Building my first website - who should I go with?

[paolo]

Good web hosting is so cheap when you consider what a website can bring you in revenue, why try to get it any cheaper?

[Giddy Goat]

Until dumped by our web-designer, who organised the domain name and hosting, we've been with Heart Internet Ltd., which I think has been mentioned. A UK firm and free. We haven't had any problems so far, but if anyone else has, I'd be truly ruly grateful to hear, as now would be a good time to change, but not to change for change's sake.

[ginelli]

Looks as if I'll be staying away from those free hosting sites.

[Giddy Goat]

Looks as if I'll be staying away from those free hosting sites.

Gino, why? Here is some evidence that Heart Internet, among others, may be a perfectly suitable option. I'm hoping some other members see this and can add to our knowledge about HI's service.

Knowing nothing about the technicalities, but appreciating it depends on your needs, (we have one site, and one property, Heart Internet is UK based, and most of our inquiries and bookings come from the UK), there's Marcus, who says

I have a site with a free acount at Heart Internet - never had a problem with it

So my personal experience is, at least for a simple site, there is very little case to pay anything like £100 a year for hosting. The time when you need it is with sites like languedoc-page, probably laymyhat, etc which have much larger traffic and requirements than a private site.

Then, on another thread, there's Hanorah (who won't mind my quoting her I'm sure, as she has also said much the same here)

I have also found free hosting with all the extras ie php etc with heart internet. Don't go into their normal website, google 'free hosting with heart internet', as this is the only way the deal comes up. They offer everything I get on my paid hosting but you can only have one free account. However for those with one website it might be worth looking to transferring to the free hosting deal which is advertised as indefinite.

And there's me! Heart Internet has been hosting ours since we went live with our site 2 years ago. Not long, I admit. But put it this way, no-one so far has come forward and said they have had poor service from this lot.