Hosting - Cheap(ish) Solutions

[5to9]

evnin all

am about to move my hosting from 1and1.co.uk - I know, I know

am looking for a cheaper solution

I need at least 2 mysql databases

cgi - perl and php free reign

ability to have 2 or more add on domains

and between 10 and 20 parked domains

and pref about 200+ mb space

has to be hosted in UK

and here is where it gets interesting, I want it for around £10 a month or less

anyone have any ideas?

I'm considering getting hosting from diyhost.co.uk

or matrixinternet.com

or possibly memset.com

if anyone has info on these hosts or can suggest a host to me I'd be much obliged

thanks

me

[XtremeMaC]

why do u want it in uk?

if u're ok with usa then choose http://www.emaxhosting.com

u probably saw the ad's on this site,

i've $5 package, and its awesome!

[Bâshrat the Sneaky]

http://www.hostagent.net/

Cheap and fast

EDIT: didn't notice the UK-restriction at first... But this one is only 3$... That's like 1£...

[5to9]

Well, I'll be hosting a uk based shop on the site for someone I know (no payments will be processed on it) and apparently there are issues with storing user info outside the EU

tis a flippin nuisance as I can't afford too much

cheers for the links though, look like they'd be awesome if I wasn't limited to the EU/UK

[XPerties]

Well, I'll be hosting a uk based shop on the site for someone I know (no payments will be processed on it) and apparently there are issues with storing user info outside the EU

tis a flippin nuisance as I can't afford too much

cheers for the links though, look like they'd be awesome if I wasn't limited to the EU/UK

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Why are you limited to the UK, if you don't mind me asking?

[XtremeMaC]

apparently there are issues with storing user info outside the EU

tis a flippin nuisance as I can't afford too much

i don't wanna be smartass but its up there, though i cannot say much if u've read it and want more details

[XPerties]

apparently there are issues with storing user info outside the EU

tis a flippin nuisance as I can't afford too much

i don't wanna be smartass but its up there, though i cannot say much if u've read it and want more details

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

Sorry I should have been more specific.

Where or who told you that you can not store clients information outside the UK? Being in the industry I have never heard of this regulation and I deal with partners who run businesses in the UK and around the area.

[neil]

Try Web Mania for £20 per year (£23.50 if you include VAT).

Thats about £1.95/month!!

From the site:

# 500MB of disk space

# 6GB of data transfer per month

# Frontpage extensions version 2002

# Unlimited POP3 mail@yourdomain.com

# Unlimited mail forwarding mail@yourdomain.com

# Webmail for POP3 accounts

# Email is filtered for Spam and Viruses

# Unlimited subdomains of your domain name

e.g. http://subdomain.yourdomain.com/

# CGI-BIN directory

# Control Panel

# Perl 5

# PHP 4

# SSI (server side includes)

# MySQL Database

# phpMyAdmin for MySQL management

# SSH access

# Full FTP access

# Detailed visitor statistics

# Close control downflow air conditioning units.

# UPS system and Generator back-up

Its only 1 MySQL database but it is an unlimited size.

In terms of domains - i have 2 pointed to my space with no problems, not sure about parking domains though - nothing about that on the site.

EDIT: forgot to mention they use LivePerson support so you can chat to someone online (like IM) instead of email or phone. But the service is good and you hardly need to use them.

[neil]

Also, you said you were moving from 1&1.

If you registered the domains through 1&1 just downgrade your account to a domain only account with no hosting and point the DNS of the domains (through the 1&1 control panel) to the new nameservers. Now 1&1 will renew your domains cheaply but webmania host your sites.

(so all you pay is the £1.99/year per co.uk domain instead of the £15+vat webmania charge for 2 years)

This saves you more than a tenner every 2 years, if you're a miserly tight bugger like me )

[neil]

Just taken a look at MatrixInternet.co.uk and ****! that's cheap.

Their 'SOLO Plus' gives the same solution as WebMania for slightly cheaper, and the 'Value Plus' option is cheaper still (£35 for 2 years) giving you 4! MySQL databases, but only gives 200mb webspace.

The multisite option is fantastic value - £39.99 per year for 3 domain and 2Gb space, but bandwidth is poor at only 5Gb/month for all 3 domains.

All solutions give domain names free with hosting (for 1 or 2 years only).

If that wasn't enough there is an 'UNLIMITED' option which gives unlimited space and 10Gb bandwidth for £29.99 per year AND you can get a 2 month FREE trial.

Where do I sign up!!!

If cheap is your goal then go for this, they seem pretty well established, but i'd be wary of a company that has only been trading for 18 months.

[5to9]

hello

cheers all for the help

I made a little bit of a mistake - I jumped first thought later

I signed up for threespires.co.uk hosting - their service was great (email responses within 15 minutes at half midnight)

their hosting cost was fine and I doubt I'd exceed their quotas

I went for the business package

problem is, I found out they charge 19.95 for domain regstration/renewal for .com AND .co.uk which is a hell of a lot more than 1and1 charge

So I looked to see if I could simply downgrade as neil said, but they say in their faqs that no accounts can be downgraded

that initially didn't look such a problem as I thought, well I'll just move my domains over to my other contrat at 1and1 which was just a domain registering one that I started yeas ago, but then I found out that 1and1 charge a renewal charge for every domain transferred internally (from one contract to the other) which, even if I cancelled a few of my domains would turn out to be £40.00

What do I do???????

I like the threespires.co.uk system and support, but I can't afford £20 a pop renewals or the £40 it'd cost to move my domains from my current business account at 1and1.co.uk to my domain account at 1and1.co.uk

do I try and place my .coms (of which I have 5, 2 I am willing to let go) on an american service that could redirect to my threespires.co.uk account and just swallow the dosh I'd have to lay out to internally transfer my .co.uks?

I DON'T KNOW

HELP

Oh, and

Where or who told you that you can not store clients information outside the UK? Being in the industry I have never heard of this regulation and I deal with partners who run businesses in the UK and around the area.

My brother just did a site for an english company and apparently, due to something in the privacy act thingie, info has to stay in the uk or you have to get customers to sign it out or something?

I don't know, but it aint simple and I'd like to play it safe with this one.

IF ANYONE KNOWS OF A WAY TO GET ROUND MY PROBLEMS, PLEASE LET ME KNOW

[neil]

you could let the terms run out on each of your domains and not renew them.

This then free's you to add them back to your 1&1 Domain Registering account without the transfer fees, as they were 'expired'.

You run the risk of someone else snatching the domain name though, and i'm unsure of the length of time it takes for the domain to be unregistered.

[XPerties]

you could let the terms run out on each of your domains and not renew them.

This then free's you to add them back to your 1&1 Domain Registering account without the transfer fees, as they were 'expired'.

You run the risk of someone else snatching the domain name though, and i'm unsure of the length of time it takes for the domain to be unregistered.

<{POST_SNAPBACK}>

That depends if 1&1 doesn't auto renew the domain. Some domain registrar will auto renew the domain and if you don't pay it they keep the domain for a year.

If they don't renew it the normal length of time form when it available to be re-registered is usually 60-90 days.

[neil]

Following on from my last post and after reading through 1&1's FAQ and troubleshooter, I found this -

If a domain is hosted with us and is held on our registry then when period of registration is about to expire we will automatically renew the domain on your behalf, unless you expressly tell us not to.

So far so good, you can tell them to get stuffed and they will, but...

However, if the domain or the package has been cancelled from our system then we will not renew the domain.

Bugger. This seems to say you can't let the domain expire and re-register with 1&1 if they held your domains previously.

Also there is a 30 day 'redemption' period after expiration, before the domain is up for grabs by everyone again. so XPerties is correct, however you CAN pay $80 to get out of this and renew the domain (but would you want to?)

So the only way to get the same domains back onto 1&1 would be the transfer method between your accounts.

After re-reading my above post, I realised that my suggestion would be exactly the same as transfering the domains across to another account anyway - you have to renew each domain again for 1-2 years before they expire, which would be £1.99 or £8.89 per domain - the price for transfering each domain.

Oh, and you say you're a business but can't afford to spare £40!! That's one bad profit margin you must have!

You're no better off, by letting them expire - go for the transferal - the registrations will be renewed for 1 year as if you had registered for the first time and the costs will be the same regardless.

A final option is to transfer the domains to a trusted contact who has a 1&1 account (me for example ) They can then transfer the domains back again to your account in the same process later on.

I'm unsure if there is a cost by doing it this way, and if so, who pays?

[XPerties]

It would make more sense to simply transfer the domain to another registrar.

For example namecheap.com does transfers (I think) for $8.88.

We ( http://www.emaxhosting.com ) only charge $8.95 for a transfer and as godaddy, namecheap, enom, we allow you to have full control over it and have no stipulations.

That's only a suggestion if you wanted out of 1&1 which from my past experiences with other clients/people they hate being under 1&1.

Either way Neil has given some great advice and given you a lot of suggestions. wish you luck in your search for a solution.