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Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

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Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#21
post #11
post #7

It's been a year since I moved the last domain off of hostgator. Reason I used it so long is email/mail server. Since moving to a vps some emails don't come. Usually important ones that used domain verification.

Have you configured DKIM and SPF on your VPS's DNS?

and MX foremost!

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#22
post #12

Anecdotal: Ease of use has always been a major selling point for shared hosting, now more than ever. Not everyone wants to be a sysadmin, and John's Pizza sure as hell doesn't know what a VPS is. They just need a simple WordPress install.

> Ease of use has always been a major selling point You're right, but that doesn't mean people need shared hosting, it means people need managed hosting. Shared hosting is a gimmick model designed to make hosting companies rich based on the concept that 99% of websites will be failures. And it is _nothing more than that_.

By your own description, doesn't that make it a great model in "99%" of cases?

If you outgrow it, sure, but your odds of a small business or little WordPress blog outgrowing such a thing are quite small. Paying more might not make sense in that "99%"of websites.

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#23
I'm still using FutureQuest for my main revenue generating website, about 20 years later. I'm still extremely happy with FutureQuest, sites have been very reliable & responsive and I've only had two small downtime incidents in those 20 years. Their support still has that 'small business' feel where you know all the staff by name & they know you & your account personally.

I keep my random experiments on Dreamhost, because I can throw an idea onto the one Dreamhost account to see if it gets any traction. But I'm not happy with Dreamhost's reliability or performance, I often can't even log in. As those sites get traction, I migrate them over to their own FutureQuest account.

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#24

I wrote an article about this called Shared Hosting is Bad for Business. I pointed out that shared hosting as a business model depends on the failure of it's customers' websites. You can't run 1,000 high traffic websites on a single server, typically, but you can run 1,000 no-traffic websites on a single server. You see this in practice because basically every shared hosting provider will disable your account if your…

Don't many businesses have 'no-traffic' websites?

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#25
Yes, for a few smallish sites I’ve built for clients in the past. The reason being that they are low traffic, the client doesn’t want to spend a huge amount on hosting, and I don’t want to be first line or support for any issues they may have with the hosting or responsible for patching/security as I would be with a VPS.

I’ve been using TSOHost who are a U.K. based company who seem okay. There have been a few issues in the past but their support is prompt and helpful, the hosting reasonably flexible, the prices low, and they have coped with the traffic, so can’t conplain too much.

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#26

The real question is, on October 2017 which shared webhost can you recommend??? I am with Inmotionhosting on their business plan and that has been working fine. They support postgres in addition to mysql which is nice. Other than that nothing special, only that it works and they don't hassle me. It's not very cheap though... USD200 per year. Hosters scrapped: - Servage.com - Greengeeks.com

As mentioned in the other comment, I’ve been using Funio for years and I’ve had a good experience. My needs are very simple in this case as the site is mostly static pages with a small bit of PHP here and there. They’ve added Let’s Encrypt support recently, which is nice.

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#27
I use a shared host for some personal projects, clients, and friends.

Most people I know aren't tech-savvy and want WordPress or small no-frills HTML website and the ability to upload files through FTP. I want email forwarders and mailboxes that are easy to configure, regular database backups, no-hassle SSL certificates, and decent email support.

I've been using Pair for about 10 years and I've been happy.

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#28
Well, I can tell you that hosting WP sites on a shared host is a big pain in the ... . When a client get's hacked, everyone on the same server (or at least same IP) get's 'tested' for WP vuln. and hacked as well. I found 8 WP accounts hacked in a similar way, on a shared server, one after the other, with the server correctly configured.

Smaller (local) shared hosting companies are good because they offer quick support and are easy to setup. Larger hosts with overcrowded servers and unlimited plans are very bad. Back to your question: shared hosting is good for small sites, local sites that don't have that much traffic (<100k uniques/month), which actually most sites are. As mentioned, smaller hosting companies will notify you if you overuse the server and recommend alternatives. Larger hosts will just block you (but that's ok, you knew what you paid for when you signed up...).

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#29
post #28

Well, I can tell you that hosting WP sites on a shared host is a big pain in the ... . When a client get's hacked, everyone on the same server (or at least same IP) get's 'tested' for WP vuln. and hacked as well. I found 8 WP accounts hacked in a similar way, on a shared server, one after the other, with the server correctly configured. Smaller (local) shared hosting companies are good because they offer quick suppor…

Can you recommend some good local hosts?

Re: Ask HN: Are you still using shared hosting for anything?

#30

I use Siteground for a few wordpress installations - support is excellent and performance is reasonably good - plans are reasonably priced and haven't had any issues. That said, I don't run any intensive applications, just self-contained systems.

I would say support is excellent if you have a problem the rep already knows something about or you get someone who's interested in fixing your issue.

The problem I've just had hasn't been resolved because the rep jumped straight in with what he thought the solution might be. He obviously never read the error message that I pasted and continues not to read or listen to anything that contradicts his theory.

The fault has been marked as resolved by him 3 times now even though it isn't fixed.

This is a problem I have experienced with many well known hosting outfits.

It is why I don't recommend any shared hosts anymore because they are all competing on low price and just about acceptable customer service.

Siteground are one of the better options but the chances of having a similar issue can't be dismissed.

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