Recent events with a number of my websites currently being hosted with my very first webhost has prompted me to reevaluate what I look for in a hosting provider.

I’ve been a long way and used a good number of hosts since then, so I’m confident in the list below. But remember, these are only my personal experiences with these hosts, so your mileage may vary.

(They are not ranked in any particular order, but I do mention whether or not I recommend the host next to its name.)

HostGator (Recommended):

Since I’ve been hosting my sites with HostGator - currently a great number of sites - I’ve not experienced any major outages or catastrophic failures. Getting set up was extremely easy once payment was made and didn’t take more than an hour.

HostGator has two things I’ve come to appreciate in my hosting escapades: phone and live chat support. I’ve rarely needed to use it, but in the two events they were prompt and courteous.

HostGator also uses cPanel hosting, so anyone familiar with the interface will be right at home. And yes, it has Fantastico for all those one-click installs.

Some other perks include an unlimited number of MySQL databases and add-on domains and 75GB of bandwidth when selecting the $9.95 (or up) plans.

Price Range: Shared hosting plans from $6.95/mo - $74.95/mo

Web Hosting Buzz (Not Recommended):

When I started out with Web Hosting Buzz, I loved the customer service I received. Actually, it made up for what it lacked in uptime/stability. Unfortunately, in recent times, the service and stability have both declined and I cannot, in good conscience, continue to recommend them.

I believe most of what is happening with WHB are simply growing pains, but it’s quite disruptive, especially if the website being hosted is an important one.

Web Hosting Buzz offers cPanel hosting, along with Fantastico. It also allows for an unlimited number of add-on domains and MySQL databases.

Price Range: $3/mo - $5/mo (billed annually)

HostM (Recommended):

I’ve had a few problems with HostM over the year I’ve been hosting with them, but they have been very reliable and helpful through it all - that’s why I recommend them. While I would appreciate a little more communication with their customers on what’s going on behind the scenes, it’s not a deal breaker.

HostM also sports cPanel, a familiar interface for many webmasters, along with Fantastico for all the one-click installs. I’ve noticed they’re also pretty good about keeping their installs pretty up to date.

If you manage a small number of websites, then this would be a good deal as HostM allows up to 4 add-on domains and 20 MySQL databases. You also get 10GB bandwidth limit to be shared across all hosted domains.

Overall, HostM would be great for one or two small-medium websites who just need affordable and reliable hosting.

Price Range: $7.95/mo (paid annually)

DreamHost (Hit or Miss):

DreamHost receives a lot of rave reviews, however, they also receive a number of not so rave reviews. I believe their service is hit or miss.

I’ve been hosting a few sites with them for the past year, and I, personally, will not be renewing my hosting account with them. I made this decision when I needed to scramble late last year to move one of my business websites from their because a word in a blog entry caused the server to hiccup.

After writing to support, the issue remained unresolved (though we figured out it had to do with “enhanced” security and a particular word in the blog entry - word still unknown). I really don’t have time to figure out which words are going to cause problems with the server while I’m writing a blog entry.

If you don’t do a lot of technical writing or use blogging software, then you may not have any problems with them. Basically, I would recommend them for static websites that don’t get updated very often.

They do not have cPanel, so their control panel presents a learning curve, and may be confusing to the novice webmaster - but they do have one-click installation for a few key software releases (i.e. WordPress)

Price Range: Shared hosting $7.95/mo - $63.95/mo (billed annually - prices per month increase when billed monthly) - they also tend to have a number of specials and discounts

MediaTemple (Undecided):

I really cannot say too much about MediaTemple yet because I’ve only been hosting with them for about a month and I haven’t even finished the first website on their server.

Though I can probably give a few pointers - they do not support “typical” add-on domains - instead, it’s like domain masking (and you can have up to 5). If you want real add-on domains, you should probably find another host.

Aside from that, they do allow a hefty 30GB of bandwidth (which rolls over - cool).

They use Plesk instead of cPanel as their control panel, which also has a slight learning curve (and no Fantastico), but nothing daunting for an intermediate web master.

I’d say, hold off on signing up with MediaTemple if you’re easily intimidated by hosting accounts or managing hosting accounts.

I can’t say much on their technical support, yet, but I probably will in the near future.

Price Range: Shared hosting $7.95/mo - $15.95/mo (paid annually)