem is, the servers are slow and quite expensive, so I'm looking around for a new host.

I currently host 9 domains and 3 subdomains. Of those 9 domains, 2 are not mine. Of those 3 subdomains, 1 is not mine. I currently host my father, and Jaclyn. Additionally, of the 7 domains that are mine, 4 are not currently being used. This means, essentially, I need to host 5 domains and 3 subdomains, or, if I give other people the boot, 3 domains and 2 subdomains. This leaves me with a couple of options. I have found 2 webhosting companies that could suit my needs. Perhaps you know of some others.

PHPWebHosting offers one domain with one FTP/SSH account for $9.95/mo. These accounts are unmetered in all regards. I would need 3 of them to meet my current personal hosting needs and 6 of them to meet the needs of the other people I currently host. So this means $29.85 or $59.70 respectively.

DreamHost offers 3 domains and 15 subdomains with 15 FTP accounts for $19.95/mo (called Sweet Dreams) or 7 domains and 35 subdomains with 35 FTP accounts for $39.95/mo (called Code Monster). The accounts are metered. Sweet Dreams gets 3 domains, 15 subdomains, 400 MB of space, 15GB/mo of transfer (email and FTP not included) and 10M/mo of MySQL conueries. Code Monster gets 7 domains, 35 subdomains, 900 MB of space, 25GB/mo of transfer and 15M/mo of MySQL conueries. If I just wanted to host my own needs I could use Sweet Dreams for $19.95/mo and have no room for growth without upgrading. If I wanted to continue hosting the others, I could use Code Monster for $39.95/mo, and have a little extra room to grow before having to upgrade accounts.

It's nice to be on an unmetered host, because you don't ever have to worry about going over your bandwidth allotments. You don't have to worry about ever having to pay MORE money until you need to add another FTP account or domain name to host. However, PHPWebHosting costs more money unless I am only hosting ONE domain, or if I had LARGE bandwidth/storage/MySQL requirements. I've never bothered to count conueries, but my storage space requirements and current bandwidth usage don't even come close to exceeding the limits on the DreamHost accounts.

So, as it stands now, I think I will be switching to DreamHost. This will save $55 - $75/mo. There is a setup fee, which I hate. It can be waived by paying the full year in advance, but I don't know if I want to do that.

Does anyone else have webhosting recommendations that might suit me? My requirements are Perl, PHP, MySQL, SSH.