What is the latest, greatest web hosting for personal use?

[RABid]

I don't need anything big or expensive. I also don't want something full of advertisements. I'd rather pay a small monthly fee to avoid those. Something for a blog or a recipe site. I also want my own domain name and maybe 5 email addresses. Any suggestions? (Please don't say Godaddy.)

[Anderton]

Why not Godaddy? It's what I use and so far, no problems.

[RABid]

I had 5 domain names with them. Some personnel, some at work. For long domain names they are not interested in acquiring they will send you a notice 3 months in advance of your contract running out. Another at one month out. Another one week out. And if you slip up and let it go unrenewed they send you a "did you forget" notice and keep it going for a week or so. If you have a domain name they want because they consider it valuable you get a 3 month notice, then nothing. If you slip up and let it expire they buy it the second it rolls over and then try to sell it to you. The day mine ran out they wanted a $300 broker fee just to start negotiations. When I called about it the guy in customer service said "I'm going to be honest with you. A 4 character domain can bring thousands and that is what they will want you to pay to get it back." I wasn't about to pay a $300 broker fee just to hear how much they wanted to return my domain. I did a bit of research and found that this is standard practice for them.

[RABid]

I think I have decided on Hostinger. Positives: cheap, the level I am considering has 100 email accounts, Word Press. Negatives: No phone support, only email and messing, price goes up after your initial paid period (I plan to pay for four years), Word Press. The biggest positive, it is not in the Endurance International Group. That is a company that bought out a lot of popular hosting sites like Hostgator and Bluehost, then cut back their services and reliability to the point that they are now awful. Hopefully they will stay away from Hostinger.

[Anderton]

3 hours ago, RABid said:

I had 5 domain names with them. Some personnel, some at work. For long domain names they are not interested in acquiring they will send you a notice 3 months in advance of your contract running out. Another at one month out. Another one week out. And if you slip up and let it go unrenewed they send you a "did you forget" notice and keep it going for a week or so. If you have a domain name they want because they consider it valuable you get a 3 month notice, then nothing. If you slip up and let it expire they buy it the second it rolls over and then try to sell it to you. The day mine ran out they wanted a $300 broker fee just to start negotiations. When I called about it the guy in customer service said "I'm going to be honest with you. A 4 character domain can bring thousands and that is what they will want you to pay to get it back." I wasn't about to pay a $300 broker fee just to hear how much they wanted to return my domain. I did a bit of research and found that this is standard practice for them.

Wow...that sucks!!! What time frame was this?

[RABid]

Maybe a year ago? There is a post about it on Keyboard Corner. It has been a scramble to change my email address at all of those companies where I registered music software. I have to say that most of those music software companies had very good customer service. I have to say it was very frustrating to deal with companies like Smugmug who will not let you do any edits to your account unless you do their confirm routine, which is click a link in an email they send you. I called Smugmug support and got absolutely no where. I ended up abandoning that account.

[Anderton]

2 hours ago, RABid said:

Maybe a year ago? 

 

Well, I have two advantages in dealing with them: My domain name isn't worth anything, and I don't trust any company that lives online. So I always check the dashboard to see when things are going to expire.

 

But if what you describe is standard practice, it sure sounds like a class action lawsuit to me.

 

the virtual world has become a hotbed of virtual crime, hasn't it? Oh, and thanks for sending me 5 million bitcoins! I assume all my banking information got to you okay.

[spokenward]

That's a pretty horrifying domain scenario. 

 

My relationship with GD improved when I switched to auto-renew.  This is the notice that I get now (one month in advance).

 

Quote

One or more of your domains will auto-renew soon.

The good news is you don't need to take any action. We just wanted to let you know what's coming up for automatic renewal since you're the registrant contact for this account. Take a look:

 

Renews: 7/25/2022

 

If you do not renew your domain(s) during the 12-day Renewal Grace Period, you will incur an additional recovery fee in addition to the domain renewal fee. During this time, the domain name(s) will be moved to parked nameservers and any website or email services associated with the domain name(s) will stop working. Be aware that most domains, including .com, .biz and .net, can only be recovered within a maximum of 30 days after your cancel date. For further information about Domain Renewals or Canceled Domains, review the Domain Registration Agreement.

 

[nursers]

I've been with Pair Networks (US-based provider) since 1996 and love them.  pair.com is their website and cannot recommend highly enough although I know you've found someone

[Mighty Motif Max]

On 10/23/2022 at 4:12 PM, RABid said:

I think I have decided on Hostinger. Positives: cheap, the level I am considering has 100 email accounts, Word Press. Negatives: No phone support, only email and messing, price goes up after your initial paid period (I plan to pay for four years), Word Press. The biggest positive, it is not in the Endurance International Group. That is a company that bought out a lot of popular hosting sites like Hostgator and Bluehost, then cut back their services and reliability to the point that they are now awful. Hopefully they will stay away from Hostinger.

 

Dreamhost is also pretty good and not part of EIG. I've used them for a few years now.

[KenElevenShadows]

Hostgator seems good so far and has an excellent reputation.

[bill5]

I would check wix.com. They have a free version you can try and if you like some inexpensive upgrade options.

[Jeff Leites]

I've been using justhost.com for a long time.  You can get the first year for $3.95 a month.  It goes up after that.  You get a break for a 3 year subscription.  When I first signed up I got a free domain name and they paid the annual fee.  It's not free anymore, but they grandfathered it for those of use that got it for free.