I can tell you with certainty that a good web host is hard to come by. They’re a dime-a-dozen now; some new and up-coming, some older and more established. I’ve tried the service of quite a few in my time and for the most part I’ve been dissatisfied. After all, I just wanted someone to host my small websites! I didn’t need some provider that touted all their bells and whistles. Who needs 500gb of storage space? Do I really need 1tb of bandwidth and 100 MySQL databases? I needed a host that catered to the little guy, without all the additions that I would never use.
A couple years ago I found A Small Orange. It’s a small, very solid web host with an odd name. There aren’t many bells and whistles with A Small Orange (henceforth referred to as ASO) but what you do get is stellar customer service. Their membership plans are cheap, ranging from $25 a year to $30 a month. Granted, you don’t get the loads of storage space, or that 1tb of bandwidth you’d never use, or the 100 mySQL databases you don’t need, but what you do get is a stable web host that responds quickly to problems. Quickly is an understatement, actually. I’ve gotten response times of 2 minutes in the past through their online ticketing system. 2 minutes! 120 seconds! Replies are always helpful. With ASO’s vanilla website, prompt service and non-corporate feel, you get the impression that you’re joining a friendly mom-and-pop shop, rather than a large, uncaring corporation.
In my experience, ASO isn’t a host that will clog their servers with accounts to save space and a little money. In fact, ASO stopped accepting new accounts for a time when their servers became clogged - until they were able to add new hardware to accommodate the influx of new customers. Servers usually have a light load, while new or upgraded hardware is added regularly. New accounts are placed on the most recently added servers. All-in-all, ASO is a very dependable, no frills web host with fantastic support and a non-corporate feel. In the list of hosts I’ve tried, they’re definitely at the top of the heap.
Disclaimer: No, I am not getting compensated for the above review, nor am I getting any kind of affiliate benefit. I know there are a lot of crappy web hosts out there and I simple wanted my readers to know which one I consider to be the best!
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