# Best Low Cost Website hosting!



## PaintingContractor (Dec 24, 2009)

I've read quite a few posts on this site and on others where people are asking for help on website hosting, so I would like to shine a little light as to what I've seen and how this can benefit you and your company. 

There are numerous website hosting companies out there, but which one should you go with? For the same reason why there are numerous construction companies in the same city, there are numerous website hosting companies offering the same type of service, but with different benefits from each. 

Put simply: Wikipedia defines website hosting as: _A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web._

So basically, these companies will save your domain name's (www.yourdomain.com) files (html, php etc), email's and numerous other files on their computer (server) and broadcast your website to the world. 

I'm not going to go into all the advanced features & benefits that website hosting companies offer, but just the features that benefit your contractor business / service. 

Hosting for the typical contractor’s website should be cheap enough to cater to their budget and diverse enough to help that contractor expand down the road. For instance, here is a list of the most popular website hosting companies and their prices & benefits: (As of 3-11-2010)

I have included direct links to where I pulled this information from so you can view their sites. 

Yahoo Web Hosting
$9.95 / month with a 12 month contract
1 domain Name allowed
Unlimited disc space
Unlimited data transfer
Unlimited email storage

GoDaddy
$4.99 / month with a 3 month contract
$1.99 for each domain name
10GB Disc space
300 GB Data transfer
100MB email storage

Network Solutions
$6.95 / month with 3 year contract
1 domain name allowed
5 GB disc space
50GB Data transfer
Email storage- shares the 5Gb disc space

Host Gator
$4.95 / Month
1 Domain Name Allowed
Unlimited Disc space
Unlimited data transfer
Unlimited email storage

Host Monster
$ 3.95 / Month with a one year contract – Using this promotion code
Host Unlimited Domains
Unlimited disc space
Umlimited disc transfer
Unlimited Email storage

Price: When you go to look for a hosting company you need to look at not only the price, but how long the contract is that binds you at that price. Typically, you will have to pay the full contract amount up front to lock in that price, but that’s really common everywhere else. 

Number of Domains: This can go a couple of different ways… Some companies begin by saying they will only have one domain name for their hosting account and that’s it. But as you or your company start to grow, you could find out that you made a mistake if your hosting company only allows for one domain name per account; which will force you to waste time in transferring your hosting services to another company (A Big Hassle!). 
But over time, you may realize that you want to increase your online presence of your company by owning & hosting multiple domains: For example, I own the domain name: TailoredPainting.net , PaintingContractorsDenver.com , PaintingCompanyDenver.com
An effort to not only increase my presence on the web, but to also have domain names that include the keywords that my potential clients are searching for!

Disc Space: For the typical contractor, this shouldn’t matter all that much, although I would recommend at least 15GB, just in case you start having video testimonials and LOTS of photographs in your portfolio section. Typically, videos are the files that take up the most room. 

Disc Transfer: Again, this isn’t a huge deal, because unless you have a ton of video files and a LOT of traffic coming to your website, you are not going to run out. But again, unlimited is better. 

Email Storage: This is where it would be nice to have unlimited. So that you don’t have to worry about your account filling up with spam email, thus forcing your account to close until those emails are deleted off the hosting account. 

As of right now, all of these companies offer a free Site Builder software for those who are looking for a custom made website to start off with without the need to know html, dreamweaver etc.. 

I know that this is a lot to go over in one page, but I’ve tried to write it as simple & precise as I could. 
As for me, I’m currently using HostMonster for my accounts, because they give me unlimited everything for the cheapest price. I’ve been using them for around 6 years now without any problems. Please let me know if you have any questions about the details of hosting.


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## PatsPainting (Mar 4, 2010)

Nice Info

Pat


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## Burt White (Nov 8, 2009)

Wow thanks for the post. I am thinking this web sit thing right now and that will help alot THANKS :notworthy:


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## Proline (Mar 9, 2010)

Great info, very helpful. I almost signed on with a company that builds the site then host for $50 a month. Defiantly not happening now.


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## vermontpainter (Dec 24, 2007)

I've been designing my own template platform for a website. Nothing that is out there satisfies what I want a website to do. The skin is custom, totally from scratch and I am building my own pages, dropdowns and even flash movies. The final hood ornament will be a logo, havent started that yet. When thats all complete I will build my own server to host it on. I hate shared servers, they are so bogus. I'll post a link when I roll this badboy out of the garage.


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## Wolverine (Apr 17, 2007)

Hostgator is the absolute best bang for the buck!


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## bikerboy (Sep 16, 2007)

You left out important (I think for most people) thing. How is the technical help? If you run into a problem, how fast and how helpful will the "help desk" be? I'd pay more per month if I get a quick answer from a live and knowledgeable person. That equals value! (IMHO)


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## straight_lines (Oct 17, 2007)

My premium linux hosting and domain is $80 a year with godaddy, and tech support is really good. I could have gotten it a lot cheaper elsewhere, and have friends who have dedicated servers I could have throw it on for near nothing, but I like have ts there if I need them.
http://johnsonhomeconstruction.com/


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## daArch (Mar 15, 2008)

The NGPP uses Blue Host (bluehost.com)- although we have a larger package than most would require, 
YOU can get for $6.95 :

UNLIMITED Hosting Space (NEW!)
UNLIMITED File Transfer (NEW!)
Host UNLIMITED Domains!!!
2,500 POP/Imap Email Accounts
SSH (Secure Shell), SSL, FTP, Stats
CGI, Ruby (RoR), Perl, PHP, MySQL
2000/2002 Front Page Extensions
Free Domain Forever!
Free Site Builder (NEW)
24/7 Superb/Responsive Sales/Support


Their control panel features are real easy and the awstats are invaluable

and you get like a qazillion mail boxes.



I use StartLogic (startlogoc.com)

for $5.95 per month I get:

Unlimited GB of Storage
Unlimited GB of Transfer
Unlimited Domains
FREE Domain & Setup
Point and Click Website Builder
Choice of Shopping Carts
$75 Google/Yahoo Credit
Free RatePoint Subscription
Instant Setup!

their control panel is not as user friendly as bluehost, but still superb with great stats.

Also a gazillion mail boxes.

Both servers are stable with the occasional hiccup. They back up frequently. I have not had the opportunity to call support at bluehost, but I understand they ain't bad.

Startlogic's help can connect you to a sub-continent asswipe who does not understand nor speak english OR, as I have done, redial until you get one in Arizona . Those guys are INCREDIBLY good. 

If I had to do over, I would go with bluehost only because their control panel is more loser friendly. 

IMO, these two host give the best bang for the buck. They both also have a web builders that I have not used. I can not review them.

If you are looking for a host, do a google and find reviews. This is how I found blue host four or so years ago. We have been very satisfied - except our web company (Martin Solutions) thinks we would be better off on THEIR server - for a LOT more money. Gee, wonder why.


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## absolutedecor8 (Mar 29, 2010)

if u know what cpanel is and can make a site with the templates they give you, you can pick up so good cheap hosting on ebay for £5 for the year also www.123reg.co.uk sells domain names cheap


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## PaintingContractor (Dec 24, 2009)

HostGator isn't bad... but you can only have one domain name! One website!

Bluehost is nice as well, but the price is still higher than with hostmonster. 
All in all, these services are still great and will get the job done... I'm just in a financial crunch, so everything that I can do to save a few pennies is worth it. 

I'm really glad that everybody likes the post. I hope that it will help some people out.


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## In Demand (Mar 24, 2008)

Free hosting with no banner ads. I have only seen it down for maybe a few hours once all year.
http://www.000webhost.com/


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

You can have multiple domains at Hostgator, I recently switched and like the interface much better than GoDaddy. Now I need to work on my site.


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## PaintingContractor (Dec 24, 2009)

I've been with hostmonster for 5-6 years now and they have a live chatt available 24/7 and I love that. Every time that I have a question, I get an answer in under 5 min... that's great.


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## RCP (Apr 18, 2007)

Ya, hostgator has that too, really helped when I switched from GD!


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## luisp (Jun 5, 2010)

My preference is Fastdomain.com $5.95 per month


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