Which webhost is the best?

[skyfaller]

A couple of websites I am responsible for are considering moving to new webhosts. Currently the top candidate is DreamHost, but before we do anything, I want your feedback. What is the best webhost out there? Is DreamHost in fact any good? My top priority is getting maximum uptime, but everything else is important too, of course.

Comments

Nearly Free Speech

[jubatus.livejournal.com]

You might want to check out Nearly Free Speech web hosting (https://www.nearlyfreespeech.net/). They have a sort of pre-pay system, which makes it really cheap, especially if you don't get a whole lot of traffic. What attracted me to them the most is their beliefs. I don't think you'll find a more idealistic web hosting company. They do have a few annoying technical limitations, though. For example, they only support PHP 4, not PHP 5, meaning you can't run newer versions of Gallery, for example. You should check out their technical capabilities and make sure it supports everything you want to use.

[elizaeffect.livejournal.com]

I am actually very curious about this, too, so I hope some people have good advice for you/us. :)

[http://users.livejournal.com/_swallow/]

A friend of mine has only good things to say about it. (http://isilya.livejournal.com/217434.html)

[polexa.livejournal.com]

I use Textdrive (http://www.textdrive.com), but I bought in as one of the VC200 (http://www.chrislott.org/2004/05/28/textpattern-and-the-vc200/), so it's my 'default' host. I haven't ever done anything particularly taxing, but from what I can tell on the forums from people who do, the support staff is great.

There were some uptime things in the beginning, but I think it's settled down now.

[greebsnarf.livejournal.com]

My understanding of DreamHost (based on what a coworker tells me plus about two hours of my own experience) is that it's pretty reliable but extremely slow.

Dreamhost

[lshmael.livejournal.com]

Having had a Dreamhost account for more than a year, I would agree with the previous commenter - they are slow. As far as I know, their speeds are similar to that of other large shared hosts. Considering that their packages are as cheap or cheaper that other hosts, and they give you ridiculous amounts of space and bandwidth, I would still consider them a good deal (despite moving to a VPS (http://www.marteydodoo.com/2006/09/18/moving-to-rimuhosting/), I plan on keeping my Dreamhost account for offsite backup).

In terms of maximum uptime though, I am not sure that I would choose them. They regularly go through week-long periods of instability, mostly related to their network configuration. They have repeatedly assured their customers that the issues will be fixed (and they seem to be), but other issues pop up. As a result, I am not sure whether they would be the best fit. They do have a 97 day period during which you can get a full refund, so you could try them out without worry.

[puerexmachina.livejournal.com]

For future reference, I've had good experiences with http://www.asmallorange.com/ . Good prices, and their customer support and user community is top-rate.