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Originally Posted by via Email or PM
I'm currently looking for a new host, and scouted the internet.
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Well, we know of many good options out there, so let's try to get you matched with one.
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One host that has a lot of good press (don't know if real or fake) is Siteground. I could call them, and talk to a real person.
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Depending on where the "good press" came from, yes, it was potentially fake. Unless you're seeing actual "press" (newspapers, authoritative websites, etc) leaving the comments, and in long form, then all you're reading is hogwash from people trying to make a quick buck from you. There sham affiliate sites want to use you, not help you. And there's many, many fake "review" sites out there.
Also realize that one-sentence/one-paragraph "reviews" are useless, and honestly not reviews at all.
That all said,
SiteGround is not a bad host.
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My problems with it are:
1. They don't seem to own their servers
So, was I misled?
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Where did you read/hear that they do not operate their own servers? That sounds false. You can't be a large hosting company and throw away tons of money by renting servers.
They probably do not own their own datacenters, but almost no host does. Datacenters and servers are completely different. It would be like owning the building where a restaurant is located -- and that rarely happens. Being a good restaurant has nothing to do with who owns the building.
Somebody (a novice) has likely confused this information. Be careful what you read online!
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2. Their customer service dpt seems to be in Bulgaria.
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We now live in a worldwide economy. Trying to find all-USA (or all-Canada, all-Europe, etc) operations will never happen anymore. Don't be one of those clueless xenophobes that considers "other places" to be backward.
Bulgaria is an EU country near Greece and Turkey with a modern economy and modern science/tech sector -- more modern than the USA in many ways!
SiteGround has support in Bulgaria, corporate HQ in Panama, and some offices in USA (likely including sales).
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What do I need?
1. A photographer's website with Wordpress blog (Headway template)
2. Planned: a film blog on wordpress (also with headway template)
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Standard shared hosting would work fine. I can see several options here for you:
- Site5
- Arvixe
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Veerotech
- Stablehost
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WebhostingBuzz
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Glowhost
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Namecheap
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I use Namecheap as my registrar, and experienced response times of 2 weeks. I read your comments about their great equipment, but... is their hosting response as bad as their registrar response?
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I've never experienced a response time that horrible, and would report it to management if it ever happened. Domains and hosting has two separate support staffs. Domains have always been answer same-day, usually in an hour or two. The worst ticket time for hosting was 2-3 hours, at the height of their staffing issue last year. Before that, and since that, response times are generally under 1 hour. That's good.
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I'd like to have a host I can ask technical questions like "which folder do I install my wordpress in" or "which rerouting do I have to do so www.mysite.com and mysite.com counts as 1, seo-wise".
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Those are honestly "newbie" type questions. I find Site5, Stablehost and
MDD Hosting to be best for extreme novice questions. Some support desks are not so enthusiastic to help you, and simply tell you to read the knowledge base (KB).
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I hope this wasn't too long a note - I'd love to hear about Siteground and your recommendations.
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Nope, you're asking the right questions.
In fact, I may have another hosting option for you, since you're looking to launch 2 WordPress sites, and have questions. Contact me about a managed WordPress solution. PM me here, or use the
Contact Us form.
I'm also a photographer, and have some insight into those types of sites.
Hope that helps.