The hosting business is a buyer’s market. There simply are hundreds of web hosting outfits jockeying out there to get our money, right? We could be wrong. What appears to be diverse webhost companies may actually be agents or affiliates of a reseller. Resellers companies may also be leasing servers from datacenters.

A hosting reseller program is usually a business proposition. They allow us to have our very own web hosting business with the back-end management and customer support done by the resellers themselves. But let’s look at it from another point-of-view, that of webmasters and web entrepreneurs planning to develop more than a handful of blogs.

For a blog or 2, a shared web host is often enough, but once the development bug has bitten us, it’s difficult to stop on 2 domains. A lot of ideas start popping up and soon we have more than a dozen domains in our portfolio. It’s one reason why experienced webmasters go for resellers. We thought resellers are expensive, we thought resellers are only for elite webmasters. We took a closer look and found out we thought wrong.

Consider Reseller Panel, one of the mammoth reseller companies servicing hundreds of affiliates. These guys doesn’t bother with shared web hosting. They only offer resellers, VPS, and dedicated servers as part of their reseller program. Their cheapest Cpanel reseller plan is $25.00 per month. It comes with 30 gigabytes of disk space and 300 gigabytes of bandwith with a dedicated IP address and free domain reseller account.

Cheap shared hosting usually costs around $3.00 for 5 gigabyte of space (overselling) but, like we said in this post, it’s not the space or bandwidth that matters in this kind of account but the CPU resources. With a lot of hosting accounts squeezed tight into one server, we don’t really expect to be given a fair share of that CPU resources. Comparing it with Reseller Panel’s prices, their 30 GB account will cost $18 in shared web hosting terms, a difference of $7.00.

There are even more affordable packages than what Reseller Panel offers. The little gem RMO is currently hosted on costs $5.00 per month. The downside? Support is through ticket only to keep costs down. New webmasters may prefer the live or chat support of more expensive resellers.

We believe reseller web hosting gives us a bigger bang for our buck, aside from the oppurtunity to sell extra space to interested parties.

ReapMoneyOnline’s past server issues have forced us to take a closer look at webhosts and web hosting. We did research on the popular web hosting companies for nearly 2 weeks and came out better informed. Web hosting companies usually offer the following packages: shared web hosting, reseller web hosting, Virtual Private Server (VPS), and stand alone servers (managed or unmanaged).

1. Shared Web Hosting.

Shared web hosting is the entry level kind of hosting. Overselling is the norm among popular web hosts, they sell space and bandwidth their servers cannot sustain. This is where we see promos like unlimited space and bandwidth.

We found out that it is not the space or bandwidth that matters but CPU resources. Once our sites or blogs start putting “loads” on the servers (meaning the CPU), which normally happens when traffic starts to pick-up, we will be required to upgrade to a “better” and more costly account. This can happen even if we only consume a quarter of that huge space and bandwidth.

Of course, there are web hosts that do not oversell. Consequently, they are more expensive as they try to limit the users within a server. Expect to pay upwards of $20.00 per month and the space and bandwidth are not unlimited even at that price.

Before committing to a shared web hosting account, we can inquire on the percentage of CPU resources we are allowed to use.

RMO’s take on it…

We started on the cheapest shared web hosting we could find too.  Download frequent back-ups of both our databases and website files because sooner or later, we will hit that limit on CPU resources and, poof! we will be locked out of our Cpanel.

2. Reseller Hosting.

Resellers are so called because we can retail the space and bandwidth we have leased to others. Sort of like a web hosting company. A lot of web hosts we believed to be independent companies are actually resellers of large hosting corporations.

Resellers are popular with experienced webmasters because they offer more resources than shared hosting dollar for dollar and most come with the familiar Cpanel. Reseller accounts usually starts at $25.00 per month and we don’t need to share or sell them to others. Surprisingly, some reseller packages starts at $5.00.

RMO’s take on it…

We are currently on a starter reseller hosting. Period.

3. Virtual Private Server.

Virtual servers are independent and non-physical servers units within a physical server hardware (do that make sense?). One of our friends hates the Matrix trilogy because she can’t connect the virtual and real world in the movies. A VPS is sort of like that, we tried it and got confused too (Ours came with WebMin, Plesk might be different).

It’s like having our own server. Total control but a lot of work and responsibility. Virtual Private Servers usually cost $25 and up per month although some basic packages are available for $10.00.

RMO’s take on it…

A VPS is too fancy and complicated for simple webtrepreneurs like us. We wan tto develop sites and try to make money online, not tinker around with a server.

4. Real Servers.

The real McCoy. A server hardware dedicated to our needs. Most hosting companies offer both managed and unmanaged servers. Managed server means they run the server and we run our business. Unmanaged means we run our business and the server runs us. We’ve seen prices starting at $175.00 per month for managed but premium servers usually starts at $300.00.

RMO’s take on it…

Managed servers, here we come!

In the end, we should choose a web host depending on our present needs and with an eye for future developments. The less hassle we have upgrading our accounts, the better.

First things first, domain names are not transfered to a web host, they are “pointed.” The domain names stay with the registrar. We still control them from our admin panels there.

Pointing a domain name to our web host to use it for a website requires 2 general steps: (1) Change Domain Name Servers (DNS) at the domain registrar admin panel and (2) add the domain in the web host admin panel.

1. Change the Domain Name Servers.

We can get our Domain Name Servers from our web host. If they are not indicated in our admin panel, we may need to contact support. Large hosting companies usually have different domain name servers for each of their servers. They usually have “ns1” and “ns2” before a domain, like “ns1.myhost.com.”

Different domain registrars usually have different admin panels but they operate on the same basic principles. The following guide is similar to popular admin panels.

• Log-in to the domain registrar admin panel (in some registrars we need to go to “My Account”). 
• Go to list of our domains.
• On the right side of the list or the top menu, there is a list of Services, go to “Domain Name” and “Manage.” 
• There are several settings under this heading. We want “Modify NameServers.”
• change domain name servers.

 Now we have to wait for 24-48 hours for the domain to propagate before adding it to our webhost panel.

2. Add the domain in our web host.

Most paid web hosts have the popular administration panel called Cpanel. it’s easy to add a domain using Cpanel. 

• Log-in to the web host Cpanel.
• Look for the domain icons and open “Addon Domains.”
• Enter the domain name and the password, Cpanel will automatically fill-up the rest.
• Click “add domain.”

That’s it. Our domain is set and ready to go. If we go to the File Manager at the Cpanel home page, we will se a folder with the name of the recently added domain on it. That’s where the files for that site will be placed.

Check out Moniker for affordable domain names.

When we shop around for web hosting we often search for low-cost web hosts or cheap web hosts first. Even trying out some free webhosts. That’s perfectly understandable. Web hosting is a buyers market and there are a lot of bargain Cpanel hosting offering affordable packages. Some free web hosting companies even offer plans that are comparable to paid hosting (see this post for a list of the top ten free Webhosts).

However, when we avail of low-cost web hosting or the services of free webhosts, the odds are stacked against us. Here are the top 5 disadvantages we encountered in using such hosting services:

1. Cheap or free web hosts offer limited space and bandwidth.

Most low-cost or free web hosts offers only 250 megabytes of space and 10 gigabytes of bandwidth for the basic package. We can only use 1 to 2 add-on domains, meaning we can only install 2 websites at the most. 

Most of these cheap hosts offers upgrades and that is where they make the money. Often, the basic plan costs around $3.00 per month and the next level is at $8.00, which is comparable with a lot of not-so-cheap hosting.

Same for free hosts, the free plan is only for starters. When we require better resources, we have to pay for upgrades or start posting in forums if they are post-to-host.

2. Cheap or free web hosts mostly oversells.

Overselling is when a hosting company offers huge space and bandwidth for low prices, knowing that we won’t be able to use them. If all accounts will use their allocated resources to the limit, there’s no way the servers can run them. Cheap hosting are usually shared web hosting. Web hosts packs as many accounts as they can into one server.

In addition, the number of add-on domains and MySWL databases allowed usually limits our use of the said space and bandwidth, unless we are running a really popular site.  Go on to #3 to see why huge space and bandwidth doesn’t really matter in shared web hosting.

3. Cheap or free web hosts offeres extremely limited CPU resources per account.

In shared web hosting or any other hosting other than dedicated servers, it is our use of the CPU that matters not the space or bandwidth given to us. Even if we still have a long way to go to top our allocated resources, our accounts could be shut down if our site become popular and we start receivinbg hundreds of hits per day.

How much CPU resources do cheap web hosts allocate per account? Nobody really tells although reputable hosts should reply to inquiries from their clients. Our estimate is only 1% to %5 or even less.

Another thing, cheap and free accounts are often housed in older servers. 

4. Cheap or free web hosts are not sustainable.  

It’s logical, somebody has to pay for all those servers and bandwidth. Nothing is really for free. If they are not turning a profit, cheap or free web hosts will soon fold up. Free web hosting companies are notorious for disappearing after a year or two.

5. Cheap or free web hosts do not have a professional support system. 

Let’s face it, having live (phone or chat) support costs money. The best cheap web hosts can do is support through tickets or messages. Free web hosts usually rely on community support.  It’s nothing to worry about if we already knew our way around the hosting admin panel but for those only starting out, support is even more important than space or bandwidth. 

Of course, not all free or cheap web hosting sucks. We can still find some gold among the dross if we try hard enough. However, if we don’t have much time to dig around, it’s better to look for affordable, value-packed web hosting like HostGator. Such companies do have disgruntled customers but given the large base of their clientele and the wide array of scripts installed in their systems, there are bound to be complaints.

There was one inetresting question in one forum that went “why bother with paid hosting when there are lots of free webhosts that offers almost similar packages?” To help us decide on whether to go for a free or paid host, please read this article on how to choose a webhost.

Despite various rants against them, free php webhosts do have their uses and it is possible to run several websites without ever paying for the hosting. We have assemble a list of the top 10 totally free web hosts or post-to-host forums to assist everybody looking for one.

1. Free100mbHost.

Free100mbHost is run by the same company hosting ReapMoneyOnline, ProSoftStudio. Their lowest hosting plan, which is good enough for a single entry-level website or blog, is totally free. Upgrading to more spacious packages requires posting in their forum. Check out their free hosting plans here.

2. OxyHost.

OxyHost offers an impressive 5 Gigabyte of space and 100 Gigabyte of bandwidth and they only have one package currently available. They are part of the Cogent Network.

3. BryanSoft.

BryanSoft is one of the most recommended free web hosting company on the post-to-host (p2h) model. They do have a totally free webhosting package with 500 megabytes of space. Check out their hosting packages here.

4. 000webhost.

000webhost has been in the free hosting business for more than a year amd they’re backed by a paid hosting service. The free package offers 250 megabytes of space and 100 gigabytes of bandwidth. Pretty good for an entry-level blog. Paid upgrades are available if we’ve outgrown that space.

5. x10hosting.

X10hosting is one of the better free webhosting companies out there. The main gripe about their services is that they are too strict on their TOS. However, they do have fast servers and maybe they’re only protecting the interest of the regular members from those who will abuse the system.

6. FreeHostia.

FreeHostia is a paid hosting company with a free web hosting plan. Their free hosting plan will accept 2 add-on domains, thus allowing 2 sites to share 250 megabytes of space. Check out the free plan here. 

7. NovaHost.

NovaHost offers 800 megabytes of disk space for 4 add-on domains (4 sites) for the basic plan. It can be upgraded to 3 gigabytes with the post-to-host supported gold plan.

8. FriHost.

FriHost is one of the longer-lasting post-to-host forums. Check out their Frequently Asked Questions for more info.

9. ByetHost.

ByetHost is one of the free web hosts that really delivers. Their free hosting accounts works like their paid ones, which we can upgrade to once we need more than 250 megabytes of space. No ads, no posting on forums, no hidden fees.

10. Ej.am.

Ej.am’s home page doesn’t look like a web hosting company at all. Actually, it’s a Vbulletin forum and it should tell us one thing, these guys are serious about their business because the said forum script is not available for FREE. We have known this paid-to-host forum for nearly 2 years (it already existed before that) and is still running strong. 

If we want to look beyond free web hosts with mysql support and take a peek at affordable paid web hosting that gives real value for our money, check out HostGator’s packages. It has also gone green.