[Warlock]

I've been having host problems with my site for the last month. (Free hosting, you get what you pay for, etc)

I've been looking into paid hosting, there's a ton of them out there, the problem is, I did a little digging, and half the time, any such reviews look to be either random idiocy from the comments, paid-for advertising (copy'n'paste glowing reviews of five different services doesn't make me feel safe), or even paid-for negative reviews from competing services.

I have no clue how to sort through all of this. Unfortunately, I've got a few problems with my hosting, that I can't fall back on what you guys might consider traditional sources.

1. I've already got an existing registered domain, two in fact, which I want to keep. So sub-hosting on someone else's site is out.
2. I've got just enough tangential material, and my main-thing-which-I-consider-the-brother-to-a-webcomic, ISN'T. It's not a webcomic, it's web-animation, and anything specific to webcomics might reject me out of hand. (I don't even have any material as of yet, so the whole point is moot.) I'd also be hosting my personal-portfolio/art website, where I keep my blog, gallery of fantasy/etc illustration, and non-comic business stuff like commissions, merchandise, etc.
3. I've already got two fully-functional site designs, including database, which need to be copied over from my current, less-than-fully-functional host server. Aside from server-specific tweaks, I'm skilled enough to handle anything I need to do remotely.

I was trying to keep costs down, I can't really afford $20+ a month for the big-name services right now, but all these little services either ask for all the month for a long-term agreement up front. ($3-4 bucks a month doesn't sound so bad, unless they're asking for 3 years all together in-advance.)

Suggestions?

[majic13]

I've been using Hostmonster and have no complaints - they do ask that you pay up-front for your hosting rather than taking payments monthly, but to be honest I get the impression that that's standard no matter who you host with. They offer the cheaper rates because then they have your custom assured for two years or three years or whatever.

[Sen]

I've been using Xepher.net for 3 or 4 years now. Yeah, I think it's nearing 4 years... anyway, never had any problems there. Free unlimited everything for creative types, a very helpful host, and there's a fairly easy application process. You'll get in if you have strong work to show.

[Matt]

If you want to go with paid hosting, you'll be trying to pick your way between a small host (better Customer Service, less great rates) vs one of the big guys (great rates, Customer Service that makes you want to kill things).

My wife and I host our comic ( http://www.rcsitravel.net )  with the small host, but we have an advantage, we're also own the hosting company.  (So, yeah, this is kind of a shill, I apologize for the shameless plug)

But if you're looking for something in paid hosting, you can talk to me at: sowersm@capnbells.com or find the host at http://www.capnbells.com/

From my perspective, we're a small server with a pretty good track record, and we're not bogged down with a thousand sites all needing attention.  We know comics (since we do one of our own) and we're not loading the server with all that interface crap you get with other sites. 

[AndrewDTurnbull]

I use dreamhost myself.  Overall I've been happy with them, but last year there were some issues and frequent bouts of short down time, but that seems to have been fixed now.

Andy

[zieglarf]

I'm on DreamHost too. No problems - other than a couple of short downtimes.

[troubleticket]

I use ipower and I'm pretty happy with them.

It's like $110 a year for the hosting and domain name, and I've got tons of space, transfer rate, etc.

They claim unlimited bandwidth, but since I've never been on digg I can't vouch for that.

There are times when my site drags like a snail, but it's rare, and I've never had downtime in almost two years. Also, when I completely screw up a wordpress config they're pretty quick to fix it, provided I've used their installer to put it on in the first place.

[SUTBComics]

Alot of people knock it, but I rock Yahoo. It's 35 bucks every 3 months with unlimited space, and up to 200 subdomains and a few other gadgets and widgets. I've been using Yahoo since jumpstreet in 2005 back in the GeoCities days.

I dunno, there hasn't been a time in my five years with Yahoo I've been "Damnit! I wish I could leave this stupid site!"

There is one host that I would absolutely stay away from but damn my eyes I can't remember who it was. As soon as I find it I'll post it. They had terrible service and all kinds of hidden fees.

[Prestwick]

I've used Evohosting for years. So long that the original package I signed up for has long since gone from their offerings!

They've been fantastic since I've been with them and the family I signed up with them have been great as well.

[AtlantaJones]

The saying "you get what you pay for" is certainly true in hosting. I do have a Dreamhost account for my personal and pro-bono work, but I'm consistently regretting putting anything of any real importance there.

Example: Through my day job, I've created a new social media-themed webcomic (http://statusthis.com). At first, we just threw it on our Dreamhost account. On day one, we got picked up by Mashable.com and on scobleizer.com, two of the biggest blogs on the web. Surprisingly, the site did okay that day.

But this week when I was ready to post a new strip, Dreamhost decided to slow way down, and then went down altogether. We blew a whole day trying to figure it out. Meantime, I moved the domain and site to my Media Temple account ($20/mo) which has always been fast and reliable.

Dreamhost is still a good place for us to host staging and non-critical projects, but hopefully I'll know better next time.

[Cary]

Well, taking into account I'm new to the whole webcomic scene, I went through about two hours of research trying to find the so called "best host" possible, and heard enough good things about Bluehost to give them a shot. I paid $81 for the year, and from what I can see got a really sweet deal. Now how that'll hold up once we debut the comic and start increasing the site traffic exponentially (at least in theory, right?) I don't know. I had downtime my first DAY after signing up, but it was a DNS attack, so I can't really blame them for that. The customer support was top notch and they moved my whole site to a dedicated server right away. Plus they were super friendly and helpful which I really assign value to in something of this nature. So, if you're still looking, you might check into Bluehost.

[joglass]

Isn't Bluehost the one that was infamous for mishandling Hijinks Ensues? Please keep us updated with how well they work out for you. Let's hope they have better customer service since that time!