Hacker News Board Hacker News, browsed like a classic message board
Live data from Hacker News

Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

news.ycombinator.com

Post reply on HN
Print view View original

11–20 of 20 posts

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#11

Post by abyssknight »

abyssknight wrote: post #2

I'd check out the searchyc.com engine for answers, but off the top of my head: * SliceHost/Rackspace Cloud * Linode * EC2 (carefully) * Web Faction

Sidenote: Linode will do 32bit images, which so far, has been proven to lower the memory needs of some processes. SliceHost/Rackspace Cloud only run 64bit images, AFAIK, unless this has been resolved since I last checked. You also get 512mb at Linode vs 256mb at SliceHost for the same cost.

Learning curve is steep, I'll agree, but totally worth the investment in learning. When it gets to be a pain, hopefully your business model allows for you to hire someone to handle day to day operations. :)

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#12

Post by haploid »

taylorbuley wrote: post #7
dutchrapley wrote: post #6

Earlier quoted context omitted.

+1 Web Faction - starts you off with shared hosting with some dedicated memory for your application. You can add more as needed, for a small fee. +1 Linode - Best bang for your buck for a VPS loaded with features and reliability.

Agreed on Linode. Good people, good technology. One might also consider PHPFog or Orchestra.io, which are "Herokus for PHP"

Yes, and phpfog has the added bonus of being very secure. Those guys eat, sleep, and drink security. Your code/data/site is safe with them.

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#13

Post by T2P »

gm wrote: post #3

If your performance is bad on shared hosting while in development, your problem is probably not your host. Look at your code a second time.

Shared hosting just isn't reliable. It could be his code, but if the slow performance times aren't constant, it's probably the host. You're sharing a web server, database, email, and etc with at least 50 other people (these days, you're lucky if it's just that) and it's all on the same computer. Each scripting language as many ./configure options enabled as they can, so it will fit the needs of the masses.

I'm not sure if you're attached to the ease of use of shared hosting, but it is advantageous to get a VPS and compile everything with just the options you need. I'm a happy liode customer, and many others here are as well.

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#15

Post by bmelton »

T2P wrote: post #13
gm wrote: post #3

If your performance is bad on shared hosting while in development, your problem is probably not your host. Look at your code a second time.

Shared hosting just isn't reliable. It could be his code, but if the slow performance times aren't constant, it's probably the host. You're sharing a web server, database, email, and etc with at least 50 other people (these days, you're lucky if it's just that) and it's all on the same computer. Each scripting language as many ./configure options enabled as they can, so it will fit the needs of the masses. I'm not su…

While I don't disagree with the premise that shared hosting isn't reliable, your assertion that "if the slow performance times aren't constant, it's probably the host" is incorrect.

Further, there are a VERY wide range of shared hosts, from very reliable, to very unreliable, to variable or unreliable depending on which machine/region/network your account is attached to.

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#16

Post by T2P »

bmelton wrote: post #15
T2P wrote: post #13

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Shared hosting just isn't reliable. It could be his code, but if the slow performance times aren't constant, it's probably the host. You're sharing a web server, database, email, and etc with at least 50 other people (these days, you're lucky if it's just that) and it's all on the same computer. Each scripting language as many ./configure options enabled as they can, so it will fit the needs of the masses. I'm not su…

While I don't disagree with the premise that shared hosting isn't reliable, your assertion that "if the slow performance times aren't constant, it's probably the host" is incorrect. Further, there are a VERY wide range of shared hosts, from very reliable, to very unreliable, to variable or unreliable depending on which machine/region/network your account is attached to.

Oh yeah, I've seen some great shared hosts (medialayer, mediatemple, come to mind). Realistically though, most of them do suck pretty bad.

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#17

Post by volandovengo »

T2P wrote: post #16
bmelton wrote: post #15

Earlier quoted context omitted.

While I don't disagree with the premise that shared hosting isn't reliable, your assertion that "if the slow performance times aren't constant, it's probably the host" is incorrect. Further, there are a VERY wide range of shared hosts, from very reliable, to very unreliable, to variable or unreliable depending on which machine/region/network your account is attached to.

Oh yeah, I've seen some great shared hosts (medialayer, mediatemple, come to mind). Realistically though, most of them do suck pretty bad.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Hmm... I been finding it hard to find any hosts, which across the board have raving reviews. I have been finding that a search for any hoster + sucks yields plenty of results.

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#18

Post by volandovengo »

abyssknight wrote: post #10
volandovengo wrote: post #9

Took a look at Linode since it seems to be so highly recommended. Looks like it will be a significant learning curve since I will need to install everything myself (LAMP stack, svn, etc). Is there any way to do a 1 click installation? Thanks again for the help.

Capistrano and Deprec can help with this stuff. Should come up in a quick Google search. It does use Ruby, but you can use it with PHP and anything else you want to. Deprec has recipes for setting up the entire LAMP stack.

Thanks for the tip, I will check them out. Stackscripts look like they can significantly reduce the pain of setting up a box.

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#19

Post by volandovengo »

kirchhoff wrote: post #14

I use ICDsoft for my site (MapCrunch), and can strongly recommend them. They are a shared host but I've not experienced any problems, even during traffic spikes (>25k visitors). Their support is also incredible and responds to queries within minutes.

Thanks for sharing your recommendation. I'm impressed that a shared host can handle spikes of >25k visitors!

Re: Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

#20

Post by mediatemple »

volandovengo wrote: post #17
T2P wrote: post #16

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Oh yeah, I've seen some great shared hosts (medialayer, mediatemple, come to mind). Realistically though, most of them do suck pretty bad.

Thanks for sharing your thoughts. Hmm... I been finding it hard to find any hosts, which across the board have raving reviews. I have been finding that a search for any hoster + sucks yields plenty of results.

As with any company, personal experiences will vary. You are likely to read many reviews that are both praising and criticizing services. If you have any specific questions about your needs and preferred features from a host, it's best to contact them and ask. As far as (mt) Media Temple goes, you can check out http://mediatemple.net for detailed info about our hosting products and services. If you have any questions for us, you can call or Tweet us (@mediatemple) any time. We are here 24/7. Good luck with your hosting search!
Post reply on HN