I'm surveying web hosting, any recommendations?

JockVSJock

Greetings, I'm looking at getting some hosting setup so they can host pictures I've taken either in Coppermine or some other web-based picture software. Free Flickr isn't cutting it for me.

This is the first time I've have ever done this and so I'm not sure what type of questions to ask or what type of possible hidden fees to look for. Basically, I'm looking for the gotchas! I did a search on this forum and found a few hits so will go back and read those.

The top two that I'm looking at right are are the following:

Web site hosting, business website hosting and free domain names

iPage | Web Hosting, Unix Hosting, E-Mail, Web Design

Has anyone ever dealt with either company?

Also does it matter that I don't physically live near the hosting company?

thanks

echo465

For photo hosting, I use smugmug. They seem pretty fanatical about it, which is good. They're not free, but they're not expensive either - $40, $60, or $150 a year depending on the features you need.

Referral link, saves you $5 - https://secure.smugmug.com/signup.mg?Coupon=X9MDckOhIqixc

alxx

dreamhost.com I've been using them since 2005 (shared account)

unlimited storage and unlimited bandwidth
but wait for a special as then you can get your first year for $9.95 (for the whole year)

currently have 23 gigs hosted with them and use about 4.5GB bandwidth a month

Where you live doesn't matter.
I live Australia and mostly use US hosting companies.

you need to compare features
DreamHost Compare Our Products, Web Hosting Features, Shared Web Hosting, Virtual Private Server, Dedicated Servers, Unlimited Bandwidth, Free Domain Registration, Unlimited Domains, Tech SupportDreamHost

Then what os - linux or windows

ImTheKing

I'm inclined to avoid companies that offer "unlimited" hosting. While there's plenty of reputable companies that offer it, if you read the ToS or AUP, there's generally all sorts of restrictions on what you can host and how many files you're allowed to have. Unfortunately, that doesn't leave a whole lot of options.

Personally, I'd much rather buy a VPS for $10-20, get a considerable amount of data/bandwidth, install Lighttpd or Apache, and just host it myself.

If that doesn't interest you, I've always liked HawkHost or HostGator if you're looking for US based hosting.