Namecheap/StableHost/A2Hosting/VeeroTech - Shared - Small WordPress-based eCommerce
 

All:

I have been considering A2Hosting for a client's new WordPress-based e-commerce store, which will be selling (extremely lightweight) digital content. However, upon recommendations here and elsewhere, I am now looking at Namecheap (via web-hosting.com brand) and StableHost.

There will be only one domain hosted here. I will be enabling SSL for all traffic to the main site; images that will be distributed in the end content will be hosted on a subdomain. Shared hosting should be fine for this project for the foreseeable future. My priorities include:

- Good uptime
- Good support
- Non-overloaded servers with good IO, SSD preferred

This won't be highly disk space-consuming. I would prefer faster storage to more storage.

What I like about Namecheap:

- Price, extremely reasonable at $3.95/mo on a 12mo contract
- $2/mo dedicated IP
- offering $8.95 SSL certs, presumably with little effort to integrate (however, I'm already considering a RapidSSL cert from them at $10.95/yr, I prefer GeoTrust to Comodo)
- Reviews here indicate they're generous with resources

What I like about StableHost:

- SSD storage
- Daily backups (while I intend to manage my own at-least-weekly backups, this is helpful)
- Litespeed

What I dislike about StableHost:

- Less storage than Namecheap, though I don't see this project consuming it
- SSH access is an additional fee (though $2.50 one time is not a big deal)
- $1/mo more for a dedicated IP (still peanuts)
- Their CloudFlare docs are convoluted - can't tell if they're an actual Optimized partner, and they claim that it only works with CNAMEs (WTF?)

What I like about A2Hosting:

- Daily backups
- Extra security, or so they claim
- SSD
- SSH included
- Attracta

I am open to other suggestions as well. This site will be optimized as much as possible and is using a lightweight theme.

Thanks!

e: Also considering VeeroTech - free dedicated IP and SSL are attractive along with the features they share with the others. They have some offers going that would make them as cheap or cheaper than others with their free included SSL/dedicated IP (I saw mention of this elsewhere, but not on their main site).

Curious what you decided to do here, if anything. I had missed this post when it was first made some months back. :depressed:

Any god host should be able to meet those basic needs.

Honestly, there's really no need for this. SSD is best used for database servers, but the normal file system will not really be impacted by this. The bottleneck for WordPress sites in all CPU and RAM, not I/O. And in the off change that the site really needs I/O, then you're better off with a CDN anyway. (A real CDN, like MaxCDN, not CloudFlare!)

Both of these are excellent hosts. :congrats:

CloudFlare's instructions have changed several times, and are best read on the official CF site. However, CloudFlare is more likely to slow down a site on a good server at a good host -- not speed it up. Stablehost is an excellent host, and using CloudFlare is NOT suggested. Many hosts hate CF, because the customers blame the host for the numerous/constant errors caused by CF. The customer mistakenly thinks the host is at fault.

Most of this is nonsense from A2. :rolleyes:

- Most hosts have daily backups. However, read the fine print! Most do not give you access to those backups.
- "Extra security" sounds like BS without details.
- SSD may not help you whatsoever.
- Most all hosts will give a shared user jailed SSH, if you ask for it.
- All cPanel hosts include Attracta -- it's part of cPanel. (However, that things is useless.)

If you have questions, always ask. Veerotech is another excellent host. :)