Best Hosting for a small software site

davehartley83 · 4th August 2005

I'm looking to start up a website to sell some software I have written.

I can do all the design and coding myself, what I really need to get a host that is reliable and cheap (maybe i'm being a bit hopeful here!)

I would like mySQL + php support, I currently have a website with streamlinenet which is fine for my personal site, but the servers are too unreliable for anything serious.

What do you recommend for a good host, reasonable pricing and some extra fatures (php + mysql)

thanks

Dave

jswf · 4th August 2005

Just a few quick questions...

Do you know how much diskspace and transfer you need?
Also, will you be needing additional features like an SSL cert for secure transactions?
Do you prefer a unix or windows environment?
Any preference for control panel?
And UK or US based, or does it not matter?

davehartley83 · 4th August 2005

I am planning to use a 3rd party to manage the payments - www.PayLoadz.com which will also store my downloads so I wont be using my bandwidth on it.

although I'll take a hit in profits, I'm kind of just testing the water now to see if my stuff will float or sink. If things work out well then I will probably look for more expensive hosting that deal with payments.

Control panel would be good but not essential.
uk or us - doesnt matter really.
windows or unix, well I've had expereince with php & mysql so I think Unix will be best (as I believe it's mainly hosted on unix servers)

jswf · 4th August 2005

Dave
Feel free to take a look around http://www.jswf.co.uk/unixshared.html and see if anything there takes your fancy. We give our clients a cPanel control panel, on Unix servers hosted stateside.

If you have any questions - drop me a line : windsor@jswf.co.uk

Paul-UKWSD · 4th August 2005

Hi Dave,

We have a range of packages that support mysql and PHP as standard, our plans start at only£20.99 +VAT per year.

Here are the specs of the web server your account would be hosted on:

:: Dual Intel Xeon 3.06GHZ CPU's
:: 2GB DDR Memory (ECC Registered)
:: 2 x SATA HDD (Hot-Swap Drives - RAID1)
:: 3Ware Hardware RAID Controller
:: 24/7 Server Monitoring

Full package details can be found on our website:
http://ukwebsolutionsdirect.co.uk/hosting.php

If you are interested please feel free to email us any questions you may have to sales@ukwsd.com

richardys · 4th August 2005

Below is a selection of the packages we do.

PERSONAL
Helm Control Panel
500 MB Data transfer per month.
100 MB Web space
1 Full Domain
1 Sub domains
1 Domain aliases
1 Statistics Installations
1 Password Protected Directories
5 POP3 email accounts
5 Auto responders
5 Email forwards
5 Multi recipient addresses
Spam Protection (Spamcop & Spamhaus)
Optional MySQL database
Access databases allowed
1 ODBC DSN
£2.99 monthly
http://www.1uhosting.co.uk/sharedhosting.asp

SMB
Helm Control Panel
750 MB Data transfer per month.
300 MB Web space
1 Full Domain
1 Sub domains
1 Domain aliases
1 Statistics Installations
1 Password Protected Directories
25 POP3 email accounts
25 Auto responders
25 Email forwards
25 Multi recipient addresses
Spam Protection (Spamcop & Spamhaus)
Optional MySQL database
Access databases allowed
1 ODBC DSN
£4.99 monthly
http://www.1uhosting.co.uk/sharedhosting.asp

BUSINESS 1
Helm Control Panel
1 GB Data transfer per month.
500 MB Web space
2 Full Domain
2 Sub domains
2 Domain aliases
2 Statistics Installations
2 Password Protected Directories
50 POP3 email accounts
50 Auto responders
50 Email forwards
50 Multi recipient addresses
Spam Protection (Spamcop & Spamhaus)
1 MySQL database
Access databases allowed
2 ODBC DSN
£9.99 monthly
http://www.1uhosting.co.uk/sharedhosting.asp

BUSINESS 2
Helm Control Panel
5 GB Data transfer per month.
750 MB Web space
5 Full domains
5 Sub domains
5 Domain aliases
5 Statistics Installations
5 Password Protected Directories
75 POP3 email accounts
75 Auto responders
75 Email forwards
75 Multi recipient addresses
Spam Protection (Spamcop & Spamhaus)
2 MySQL databases
Access databases allowed
5 ODBC DSN
£14.99 monthly
http://www.1uhosting.co.uk/sharedhosting.asp

BUSINESS 3
Helm Control Panel
10 GB Data transfer per month.
1 GB Web space
10 Full domains
10 Sub domains
10 Domain aliases
10 Statistics Installations
10 Password Protected Directories
100 POP3 email accounts
100 Auto responders
100 Email forwards
100 Multi recipient addresses
Spam Protection (Spamcop & Spamhaus)
3 MySQL database
Access databases allowed
10 ODBC DSN
£19.99 monthly
http://www.1uhosting.co.uk/sharedhosting.asp

aguk · 4th August 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by davehartley83

uk or us - doesnt matter really

What target audience is it for US or UK?

If you are using a non UK domain such as product.com then you are not going to appear in the likes of Google UK with a US based account.

What is the software you want to sell?
Are there any existing distributor outlets?

You may find it cheaper to look for a software distribution company who already has the required users for your market and look to distribute through them.

davehartley83 · 4th August 2005

cheers guys.

My main audience will probably be the UK - I've got some custom applications I've done and there doesnt seem to be much or anything similar so I want to host it on my site - but I will also have a look out for any distributors that sell similar stuff.

Would I be best then registering a .com or .co.uk domain?

Also roughly how long does it take for a submitted site to be indexed by google. I'm aiming to be visible on google around November time

aguk · 4th August 2005

Google - Can take a few hours to a few weeks.

I'd register both (if not the .net and .org as well) to ensure brand protection.

AdamC · 4th August 2005

http://www.atechhost.com/packages/?page=web - reliable and secure hosting...

As Andy says - get as many domains as u can - you don't want someone stealing one when your software become famous

richardys · 4th August 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by aTech

http://www.atechhost.com/packages/?page=web

aTech, you may want to add your postal address to your website.
http://www.hmso.gov.uk/si/si2000/20002334.htm

othellotech · 4th August 2005

Quote:

Originally Posted by davehartley83

Would I be best then registering a .com or .co.uk domain?

Both, for the very small cost involved it's not worth leaving the domains unregistered.

Quote:

Originally Posted by davehartley83

Also roughly how long does it take for a submitted site to be indexed by google. I'm aiming to be visible on google around November time

From 12 weeks to never

There are way too many factors to even guess ...

If you're looking for high-availabillity, reasonable cost UK based hosting on UK servers with CPanel take a look at http://www.beyondperception.net/webhostingplans.php

davehartley83 · 4th August 2005

ok guys thanks for all your useful suggestions. I'll have a look at all your plans and see if they are suitable.

now I've just got to think of a domain name to get....

adamsmith · 4th August 2005

www.registron.co.uk

SynergyWorks · 4th August 2005

A late entry I know, but here goes:

See a list of our shared hosting plans below. If you require a custom package
please feel free to contact us.