What would you do?

[RLW]

Hi,

I've been hosting my website on shared hosting with a relatively unknown web host for a few of years now. My current host has been really helpful over the time I've been there and reliability has been brilliant. I've outgrown the bandwidth on my current shared hosting plan so I've been looking at my options.

I'm fairly well versed with Linux so I decided to look at VPSs. Even with my current host there are basic VPS packages that are cheaper than my current shared hosting plan.

My current web host is based in the UK, and I'm based in Australia, so with exchange rates and what not, I can get much more for my money by finding a US-based or Australia-based web host.

For example, my current host has this VPS which would give me a chance to get set-up and going without spending a fortune:

CPU: 500MHZ (roughly, I read this earlier but cant find it on their website now)
Guaranteed RAM: 128MB
Burstable RAM: 160MB
RAID Disk Space: 10GB
Bandwidth: 150Gb

But on a US-based web host, I found this VPS:

CPU: 1000MHZ GUARANTEED
Memory: 512MB GUARANTEED
Disk Space: 20GB (RAID BASED CONFIG)
Bandwidth: 1000GB/MONTH
IP Addresses: 2 (IPv4) + IPv6
Management: BASIC MANAGED
DDOS Protection: CISCO™ GUARD


The US-based hosting is about 40% cheaper than my current hosts offer.

So my question is, which one would you go with? Would you pay more for a host that you know is reliable?

Or would you go for the cheaper host that gives you more even though you don't know for sure that they will provide as good a level of service?

I'm leaning towards staying with my current host. It makes sense to me to reward a good host by sticking with them even if it does cost a little more. But in the back of my head is this little itch saying save yourself some money!

 

[lothos]

Seems like a no brainer to me. Save money, and better hosting with a more well known provider?

 

[RLW]

My fear is that if the US-based host is cheaper, and gives me more features, then maybe they're not all they're cracked up to be...

Plus, if the US dollar gets stronger like it was a couple of years back, then it will become more expensive for me than the UK-based host. Thats something I need to take into account as well.

 

[guptaarun]

You take advice from hardware professionals.

 

[webhostuk]

Unless you are sure , I will say dont change the host if you are really satisfied with the present service you get.

 

[HostMID]

You should make a research about the new web hosting company that you are considering to go with and find out how reliable and reputable they are.

If they are indeed a reliable web hosing company, then you can switch your web hosting provider to the new one, if they are not then you are better with the provider you have been with.

Also, make sure you keep an updated backup of your website all the time just in case if anything goes wrong.

 

[cyberdesignz]

Hi,

I've been hosting my website on shared hosting with a relatively unknown web host for a few of years now. My current host has been really helpful over the time I've been there and reliability has been brilliant. I've outgrown the bandwidth on my current shared hosting plan so I've been looking at my options.

I'm fairly well versed with Linux so I decided to look at VPSs. Even with my current host there are basic VPS packages that are cheaper than my current shared hosting plan.

My current web host is based in the UK, and I'm based in Australia, so with exchange rates and what not, I can get much more for my money by finding a US-based or Australia-based web host.

For example, my current host has this VPS which would give me a chance to get set-up and going without spending a fortune:

CPU: 500MHZ (roughly, I read this earlier but cant find it on their website now)
Guaranteed RAM: 128MB
Burstable RAM: 160MB
RAID Disk Space: 10GB
Bandwidth: 150Gb

But on a US-based web host, I found this VPS:

CPU: 1000MHZ GUARANTEED
Memory: 512MB GUARANTEED
Disk Space: 20GB (RAID BASED CONFIG)
Bandwidth: 1000GB/MONTH
IP Addresses: 2 (IPv4) + IPv6
Management: BASIC MANAGED
DDOS Protection: CISCO™ GUARD


The US-based hosting is about 40% cheaper than my current hosts offer.

So my question is, which one would you go with? Would you pay more for a host that you know is reliable?

Or would you go for the cheaper host that gives you more even though you don't know for sure that they will provide as good a level of service?

I'm leaning towards staying with my current host. It makes sense to me to reward a good host by sticking with them even if it does cost a little more. But in the back of my head is this little itch saying save yourself some money!

Trust and reliability are major pillars for any kind of business. So i will prefer the tested one.

 

[patrickdanforth]

You should give first preference for reliability of the service, otherwise you may experience chronic trouble from the service. I came to know from your words that your present hosting provider serves well so I would suggest you to stay with them.

 

[WebIntellects - Rob]

Only tests will help you to understand web hosting company you are working with if that is worth or not.

 

[mwzd]

I'm leaning towards staying with my current host. It makes sense to me to reward a good host by sticking with them even if it does cost a little more. But in the back of my head is this little itch saying save yourself some money!

Best idea.

It's tough to find a 'good' host who works with you and to a big host you're just a number, not an individual.

Talk to your current host and discuss pricing, am sure they'll give an old customer better rates to keep them.

 

[HostMantis]

Best idea.

It's tough to find a 'good' host who works with you and to a big host you're just a number, not an individual.

Talk to your current host and discuss pricing, am sure they'll give an old customer better rates to keep them.

I couldn't agree more! If you are happy with your current host and they are able to support your websites needs, why move?

 

[mchype14]

ok, well here is my fear for you, (because i've gone through it before)

if you are going to go with a VPS, you really need about 512MB RAM AT LEAST! what you were looking at is honestly terrible. And if you are looking for something that is even better, i personally would go for a vps that has about 1 GB RAM 20-50 GB Disk space, and about 1 TB BW. now where to get this VPS, im not sure. I haven't looked for a vps recently.

but i hope that helps you a bit more.

Hi,

I've been hosting my website on shared hosting with a relatively unknown web host for a few of years now. My current host has been really helpful over the time I've been there and reliability has been brilliant. I've outgrown the bandwidth on my current shared hosting plan so I've been looking at my options.

I'm fairly well versed with Linux so I decided to look at VPSs. Even with my current host there are basic VPS packages that are cheaper than my current shared hosting plan.

My current web host is based in the UK, and I'm based in Australia, so with exchange rates and what not, I can get much more for my money by finding a US-based or Australia-based web host.

For example, my current host has this VPS which would give me a chance to get set-up and going without spending a fortune:

CPU: 500MHZ (roughly, I read this earlier but cant find it on their website now)
Guaranteed RAM: 128MB
Burstable RAM: 160MB
RAID Disk Space: 10GB
Bandwidth: 150Gb

But on a US-based web host, I found this VPS:

CPU: 1000MHZ GUARANTEED
Memory: 512MB GUARANTEED
Disk Space: 20GB (RAID BASED CONFIG)
Bandwidth: 1000GB/MONTH
IP Addresses: 2 (IPv4) + IPv6
Management: BASIC MANAGED
DDOS Protection: CISCO™ GUARD


The US-based hosting is about 40% cheaper than my current hosts offer.

So my question is, which one would you go with? Would you pay more for a host that you know is reliable?

Or would you go for the cheaper host that gives you more even though you don't know for sure that they will provide as good a level of service?

I'm leaning towards staying with my current host. It makes sense to me to reward a good host by sticking with them even if it does cost a little more. But in the back of my head is this little itch saying save yourself some money!

 

[RLW]

Thanks for the responses everyone.

I'd close the thread but I can't see any option to do that???

Anyway, I decided to go with my current host. After a week, my VPS hadn't been set up yet and I'd contacted them and had no response.

So, I decided to give another host a go (one that I found advertised by a respectable member of Namepros) and things seem to be going well. My VPS is set up and I'm slowly getting sorted. I've transferred one of my websites to the new host, and everything seems to be working ok.

I ended up getting a plan that had 768MB ram, which is a good thing (as mchype14 said) - My VPS has been running at a steady 400-500 MB memory usage, so the extra couple of hundred MB gives me a little bit of leeway.

I'm watching the server load now as two daily cron jobs for my site are running and the server seems to be pumping pretty hard. I don't know if it did this on the shared host I was on because I didn't have detailed information to look at. Luckily, because of how quickly I was able to set my VPS up this doesn't bother me - I can look at upgrading again soon if I need to. If I do need to upgrade or move to another host at any time, I'm confident that I can do it with minimal disruption to my websites (or social life ) This makes me happy.

I cancelled my VPS order with my old host, and I still haven't heard anything from them. I would expect that since i never used the VPS (it was never even set up) I should get a full refund, but we'll see what happens.


Thanks again everyone for helping me make a decision, even if I did make the wrong one at first :P

 

[JohnMayers]

Cheaper doesnt always mean unreliable. I think you should give it a try. You can always move back.