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You are here: Home / WordPress / Cheap Web Hosting That Doesn’t Suck

Cheap Web Hosting That Doesn’t Suck

By Alysson

Finding cheap web hosting that doesn’t suck is sometimes easier said than done. When I launched my first blog, I had no idea where to begin. I did some Google searches, I asked some blogger pals, and I checked out the hosts that WordPress recommended. In the end, I pinned the proverbial tail on my virtual donkey, going on about my business hoping I’d made a relatively decent choice. Since then, I’ve been thrilled with the shared web hosting provided by midPhase.

Affordable Web Hosting For Bloggers

CC 2.0 BY - www.flickr.com/photos/jamisonjudd

CC 2.0 BY - jamisonjudd

I was on a quest to find affordable web hosting for bloggers, and I certainly believe I found it. I have been a happy midPhase customer for about a year and a half now. Because of how pleased I’ve been with them and in the spirit of full disclosure, I’d like to point out that midPhase also offers hosting services through ANHosting, IK2.net, VPS.net, and WestHost.com and I am part of their affiliate program.

I’m not a corporate shill and I won’t recommend a product or service I know nothing about. I don’t become an affiliate for just any company that offers an affiliate program. When a company provides me with exemplary service, I believe I have an obligation to share that experience with others. Becoming an affiliate is a great way to do that.

I have been very happy with the level of service provided by midPhase. They’ve given me a very reliable and unusually affordable web hosting solution. I host several domains and have developed several separate web properties using each of my two accounts. The tools provided by midPhase, which I can only assume are similar to the tools they provide through their other web hosting properties, make taking complete control over your online presence a breeze.

Controlling DNS settings, setting up e-mail accounts, creating databases, managing FTP accounts and much, much more can all be done using the cPanel access provided by midPhase. If you don’t know what cPanel is, well…you don’t know how much time and frustration you will save by having one. Before settling on any web host, make sure they provide a cPanel.

Knowing What To Look For From A Cheap Web Host

When I set out on my quest to find a cheap web host, I had no idea what to look for. What I did know was that I was ready to walk away from the nightmare that is the GoDaddy website and never host with them again. No offense, GoDaddy…just not a fan of your website or tools, but plenty of other people like ’em just fine. No need for you to worry. My goal from the start was to find cheap web hosting that doesn’t suck.

I was starting a new blog, so I knew I needed a host that supported WordPress – but I didn’t want to be stuck with only WordPress. I wanted a flexible, functional AND cheap web host – was I asking way too much? After my experience with midPhase, I’d have to say, “no”. It seems that a flexible, functional AND cheap web host is exactly what I found.

I asked around and ended up with a laundry list of features to check for when looking at different hosts. I didn’t really understand some of the “techie-type” recommendations then. Those making the recommendations were far more experienced bloggers than I and before I knew it, the checklist had grown to include several very specific requirements. Accepting their advice gratefully, I made sure to add cPanel and Fantastico to the “must include” checklist – both of which were mentioned time & time again.

Major things to take into consideration include:

    Storage Space
    Bandwidth
    MySQL Databases Allowed
    How Many Domains Can Be Hosted
    Subdomains
    cPanel Access – midPhase cPanel demo (username: cpdemo and password: cpaneldemo)
    Fantastico
    PHP Support
    WordPress Support
    Ruby on Rails Support

Affordable Web Host With Lots of Features

midPhase is an affordable web host that doesn’t sacrifice in the service or support departments. I have had very few issues over the past year an a half. I can recall on one occasion I was unable to access my database, but resolving the issue required nothing more than an e-mail to their customer service department and was completely resolved in a matter of minutes.

With plans starting at less than $3 a month, I’d challenge you to find a less expensive web hosting solution that provides what midPhase provides. Their middle of the road Linux hosting solution, “Unlimited” – which is what I use, is available for as little as $3.48 per month. midPhase is also currently offering a special on their “Business” hosting package for just $2.24 a month – that price was available as of August 19th, 2009 and may change at any time…so hurry! Seriously, that’s an awesome deal. I’m thinking about setting up a third account even though I don’t really need it at this point. I’m sure I’d put it to use for something, right?

I bet you’re wondering what, specifically, is included with midPhase hosting accounts, well…here are a few of the highlights of the “Unlimited” and “Business” plans:

    Web Space: Unlimited
    Bandwidth: Unlimited
    Number of Websites: Unlimited
    MySQL Databases: Unlimited
    Includes:
    PHP5
    Ruby on Rails
    WordPress Support
    Fantastico
    Subdomains
    SSH Access
    SSL Secure Website Access, and much more!

Here’s a run down of the three shared hosting options offered by midPhase, as well as a detailed comparison of features and services:

Web Hosting Features
*Image source: midPhase information page at < http://www.midphase.com/web-hosting/linux-hosting.php >; prices are accurate as of August 19th, 2009 but may change at any time and without warning.

cheap web hosting

I have two midPhase hosting accounts, both of which offer the ability to host an unlimited number of domains, create an unlimited number of MySQL databases and offers unlimited storage and bandwidth. It is the best shared web hosting value I have come across to date. The cPanel alone – yes, there’s that odd word again – is an invaluable tool for controlling everything from your DNS administration to e-mail accounts to creating & maintaining MySQL databases.

The cPanel even has a built in code & text editors that allow changes to be made to files – like .htaccess, robots.txt, etc. – directly on the server, rather than having to download the files, make the necessary changes and then upload them again. You may not appreciate what that means at the moment, but if you spend much time maintaining your own blog or site you will soon enough. If someone else handles all that “technical” stuff for you, they should know what that means and will be grateful that you’ve taken those details into consideration in making your hosting decisions.

Feel free to leave comments and share your own hosting stories and experiences!

cheap web hosting

Filed Under: WordPress Tagged With: affordable web host, affordable web hosting, cheap web host, cheap web hosting

About Alysson

I'm Alysson (a.k.a. "SEOAly") and I've been an active part of the search marketing industry since 2006. I offer affordable small business website design and search engine optimization services. I'm also a contributing author for several industry publications, including: Search Engine Journal, Search Engine People, Viral Conversations and Directory Journal.

Comments

  1. Dan Waldron says

    August 19, 2009 at 17:16

    I found your blog on google and read a few of your other posts. I just added you to my Google News Reader. Keep up the good work. Look forward to reading more from you in the future.

    • Alysson says

      August 23, 2009 at 13:37

      Hey, Dan. Thanks for stopping by and taking the time to comment. I’m glad you enjoyed what you’ve read thus far. I’ll do my best to avoid disappointing you in the future. :)

  2. William%9Zimmer says

    September 23, 2009 at 15:02

    Wow, this is great stuff and I’m glad I ran across your blog. Keep it coming!

  3. chipset says

    February 11, 2010 at 23:22

    hi, nice website and nice posting thx for your information

    thx

  4. Rellek says

    February 20, 2010 at 00:53

    I wonder if any hosting account is truly unlimited in the amount of bandwidth and data that they can store and send.
    .-= Rellek´s last blog ..Unlimited Web Hosting? =-.

    • Alysson says

      February 20, 2010 at 00:56

      There’s no way to know for sure, but provided I never get an error uploading files and my site is never inaccessible due to bandwidth limitations, that’s good enough for me!
      .-= Alysson´s last blog ..Best Buy’s Reputation Management Nightmare =-.

  5. kamarul says

    March 25, 2010 at 04:58

    Hello,
    Nice post about web hosting. Thanks for sharing and it is worth my time to read it! The article that i’m looking for to improve response for my reseller hosting.

  6. ucuz hosting says

    March 26, 2010 at 23:25

    the cheapest web hosting. 10 dollars / year.

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About Alysson

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