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We have a small business that needs a webhosting solution. We will probably be able to support the following:

  1. Login to set up a shopping cart software (Magento most likely).
  2. Unlimited bandwidth
  3. Fairly large storage capacity.
  4. Fairly cheap. ($30/mo would be expensive under $20 would be preferred)

I am assuming that domain registration and email accounts are a given in all of these solutions.

I've already looked at http://www.magentocommerce.com, http://www.fatcow.com. I'm going to pass on GoDaddy previous experience suggests that management of sites and domains hosted by them is a monumental pain.

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There's no such thing as "unlimited bandwidth" at any price (bandwidth costs website providers money). There are dishonest providers that promise unlimited but will either close your account or slow you down so badly that technically you have "unlimited" bandwidth but in practice your website becomes unusable to your visitors. – Krzysztof Kowalczyk Dec 30 '11 at 2:15
Why so cheap? You get what you pay for. If you really want to go cheap, use Volusion or Big Commerce as you don't have to pay for development time or lost development time which Magento is. – zipstory.com Dec 30 '11 at 5:26
@KrzysztofKowalczyk When the site generates this much traffic that it needs it's own dedicated T3 or better I am sure that we will be able to pay for Rackspace dedicated server and not worry about it. – Karlson Dec 30 '11 at 16:02
@kitgui.com Development time is my personal time which has already been spent. I don't see paying these guys for what they are offering. – Karlson Dec 30 '11 at 16:13

6 Answers

up vote 1 down vote accepted

I would look at http://www.1and1.com. They are pretty fine, as long as you don't need support (I never needed it).

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Most hosting providers are pretty fine as long as you don't need support :) That's the big catch. – user9982 Dec 29 '11 at 18:19
:-) thats actually true.In germany there is a small hoster called bytecamp.net, they have a great support. – Christian Dec 29 '11 at 18:28
up vote 1 down vote

http://www.hostgator.com/shared.shtml I've had good experience with them in the past. They also have tons of coupons if you Google for them. I got my first month for just a cent.

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up vote 1 down vote

Have you looked at Bluehost.com link? It's incredibly cheap ($3.95/month) and we've had good success with it running several blogs, and WP based sites on it. I'm pretty sure they support Magento. Depending on your longterm goals, it may just be an option, but it's one worth checking out.

If you do go down that path: http://www.bluehost.com/track/gavinbaker (it's my affilate link).

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up vote 0 down vote

Cheap web hosting (~$5/mo) is basically a commodity these days, and there are dozens of services that will fit your needs. However, most of these companies keep their prices down by skimping on services.

When I first got started with web hosting, I signed up for a super cheap package with Just Host (don't use them) that worked fine for a few weeks. But when I had a simple request (wanted to change apache configuration so URLs wouldn't need ".php" extensions) it took them almost a week to respond, and then another few days to actually make the change.

If you're going to build a business around a website, you need much higher quality service than that. You can probably imagine how frustrating it would be to wait a week for a response if your server crashes or needs some kind of critical maintenance. Dismal service means lost customers and revenue.

As I said, the actual server hardware is basically a commodity. What you want to shop around for is the service that backs it all up. You want a number that you can call 24/7/365, in case something breaks in the middle of the night on Christmas. You want people who are geeky and highly knowledgeable about their equipment, so they know how to help.

For that, the only company I'd recommend is Rackspace. I've been blown away by their friendly, helpful support staff multiple times, and have moved all of my sites to their servers.

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I know about Rackspace and if we were further along I'd consider it but eCommerce site at $149/mo is a bit much. The availability of the cloud technology is nice but not something I would consider doing upfront for us. – Karlson Dec 29 '11 at 22:17
up vote 0 down vote

Have you decided on the website developer and basic design? Suggest you first decide on the content of your website, a vendor and other design issues. There are many hosting companies which will fit your need.

Once you decide on the vendor, seek their opinion as well.

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Yes and yes. The content is already determined. – Karlson Dec 30 '11 at 2:33
up vote 0 down vote
  1. Plenty of space and bandwidth to handle your websites: Unlimited Space / Unlimited Data Transfer
  2. Host up to 6 Domains.
  3. One FREE domain registration for life.
  4. 24/7 world-class qualified and experienced support:Technical support staff with years of in-depth hosting experience!
  5. cPanel Control Panel - Unlimited email, databases and subdomains. 6.99.9% uptime and 60 day money back guarantee.
  6. Fully adheres to all Magento hosting system requirements

for $4.00/Month if you payed for 2 years.

Arvixe Magento offer

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