A note for those looking for a host.

[Global Paw]

hey all, I am in the middle of moving all my sites...and I am so impressed with HostGator hosting services that I wrote them a letter...if you are looking for a host, perhaps you should read what I wrote them. Simply put, Hostgator is the best host I have ever seen...

To whom it may concern:

My name is Michael, and I have been actively involved in internet workings for years. I have moved from host to host, looking for the perfect one, and I feel I have found it with you.

I have had so many bad hosting experiences, and after the buzz about hostgator came to my ear, I figured I would give you a try. I decided to buy a reseller package, which I at first regretted because I was not sure how it all worked.

I utilized your many help options, and after speaking with your incredibly helpful and friendly staff, I was further convinced that my investment with hostgator would be fruitful and long lasting. Hostgator has the best staff, services, prices, and material for any web host I have ever been with, or ever seen. You can see my amazement by the fact that I am writing you this letter.

Please, keep up the incredible work, I am more astounded every time I use your service. Thank you so much! I have been a customer of yours for a little under a week, and through the long nights of moving files to my new account here, I know that this data migration will be the last one I will be forced to endure in my long quest for an honest hosting service. I see my future with hostgator as an excellent exploration, I am ever so pleased at my decision to move with your company.

Needless to say, I will be recommending your service to anyone looking for a good host, and to anyone who is sick of poor quality services at rip-off prices.

Thank you again!

[Pinscher Mum]

That is a lovely letter you sent Michael, and lm glad you Finally found a server that can provide what they offer. Woohoo for Hostgator.

[boxerlover]

Oh, so thats it??? You moved it all now?
I thought moving would be more extensive....(dont laugh)

Serioulsy....you got Hostgator now?

[Global Paw]

Originally Posted by boxerlover

Oh, so thats it??? You moved it all now?
I thought moving would be more extensive....(dont laugh)

Serioulsy....you got Hostgator now?

no, the reason why I got a host with hostgator is because my account at 1and1.com was too small to host all my web sites. I still need my account with 1and1.com because I host all my domains with them. This site won't be moved for a while because it is a pain, and would result in 24-48 hour downtime while the domain was being re-routed.

Basically, I use hostgator so that globalpaw could have the 1and1 server to itself. We had a few troubles with 1and1 last week, mainly poor server speed...some of you may have felt it. But, it seems that it has been cleared up...and as long as there are not any other problems, I will keep this site on 1and1. But, as far as tech support goes, hostgator is the best.

[Pugdawg1]

Woohoo!

[boxerlover]

Sorry, I dont understand...(dont laugh)
You dont have to explain it.....it would be about as productive as explaining to a 3 year old where babies come from!

[Global Paw]

Originally Posted by boxerlover

Sorry, I dont understand...(dont laugh)
You dont have to explain it.....it would be about as productive as explaining to a 3 year old where babies come from!

no, its no problem.

There are many reasons why someone would change hosts, I have a few.

Reason 1) Bandwidth Concerns...everytime you go to a webpage, you are actually downloading that page onto your computer, and viewing it off of your hard drive, everytime you load a page, the exchange that occurs between the server where my files are and your computer is called transfer. Every transfer of data is added to my grand total...or the total size of the files that every user has ever copied off the server for that month. On my 1and1 account, I have a maximum of 30,000 MegaBytes of bandwidth (monthly transfer) for every month...so if the total amount of data goes over that amount, the site gets shut down until the next month. This could be very bad...to give you an example, before the hacker, we were using 1,000 MB every 3 days. A medium sized forum that has a constant user activity of at least 30 people will burn 2,000 Megabytes every day. Globalpaw is going to grow a lot...I need to make sure I have a house big enough

Reason 2) Database size...this site, and all forums like this, run off of a database. A database is like a giant spreadsheet, but more complex. Everytime you post, or vote, or change your profile, the new additions are saved in the database. Then, as a user clicks on a thread to read it, the information such as who wrote the post, what the order is, font, color, text size, etc...are all copied from the database and displayed on the screen for the person who loaded up the page. Everytime you post, vote, ar add anything to the site, that information is written to the database. Eventually, the database is going to get bigger than it is allowed to. Currently, we have a 100 MegaByte MySQL database, and we have 97.35% of our space empty.

Reason 3) Downtime and server errors: I am sick of 1and1, and their downtime, period. I have called them so many times whenever my server goes down that I am literally on a first name bases with the support staff. Hostgator has a better record.

Reason 4) Domain Names...this is where it can get a bit compex. This is the only reason I am still with 1and1 as well as hostgator. A domain name is whatever.com, or .net, or .us, etc...everytime you type a domain name and hit enter, your computer connects to a Domain Name Server (DNS), and finds the domain name you are looking for, and where to find it. When I admin my account at 1and1, I can modify where you go when you type in a domain that I own. For example, opening soon is onlinecanines.com, which is a sister site to globalpaw.com. Even though onlinecanines.com is hosted through my 1and1.com account, I will have it set to take you to the information at my hostgator account. If I cancel 1and1, I lose all my domain names. My other option is to pay to have each of them transferred, but the cost of transferring my 17 domain names would cost so much that I would be in debt for a year. Therefore, it just makes sense to keep 1and1, admin my domain names from there, and keep all my other sites, and customer's sites, at hostgator. That way, globalpaw.com gets the 1and1 server to itself, and a lot of room to grow.

Any questions?