Site5 - should I stay or should I go?

[riley454]

I migrated my basic website to Site5 about 12 months ago following recommendations here and they have provided excellent service for my simple needs. Unnoticeable downtime even when performing maintenance and they have been awesome with support tickets. Unlike hostgator who I originally signed up to !

My website is a very simple wordpress site promoting a small business to my local community in Melbourne Australia (currently <1000 visits/month) and is mostly text and pics. Sometime in the near future I hope to expand it with interactive pages and videos that will increase traffic but these are not an immediate issue and most basic shared hosting services will meet my needs for the next 12 months.

As my current $11/month arrangement with Site5 is due to lapse this week I need some help deciding my hosting future. This site no longer includes Site5 because of EIG sale so I'm inclined to migrate not only on this info but also because their pricing is not competitive.

Currently my site is still hosted from servers in Sydney(Aust) which I pay an extra fee for each month however their website no longer shows Sydney as a server location so I expect Sydney servers will soon be gone. Is server location ever going to be an issue for me if my traffic is less than 10,000/mth?

The current list of "Top Web Hosts" all have basic shared plans for way less than the $11/month Site5 wants me to pay. eg: Namecheap have a 12 month intro offer around $1/mth and $4 after that and most others on the list range from $4 to $10 for a basic shared service. There are lots of others that want $20+. They all claim 99.9% uptime, excellent support and all the great options. How am I meant to decide which host to use?

I'd love to pay $1/month but not at the expense of poor uptime, support or migration. I'm also happy to pay $11 for guaranteed uptime and instant support. Unfortunately "you (don't always) get what you pay for" particularly if Site5 goes down the expected EIG path!

I trust the integrity and recommendations on this forum and would love to get some suggestions on selecting my host for the next 12 months.

[kpmedia]

Since Site5 is now under the Endurance International Group (EIG) umbrella, and scheduled for demolition (migration/"upgrade") to their servers, I would leave as soon as you can. They are leaving Softlayer, and it's only a matter of time before Australia servers (Softlayer) are gone. Site5 is already following the ASO/Arvixe route, and ASO is overseeing it. There have already been huge issues with USA server migrations.

These days, with the advent of CDN and caching servers, location isn't quite as important. Your site would probably be fine from a USA west coast server, using CloudFlare.

The choice of Namecheap vs. others (Stablehost, InMotion, Siteground, etc) is more than just price. Don't let that be the deciding factor. For example, each has strengths and weaknesses in terms of location and support. Namecheap is Atlanta, so east coast. You'd be much better of with InMotion (Los Angeless) or Stablehost (Phoenix), both west coast.

Another good option is Siteground, on their Singapore location. In fact, that might be the best option for non-reseller shared.

Everybody claims 99%+ uptime, fast support, blah blah blah. Actions matter, not words. Stablehost, InMotion and Siteground all have fast/effective support, near-100% uptime, and excellent customer backend UIs. That's why those are so highly suggested.

Losing Site5 was a real shame, but we have other options.

[riley454]

Thanks for the speedy reply

I agree, siteground having servers in asia/pacific is a bonus. No doubt any maintenance downtime is usually out of peak times which will coincide with my timezone(roughly). I contacted them with the online chat to confirm a few other details before I proceed and was immediately impressed with the speed and information from their help desk.

They suggested to add hackalert when I place my order (extra $1/month) Is this necessary considering they already promote such a high level of security? Was going to anyway for the small extra cost unless its a complete waste.

Also their intro price $3.95/month which reverts to $9.95 after initial purchase term. With the option of 1, 2 or 3 years signup, is it wise to sign up for 3years to lock in the cheap price or settle for 1 year in case the company ownership, policies etc change as Site5 has?

Thanks for the help so far

[kpmedia]

"HackAlert" is useless. That is one aspect of Siteground that is obnoxiously incongruent with the rest of their operation. It only scans 10 random URLs, and is a piss-poor excuse for "security". It's just a money-grab add-on. They don't do that with anything else, and (a) they should be ashamed of themselves, and (b) discontinue that laughably ridiculous upsell.

I would never sign up for anything for more than 1 year. You can always ask for a better deal with it comes up for renewal, assuming you still need simple shared hosting. Things change -- everything from ending the site to needing a VPS. If you still need quality shared hosting in a year, and they won't budge price-wise, come back here to the forum and ask for more advice on where else to go. This industry has competition.

If you do use them, please use our link: Siteground.com
We won't get rich off it, but it helps keep this place funded to help others like yourself.
Nothing changes for you price-wise or otherwise. It's just a link.

Again, they have really good support and good servers/uptime. Being so close to Australia, it's probably the best fit for your needs.

[riley454]

Awesome kpmedia

The live chat rep wasn't too convincing with the upsell of hackalert which led to my questioning it.

After Site5 changes within the 12 months I previously agreed to, I don't have any long term expectations for any provider within the industry so I'll take your advice and in 12 months check back here again when my new agreement is due for renewal.

I wasn't aware the links assisted the site and googled the companies you have referred to. Luckily I haven't signed up with them yet so I'll use the link tomorrow when I commence my migration. I'm more than happy to assist sites like this continue to provide the amazing and unbiased advice that has been beneficial to me and I know its not much, but I've also donated $10 in thanks.

Keep up the great work guys

[kpmedia]

Quote:

Originally Posted by riley454

I wasn't aware the links assisted the site and googled the companies you have referred to. Luckily I haven't signed up with them yet so I'll use the link tomorrow when I commence my migration. I'm more than happy to assist sites like this continue to provide the amazing and unbiased advice that has been beneficial to me

Some links help, some don't. This just happened to be one of the ones that does. When that happens, we mention it. That's really what separates us from all the fake junk online. Those fake sites just BS you, and their "advice" is based on $$$ -- mostly EIG crud. But we test hosts thoroughly, and our advice is not financially biased.

Quote:

and I know its not much, but I've also donated $10 in thanks.

It all helps. Thanks!