Warning to Directory Owners and Webmasters Do Not Use Site5 for Hosting

[jayg]

I just wanted to put up a post in case anyone is looking at www.site5.com for hosting their directories or anything else for that matter.

They recently terminated my account and one of the main reasons they gave was that they do not allow link directories and specifically pointed out www.wrdir.com as a clear violation of their terms and policies. They simply took down my entire hosting account and threatened to delete my data within 24 hour or less and then they proceeded to not even give me access to my data for another 10 hours.

I understand that companies are allowed to have any policies they want but they treated me very poorly and IMO they are not qualified nor should any host take on the task of policing SEO or directories (unless illegal spamming or black-hat SEO techniques are being used).

You can read the full story at this thread http://www.webhostingtalk.com/showthread.php?p=4664218#post4664218

[CALTRADE]

I've had really good luck with www.Alterhosting.com - low cost, unlimited traffic and they don't seem to get hung up on things like this. Don't you hat it when you make a post like that, and all the goodie-two-shoes pile on and tell you what a bad boy you have been! Anyway, I don't really understand this policy- are link directories really that much of a resource hog? It's not like you are streaming video or something.

Rob

[James]

I have said time and time again to stay away from site5 and any of the other "umlimited for 5 bucks hosts".
Hostgator is starting to make that book with me too.

I could have hooked you up with a decent vps :)

There is no such frigging thing as unlimited. They really on vague ToS + RUP etc to be able to boot you.

if you need a hand optimizing it give me a shout.

[jayg]

I was paying around $26 a month with site5 so no $5 unlimitted but yes I guess you get what you pay for. I had big problems with hostgator in the past too :-(

PM me the company you recommend dawzz, I think I found a good place but I like to always be prepared.

thanks

[NeoGen]

Content visible to registered users only.

We really need create a safe list of PHPLD friendly hosts.. and a list of hosts that one should stay away, for sure site5 is on and another one would be www.agilehosting.com

[richrf]

Hi,

I am presently on Hostgator with a Wordpress blog which is getting about 2500 visitors a day, and 2000 uniques. I am going to experiment with a specialized directory. Based upon this thread, there seems to be some issues with hosting directories on Hostgator and other host servers. Would someone help me out, and explain to me the issues and what I might expect? Thanks.

Rich

[James]

Bottom line is if your site is going to make you money you should be on a vps or small dedicated. I know the arguments well they cost xx and I can get more space and transfer for way less....

Bottom line is wrong wrong wrong.
As you see as soon as you start pushing the limits on their cpu usage (which will change trust me) or transfer your going to be shut down.

Myself I recommend Hostdime for reseller, vps and dedicated services.

You can get a low range vps for with 512 megs ram for 60 a month with them Cpanel included.

I have tried the services of many many companies ranging from shared to dedicated and whole heartedly say Hostdime is my choice.

[jayg]

dawzz is right, all hosts oversell big-time and they make their money off the folks that use a very small percentage of the resources allocated to them 20% or less. Once you start using resources you are a big liability to them and they will simply find a way to either terminate your account or force you to leave.

That is what hostgator did to me around 7 months ago, they started saying my scripts were using too much cpu and server resources (even though I was using less than 75% of the listed resources). They started shutting down my sites and it would take hours to get them back online, then they actually started modifying my scripts, taking out RSS feeds, etc... until one day they actually broke one of my sites by deleting extra files and then I had to move. Next I was with Site5 and their pricing was actually a little cheaper than HG and they offered more resources but again, I was using upwards of 80% of what was allocated to me and all of the sudden my sites were no longer acceptable to them.

I am now on a VPS with tons of resources and sure I am paying quite a bit more but I already notice my sites are running way faster and I hopefully will not have any surprises or headaches.

[James]

this forum has gone from crap uptime with site5 to pretty much 100% on a vps :)

I moved one of my clients reseller accounts 5 total (accounts actaully the number of sites totalled 184) from Hostgator to a dedicated almost a year ago and has 100% uptime with the exception of my instigated updates.

Once again if your income is dependent upon uptime and reliability go vps or dedicated.

[richrf]

Hi,

Thanks a lot for the additional information. I am using quite a bit of resources on Wordpress right now, but I do control it via various mechanisms. This is one of the reasons I am looking to integrate products like Bad Behavior into my directory, since Bad Behavior stops bots (for example) before they are able to get into the application. However, if I do exceed by fair limits, I would pay for additional resources. One aspect of Hostgator that I like is tha they have pretty reasonable free 24*7 telephone support. Does HostDime have this type of support available. Thanks again for the info.

Rich

[James]

that is why i say hostdime.

here is the decding factor for me.

They own the datacenter (Hostdime)
There is no phone in and then they have to contact the datacenter they are in and wait on that support team with them.

That is why I use hostdime.

[VSDan]

As Dawzz says, dedicated is one of two ways to go if you can afford it. Dedicated hosting packages do vary dramatically from host to host. I pay $250 US per month, but there are cheaper packages with other web hosts. But be leary of 'low-cost' dedicated hosting. Plus, often upfront cost of purchasing server - purchased my server for about $1000 US (failed last year, but web host replaced for no charge as replacement pre-owned server failed shortly thereafter). Been on dedicated for nearly 10 years, and have never looked back. Outstanding uptime and reliability. And, given the size, complexity, special requirements and security issues of my site, could not be located on shared (virtual) server anyways.

[richrf]

Thanks a lot for the information guys. Appreciate it.

Rich

[jayg]

"However, if I do exceed by fair limits, I would pay for additional resources." - That is not really an option most resellers give you. Plus they can say you are bringing down the shared server and you just have to take their word for it. Managed VPS plans start at $60-$70 a month range so are pretty affordable for most folks earning money from their websites.

[James]

people worry about bad bots ....

that is not the problem.

The problem is when google and slurp and throw in one other one hits your site at the same time that server loads jump adn teh pull the trigger without investigating fully.

Why?

well you are just a 6 to 10 (maybe 15 buck a month customer) and it is all about numbers.
Since your actually using your resources if they bag you then they can fit antoher 5 to 6 one post a day blog people who use a grand total of 5 megs a month transfer ;)

[blade700]

I've seenn it too .. Google pilaging my PHPLD site and devouring 10 megs at a time ... so what - It's just like an ecommerce site .. loads of links to various subsections.

One of our forums got hit recently by a deep crawl for 10 days .. was dishing out 1.2gb a day mostly to internet bots. No probs.

That poncy hosting must cry a lot.