Many people who are just learning HTML or XHML search for a web host that will give them all of their needs for building a solid website. The problem is that too often do people actually put enough research into who they are going to have host their website. Usually someone will choose a web host package that seems cheap, that is until they get to the actual website stating that the only way to get a package cheap from them is to pay a 12 month payment in full. Then you have some people who say the only good package deal is an expensive one because it will supply you with everything you need. This is not entirely true.
First thing is first. Before looking for a web host make a list of things that a web host must supply to you for your webmaster needs. Once you’ve figured that out it’s time for the search! Yes, something the majority of us dread is looking, searching for that ultimate web host to suit our needs.
Google is one of the most popular search engines to date. So, the simplest solution would be to go to Google’s search engine (www.google.com) and type ‘Web Host’ into the search box then click on search. Thanks to the world wide web there are tons of websites out there who are willing to host your site. However, the main problem with there being so many sites is that it involves an extreme amount of research, which means it will become time consuming.
I’ve compiled a small list of web hosts and have reviewed them for you in hopes of saving you time and money. Each web host has been rated personally anywhere from one to five. One being ‘You may want to look around some more’ and five being ‘Excellent’.
One Dollar Host
No complaints here. One Dollar Host offers four different wonderful packages. The packages start off from $1.00 to $15.00 a month. The ‘Basic’ package is perfect for anyone who wants to build a nice size website without adding music and downloadable features to it. Of course another nice feature is that they offer 24/7 technical support. At the price of just a dollar it’s hard to beat this deal. You can visit their website for more information on each of their package deals.
Rating: 5/5
50 Megs Web Hosting
50 Megs offers three different package deals, one of which is free. The free package deal offers 50 megs of space and ads at the top of each one of your web pages. The other two package deals are $1.99 and $3.32 a month. At $1.99 you get ‘Basic Web Hosting’. Basic Web Hosting is the same thing as the free package deal except your web pages are ad-free. Finally, they have their ‘Starter Plus’ package at $3.32 a month if you pay for it annually. If you pay for it monthly then the price goes up to $3.95. Unfortunately all of their package deals only have 50 MB disk space. However, as you up your package additional features rise in their limited amount of space. Currently there aren’t any setup fees for any of these packages. For more information on what they offer visit their website.
Rating: 4/5
iPage
The IPOWERWEB company brings you a web host developed for users who don’t know their way around html. This web host offers a single package to it’s users at $6.00 a month along with a $15.00 payment to register your domain for a year. iPage offers over 100 templates, free e-mail addresses and 24/7 customer telephone and e-mail support. If you are interested in more information on what iPage is or to make an order with them visit their website.
Rating: 3/5
Canaca
Based in Toronto, Canada, this web host not only hosts your website but offers dial up internet as well. At unlimited internet access the first month starts at $3.95. Canaca offers a total of three web hosting packages. Packages start at $3.95 a month and end at $16.95 a month if you pay for a 24 month term. An additional fee of $10.00 a year will be added for domain registration. Storage space offered is 10 GB with the Bronze package, 20 GB with the Silver package, and finally 30 GB with the Gold package. Free emergency support and a 30-day money back guarantee is included with each package. For more information on what each package offers please visit the Canaca website.
Rating: 4/5
Domain Website Hosting
Domain Website Hosting [DMH] offers up to five website hosting packages. Prices start at $9.99 a month and end at $199.99 a month. Payments are made monthly. Storage space offered is from 50 MB to 1500 MB and a transfer limit of 8 GB to 160 GB, depending on what package you choose. Website checker, easy mail auto responder, same-day setup and 24/7 network monitoring is included with each package. For more information on each package DMH offers please visit their website.
Rating: 3/5
Mid Phase
Unmetered bandwidth, unmetered e-mail, free domain name, e-commerce enabled, free website builder and free spam filtering is what Mid Phase has included in each one of their web hosting packages. Mid Phase offers three packages ranging from $7.95 to $11.95 a month and a $29.95 setup fee. The setup fee is waived when they have a special on their hosting packages. If you find that Mid Phase does not meet your needs they offer a “risk-free” money back guarantee. Read their Terms of Service agreement for more details on the “risk-free” money back guarantee option. With Mid Phase’s service you will also receive e-mail features, developer tools, statistics, service and support, web content, content management, 24/7 support via e-mail and telephone. Please visit their website for more detailed information.
Rating: 5/5
Dot 5 Hosting
Again, here is another web host with a money back guarantee. Dot 5 Hosting offers two different packages, Personal and Business. Prices range from $4.00 to $16.00 a month, depending on which package you choose as well how many months you wish to pay in advance for their service. There is no setup fee and with each 12 and 24 month payment term you receive a free domain registration. If you choose anything less than a 12 or 24 month payment term then there is a $7.95 a year payment fee for domain registration. Dot 5 Hosting also offers 24/7 Phone Support. Visit Dot 5 Hosting’s website for more information on the quality of their service.
Rating: 4/5
StartLogic
Free domain, e-mail accounts, web traffic transfer, PHP support, SSL secure server, shopping carts, SSI management, password protection, backup program, multimedia support. All this and more is offered by Star Logic [SL]. When purchasing SL’s service the setup fee is waived when you pay for a 12 or 24 month term. If you purchase their service by a 1 or 3 month term then there is a $1500 setup fee. Prices range from $7.50 to $12.50 a month, plus a charge of $15.00 a year for new domain registration. SL does offer a 30 day money back guarantee, and have been awarded with the ‘Outstanding Customer Services Award‘ award. Visit StartLogic’s website for more information on what their package includes.
Rating: 4/5
Simple Host
Simple Host offers one package deal of web hosting at a low price. No setup fee and $7.50 a month gets you a nice web hosting package. The package includes free domain name, no ads, same day account setup, money back guarantee, unlimited storage space, shopping carts, site builder, hot link protection, custom error pages, 24/7 online support, telephone support, password protected, simple flash tutorials, 24/7 network monitoring, 24/7 sever monitoring, weekly/monthly backups. All of this and plenty more is included in the package. Visit Simple Host’s website for more details.
Rating: 5/5
Angelfire
Angelfire offers up to five packages. One of their packages is a website hosted for free with ads, 20 MB disk space, blog builder, photo album builder, and site building and file management tools. Angelfire’s packages, excluding their free package, range from $4.95 to $14.95 a month. The setup fee ranges anywhere from $10.00 to $15.00. Disk space ranges from 25 MB to 150 MB. A free domain name is included with the more expensive packages.
Rating: 2/5
741
741 offers four different package. The first package being free, offering 100 megs of web space, 1,200 megs bandwidth, FTP server uploading, sub-domain hosting and domain hosting. The final three packages available vary in price, ranging from $6.95 to $14.95 per month. You can choose to pay monthly payments or by paying on a 6 month term or 12 month term. Disk space ranges any where from 250 megs to 1,000 megs. All of the priced packages include no advertisements, FTP server uploading, sub-domain hosting and domain hosting.
Rating: 3/5
GeoCities
The once popular GeoCities is still up and running today. GeoCities offers a Free, Plus, and Pro package. Prices range from $0.00 to $8.95 a month, plus a one time setup fee of $10.00 for the Plus package and $15.00 for the Pro package. The Free package offers 15 MB of disk space, 3 GB bandwidth (metered hourly) and is ad supported. The Plus package, being the next step above the free package, offers 25 MB disk space, 5 GB bandwidth and is not ad supported. Finally, the Pro package offers 25 MB disk space, 10 GB bandwidth, POP and SMTP e-mail access and is also not ad supported. Visit GeoCities’s website for more information regarding their web host packages.
Rating: 1/5