Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I have used Bluehost for a few years now. They are a good value for the price but recently (last 6-12 months) I have noticed that my sites that are hosted with them go down a lot.

I will be working on a site, trying to put content up or something, and suddenly the site just doesn't load. Sometimes this lasts for up to a few hours. I'll come back to my site later in the day and occasionally it still doesn't load. Then I'll come back at night and finally the site will be working. But in the meantime I've lost valuable time that I wanted to use working on my site. Also the visitors can't be too happy about it either.

(Before you suggest it, no, it is not a problem with my internet)

So... I need hosting suggestions. Ideally I'd like a shared hosting plan similar to what Bluehost offers. But I need something that is reliable and doesn't have so much downtime as Bluehost has (seriously, I get downtime with Bluehost at least once every other week while I'm working on my site, it's ridiculous).

Suggestions for reliable hosting?

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Hi,

I like JustHost. I was working on a client site adding a subdomain on BlueHost and they claimed that action wiped out our main database. When they reloaded a 24 hour old backup it was missing several critical files. The technical service person was completely unhelpful.

Bonnie

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Been using HawkHost for about 2 years now and am very pleased with them...

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Using hostgator and everythings been fine so far. also they use wind power to power all their servers and equipment which is a plus.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

What i like is hostgator , i use them for most of my sites

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

HostGator is a reliable alternative, their baby plan is not only cheap but also reliable, exactly something you're looking for. I personally have used them during my initial business startup.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Curtis2011, do you have specific requirements in mind?

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I'd like to add my own vote for Hostgator. They're reliable, user friendly, AND they have 24/7 customer support that's knowledgeable, helpful, and very, very patient.

Plus the baby plan is a great deal, as XinYun pointed out. I've been with them for years now and have several accounts including a reseller account. Love them!

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Hi,

Been using softlayer.com for about 5 years now and am very pleased with them...
Regards,

Bill

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

My site hosting with hostgator and its fine for me.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

My vote is for HostGator

- Extremely affordable pricing

- They have an extensive security custom firewall that protects its server

- 99.9% Uptime guarantee.

- Availability of customer supports via telephone, email and live chat

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I've been with HostGator for years and never considered moving hosts ;)

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

What is your Current requirements for your websites, I mean how much disk space and Bandwidth you need.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

godaddy :)

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Can't go wrong with Hostgator.:cool:

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Funny, 90% of the comments are recommending companies owned by the same exact parent company. You're bound to have similar problems.

What are your requirements? I'd recommend checking the hosting offers section however, read the threads entirely as some so called web hosts have advertised too good to be true packages and then provide poor service.

Web Hosting Offers

At the end of the day, you get what you pay for. When you pay peanuts, you'll get monkeys.

What's your max budget and requirements? What types of sites are you looking to host and what additional features are you looking for?

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

HostGator all the way!

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Here is another vote for HawkHost.
I have found their service to be rock solid, with excellent tech support.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

justhost and bluehost are sister companies. for 100% uptime, you can go to jauguarpc.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I have been a customer with Hostgator for a couple years. I monitor the downtime on my website with SiteUptime - Website Monitoring Service and have only had 5 min's down in the last 2 months. Page load times are great. Hostgator has alot of customers but they don't seem to oversell the servers so its not a problem.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Hey,

I use iPage and GVO. Both are good enough for hosting. Some reviews for iPage show that their hosting is the best for quality/cost.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Honestly I don't know my requirements.

I am building static websites that currently have low traffic but of course, plan to have high traffic in the future. They are non-interactive sites, just html+css with no programming elements.

I really just need a host that is reliable and has high uptime, and high page load speed. Bluehost is just getting ridiculous, almost every single day I work on my websites I end up with a bare minimum of 10 minutes of downtime, which I think is quite high. And that is only the downtime I see while I am working (a few hours a day). I can't imagine how much downtime there is in a 24 hour period!

My budget... probably $30/month max. Preferably lower, at least for now while my traffic levels are low.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

When you move away from the "unlimited" realm of service, you'll find better service. Of course, you'll get 500 people here on the forum that tell you otherwise and that these large, unlimited everything companies are the next best thing since sliced bread.

I'd advise checking around with some smaller companies & asking some questions to see how they respond.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Bluehost = Hostgator = JustHost = 50+ other "brands" to hide who they are.
It's the same company -- EIG.
Leave EIG. Avoid those fake "top 10" lists that only list EIG companies. They're not there to help you.
Try somebody good for a change, like Stablehost (not "unlimited") or Site5 (unlimited).

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

You should consider Yahoo Web Hosting. Their uptime is great, unlimited storage, 24/7 support, security tools, SSL, blog hosting, secure FTP, a website builder, a cheap price, and the list goes on and on. Hostgator is pretty good too, but i like Yahoo better.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Hostgator:)

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

It's funny how HostGator say they eat up the competition when most of the competition is owned by EIG.

Choose a non EIG owned host such as Stablehost.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Site5.

They have a free 30 day trial and are among the cheapest I've seen. They have the best support ever and an easy interface. I've been using them for about a year now and I couldn't be happier with them!

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I have hosted with bluehost as well and now I am with host gator. Host gator is my preferred choice I like them much better especially for their customer service.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I use Bluehost and Hostgator. Although I've noticed the same thing from time to time, I still like their shared hosting... it's cheap and the uptime is usually pretty good. I know that they've had some issues with hackers over the past few months on some accounts but I like their support so I'm probably going to keep my Bluehost stuff where it is and hope that things improve.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I find it interesting that most people here are recommending Host Gator because of their customer service...

I'm recommending Media Temple, because I haven't ever had to use their customer service.

In the past seven years.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Early on I used godaddy for hosting and had many problems. Upon moving away from them I switched half of my sites to Hostgator and the other half to BlueHost. I can say that without a doubt Hostgator has performed the best for me so far.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Thanks for all your thought. All my sites are bluehost and I have also noticed a deteriorating level of service.

I want to launch a few new sites and on the strength of this thread will give the Hostgator guys a try.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

HostGator = BlueHost = HostMonster = JustHost = 50+ other brands. They're all the same company.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Dude. Stablehost is where you want to go. Fast, stable and low cost with responsive support.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

It's so sad how people are duped into "switching" to the same friggin' company.
Research people, research.

Want a good host. Use Stablehost.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Hostgator: great customer service, very reliable.
Stablehost is also a good option.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Consider having more than one too. At least a cheap one in case of emergency, like when your hosting company decides to put your sites on hold or something similar. I like Hostgator and JustHost, not so much iPage and Fatcow. Will tru HawkHost and StableHost next. Also keeping an eye with a tool like pingdom is always a good idea.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Hostgator = JustHost = iPage = Fatcow
All are EIG companies.
JustHost, iPage, Fatcow are run by the same sub-company and are EXACTLY the same.
The datacenter, the support folks, etc. 100% identical. You're been duped.
The easy tell? All use vDeck, the EIG panel.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Crazy talk! They've all got different names!!!!!! :rolleyes:

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I think Hostgator is the go to.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

If cost is a worry just move to mdd or stablehost. Both have coupon offers at webhostingtalk; get a years worth of shared hosting for like $35ish. Can't beat the price for the performance you get.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

A second for Media Temple. Them or VPS.NET. They're pricier, but they're a premium service.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Never had any problems with BH

What I love about them is their customer service, I literally have their number on speed dial.

If for what ever reason, some technical mumbo-jumbo comes up, I know who to call and they can always fix it

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Just cause they're owned by the same parent company doesn't mean they are all run the same. They didn't start these companies up from scratch and then use different names for the same company. The got them by acquiring already well established hosting companies over time. So most of the time the pre acquisition customer support and everything stayed in place after they were purchased.

I'm with Bluehost, and while I've never noticed the sites going down, my emails have never worked in my mail program. They won't save the sent emails and won't delete emails! Can only send to the trash folder by moving it there as opposed to the delete button and then have to wait until it is auto emptied.

Their support seems fine, they have live chat and all that. I've just been way too busy to bother asking them about it, keep forgetting.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

If you've ever been around for any of the EIG transitions, watch closely over the next few years. The majority of everything will be migrated over to their own overloaded hardware & same support teams, good, high paid techs will be let go etc etc.

EIG has had some nightmare transitions in the past. Their motto is maximize profits and cut costs, which leaves you, the customer running on aging hardware jam packed with accounts.

The companies that they acquire are only the size they are because of one reason: Affiliates, which I'm sure you'd had to notice the increase amount of complaints about people not getting paid for their commissions for some ridiculous reason. Refer a customer, then that customer leaves after 60 days & they yank your commission. That's a scam if I've ever seen one.

Increased number of security issues.

Constant "loading" of Wordpress or anything related to MySQL

They ALL attempt to remove the backup feature from cPanel OR limit it so that you cannot run a full backup if over XX size. To me, that's B/S & something we have to deal with on a daily basis when doing migrations. Or the other one, they try to hide the feature so that the average use can't find it.

Sorry, I'm not buying it and would never recommend any of these companies to anyone. Even selling the "unlimited" this & that is blatantly lying to their customers, but hey when looking for the cheapest you can get, I guess the quality doesn't matter.

I'd recommend plenty of other competitors over EIG hosts any day.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

Yeah it was previously bought over by EIG a couple months back and heard it changed a lot.

You can check out some of the following options; these are either ones I've read to have a good reputation or ones we've tried ourselves:
- HostDime: good support, server speed can be questionable at times
- StableHost: Cheap, good, fast support - had an account there
- HawkHost: A smaller company slightly more pricey than stablehost but very good rep.

Also have a shared hosting with namecheap and so far the speed is reasonable though their server security isn't the best.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I guess you will fight some problems with any shared server hosting.

Did you try VPS?

That most probably solves the problem but cost more.

G.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

After all of your input, I went and found this.

:eek: That's a lot of web hosts.

Re: Bluehost is getting unreliable, hosting suggestions?
 

I would have to say Hostgator for now. I have never had any problems with them I also use Namecheap.