Hosting: How Much Is Enough?

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Since several of us are so cyber-savvy, I seek your superior skills to save me some stress. I want to get a website going. I think I found a good deal on hosting but what intimidates me is all the talk of PHP, SQL and those other three-letter words. If it's just a simple site, how much of that do I need to know? And if I'm putting up about 30 MB a week of stuff for people to download, how much data transfer would be enough to safely accommodate that? The plan I'm looking into gives me 25 GB (and 500 MB of disk space) for $3.95 a month. I'm terrified of this new uncharted territory!

Hm. That sounds like a good deal... almost too good.

Who's it through? I ask because I'm a bit suspicious; it'd seem like there has to be some sort of catch at that price...

Oh, and the obligatory recommendation: I've been using JaguarPC since 2002, and their service has been wonderful. They generally respond within an hour to any downtime or other server issues that occur, from what I've found. And the $10/month price is quite reasonable, considering what all you get!

Hi ZedSimon

This is something I have been researching lately, as computing is my current obsession...

The deal you are considering sounds like a good one on the surface, but I would echo codeman38's warning - to some extent you get what you pay for.

Who is it with? You could do with googling for feedback about this host before signing up. Look for hidden charges, and be wary of hosts with comments suggesting poor customer service/support.

As regards PHP/SQL, this is irrelevant to you if you are planning a simple HTML based site, unless you intend building something which requires a database.

My recommended host would be a small Singapore/Malaysia based hosting company, Fornix - http://www.fornix-net.com/features.html - their packages are full of features and very cheap compared to similar US based offerings, and customer support should you need it is friendly and helpful. Their servers appear to be fast and reliable.

Dunc

OK, here's the plan. It's with GoDaddy, partly out of convenience since I register a domain through them already. But money is an object right now and GoDaddy's got the right numbers.

Heh, I remember I felt that way too - way back in time.

I use GoDaddy to register and manage all my personal domains, although I can't speak whether their hosting service is worth it or not.

I have been with several hosting companies across the years, and the only one I have been 100% satisfied with to this day has been Dreamhost (three years and counting). I'm using their top-of-the-line service, but they have this "Crazy Domain Insane" plan for 7.95 / mo that should fill your bill. Best bang for your buck around, if you ask me.

Yeah... I use GoDaddy for my domain registration, though I can't say anything about their hosting service, seeing as I've never used it (and they didn't even offer it when I registered my domain, heh).