Shared vs. Reseller for site seperation? (multiple domain hosting)

Hey everyone. I'm looking to get a new hosting account for a few sites, but I'm debating between a shared or reseller account.

Basically I am looking to host 3 sites...
Site A is my professional site that I give to my clients
Site B is a hobby site
Site C is a site for a nonprofit group that I lead

My MAIN concern is keeping these sites 100% separate. Meaning that someone that knows of 1 of these sites can NOT find out about the other sites or know that I run them. That means they also can not show up in a search as subdomains or directories of each other.

I know that with Cpanel, each addon defaults to a new folder in public html...but I've read about how you can simply create a new folder one level higher so it helps separate them.
I read this topic: http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/web-...e-hosting.html
but does the advice given here completely keep them separate? Or is there a way someone could still tell I operate all 3 sites?

So basically my only real concern is that a visitor of one site can NOT find out about the other sites in any way, shape or form. Since I'll be running all of the sites, I don't care about separate accounts or security or anything like that. My only real concern is that each one is 100% independent to the outside world.

I would prefer to get a shared account and create addons to save money since I'm not making any money from these sites...but if I can't have each one completely independent than I'd spend the extra cash and get a reseller. Any advice on shared vs reseller for this?

[kpmedia]

Not just that, but having domains in separate accounts is better for security, and better for the site resources.

Most hosts use CloudLinux, which limits the resource use per account. (EIG uses the not-better BetterLinux, and others modify Apache.) So multiple sites per account must share the already-limited resources of a shared account. With reseller hosting, every site gets its own account, and thus does not have to share in this way.

In terms of security, when one "addon domain" (cPanel) site gets hacked, the entire account gets hacked (aka all sites). When an account gets hacked on a reseller account (not an "addon" domain), only that one site gets hacked.

This method (http://www.digitalfaq.com/forum/web-...e-hosting.html) will only address your concern, but not the issue with security or dedicated/isolated resources.

How much are you willing to spend? For your needs, a $10 reseller account from Stablehost would work fine.

Thanks for replying. I don't have a problem paying $10 a month if that's what is needed...but at the end of the day I don't want to feel like I'm getting ripped off either. If a cheap ~$3/month ($40 a year) shared plan will do just fine, I don't want to pay $10/month ($120 a year) for no real reason. Especially when the $40 a year plan offers more or unlimited space and the $120 a year that you mentioned is limited to 10gb (I doubt we will hit 10gb, but it's always nice to not have to worry).

I totally understand your point about security...but these 3 sites will be small, low traffic sites. I highly doubt we would specifically be targeted and even if it did get hacked, since they are low traffic sites it's okay if it takes us a day or so to restore everything.

Like I mentioned, my biggest concern is that each site be separate from the other 100%. Meaning that onedomain.com/twodomain.com or onedomain.com.twodomain.com or other varieties like that don't bring a visitor to the other site and that they are not indexed in search engines together.

In that case, would just using addons on a shared account work...or would you still recommend the reseller? Other than security, would there be any other advantages in my case to having a reseller account?

Also, as a side note, I looked at Stablehost like you mentioned...they don't seem to specificy it...but I would imagine if I purchased their basic reseller package I would get Web Host Manager where I could create up to 10 Cpanel accounts for each domain? And I would imagine it uses the normal Cpanel defaults for webmail, so I could use Roundcube mail on each account?

[kpmedia]

I think you underestimate "hackers" (mostly script kiddies). They just want to find exploitable sites, small or not. Small sites are their practice for larger sites. If you have a site, you're being targeted. The host secures the server, but you also need to secure your site. When something slips, and it's exploited, reseller is the difference between having (on your case) 1 hacked site vs. 3 hacked sites.

$10 isn't getting ripped off. Most reseller hosting is in the $30+ range, because it includes "reseller" features like billing panels. Stablehost treats theirs like the multidomain hosting that it is (and resellers can buy the added billing software if needed).

Being cheap will likely bite you in the ass later. It's not a case of "if" but when. You can do what you, but remember that you were warned. Also remember to keep perspective here. A good meal costs $10 (that's cheap!), and only lasts that one time. $10 for hosting lasts all month, and is cents per day. I understand wanting to be thrifty (and do it myself), but I think the idea of wanting to pay less than the cost of a McDonalds Happy Meal is a bit ridiculous.

Again, reseller hosting is for (1) security, and (2) isolated resources.

Yes, "reseller" hosting in cPanel is just multi-domain hosting, and creation of new domains is handled in WHM. Each account is a domain.

Roundcure is a cPanel default. I like it myself. It works server-wide for all domains.

Are your sites plain HTML, or based on a CMS like WordPress? If HTML only, addon domains should be fine. If WordPress (Joomla, Drupal, etc), then addon domains are a horrible idea. I see accounts hacked all the time, and the accounts with addon domains are always the worst mess for the owner to clean up (or pay others to clean it up).

I see what you mean...I certainty don't think of $10 a month as expensive, but when so many places offer regular shared hosting for $3-4 a month it certainty makes me wonder if it's worth it to upgrade.

All 3 of the sites are Joomla (I plan on adding PhpBB forums on 2 of the sites as a subdomain as well).

I was just taking a look at Namecheap's reseller plans...It seems they offer a plan for only $5 more a month than Stablehost that offers more space and more Cpanel accounts. Have you ever tried Namecheap for hosting? Any preference between Namecheap and Stablehost?

[kpmedia]

Namecheap is an excellent host.

Another option is WebhostingBuzz. Definitely look at them if you need more space, and want to stick to about $10 monthly.

Great. Thanks. Do you have any preference for either Stablehost or Namecheap? Is one better than the other? Or would you say they are about the same?

Also, a random question...I was reading through Stablehost's knowledgeable and came across this article: https://billing.stablehost.com/knowl...me-in-WHM.html

Where it basically says that the main domain you use to create the account with is not listed in WHM...you can only access it with it's separate Cpanel...so if I registered for an account, can I just list a random nonexistent domain name as the primary domain...that way I could then list my 3 sites in WHM for easy access?

[kpmedia]

It's a toss-up.
- Stablehost has somewhat more stringent resource limits, but it has excellent speedy support (~15-30 minutes).
- Namecheap has higher limits, but support can be slower (~1-2 hours).
- Webhostingbuzz has both the higher limits, and fairly quick support (30-60 minutes).

Pick your poison.

If you use a dummy domain, it will leave you with 9 usable. However, there's no reason to do this. Each domain is separate. It's just that WHM requires one to be master with the reseller privileges.

You can also list a subdomain as the main domain. For example: server.mycompany.com
Then you can add mycompany.com as a resold domain.
cPanel/WHM considers those separate (FQDNs).
Or mypersonal.com, myhobby.com, whatever. That way it's not actually 100% dummy, just partially. That's a better idea.

[MisterNeutron]

For uses this distinct, I think I'd be inclined to take it a step further, and just have three entirely separate hosting accounts. That way, if the leadership of your nonprofit passes to someone else, and they want someone else to manage it, or even want to move it to another host, there's no need to go through the process of distentangling that site from your own. That would also give you more freedom to choose different types of hosting for different uses - maybe cheap shared hosting for your hobby stuff, a VPS for your business site, and so on. Simpler for your accounting, as well.

Reseller hosting takes care of most of these concerns, but not all.

Thanks. But I was wondering which one was better more in terms of uptime and speed performance. Are the 3 of them about the same when it comes to keeping sites online and performance? Or is there a clear winner?

[kpmedia]

Namecheap and Stablehost both have the same uptime/speed. They both have almost zero downtime.
There is no clear winner here, no.

Thanks again. So last question just for the sake of argument. If I started off on a shared account with 1 site being the main domain and the other 2 being addons...how much of a pain would it be to transfer to a reseller account down the road and give each site their own cpanel at that time? Would it just be moving the files and databases or would it be a ton of trouble?

[kpmedia]

It will not be easy, no. Separating "addon" domains is a manual process. There are some (semi) automated methods that can help, but only for the server admin -- and almost no hosts not use them. Everything is manual -- redoing any custom DNS entries, all mail settings, file permissions, etc. It's not just database and files.

Either a reseller account, or 3 separate accounts, is the way to go here.

See also: http://admin-ahead.com/cPanel-Plugin...HM-Plugin.html

^ I've been working with the developers there for months now, and have helped make their plugin much better by reporting issues and making suggestions. Sadly, hosts have not yet adopted it. Some hosts are stubborn, and never will.