Advice : New Hosting Server

[lazylifeparis]

I would love to get your feedback and opinion as to which hosting i should go with ?

Here is what I use now:

VPS with Go daddy / 3GB RAM / 90GB Disk Space / 3 TB Bandwidth.

I am having some issues with the server lately and I am up for renewal and so I would love to keep my options open to see if there are other server options for me.

I am looking for a managed server, with cpanel and great customer service. My magento ecommerce store does not have huge amount of traffic (~3000 visitors/mo) and we manage roughly 30 transactions a mo. I use a payment processing on site.

I heard good things about A2Hosting & Nexcess. But are they good for a magento eccomerce site.

Would love to hear your suggestions.

Thanks

Al

[SindreM]

I won't comment on the specific providers you mention, but as you are looking for managed hosting with good Magento support I suggest that you pick 3-5 hosts that are on the top of your list. Send them some pre-sale questions to check their response time and how they handle Magento specific issues. You should also ask what sets them apart from the rest and maybe ask for a trial or demo.

There are a couple of hosts specializing in Magento out there, some of which even frequently visit these forums. Check independent review sites like ShopperApproved, Review Lobby and Host Jury to get the opinion of others and a general idea of what their services are like. Avoid the many "top 10" lists at all costs. They are mainly rated based on how much they pay in affiliate commissions and is not representative of their level of service.

I hope this helps. Good luck in finding your next Magento host!

[StevenAntonucci]

Depending upon where you are, you can pick LiteSpeed/LiteMage enabled hosting partners to get the best performance.

ProperHost(EU), A2 (US), Aspiration Hosting (US) all should be able to help.

[JLHC]

What sort of issue are you facing with the current server?

I think we should at least know what's the problem before you consider switching provider as that may not solve the problem. 

[lazylifeparis]

Hi JLHC

Thanks for the response, it is more of a customer service issue, the hosting service I got was below par, they seam to not want to help me out, neither on the chat service or when i called.

But if we put that aside for a sec, my renewal is up and I have been seeing that I have used almost all of the RAM i have with the current server which is 3GB. So i would need a better one I guess.

That is the main reason, I want to check out what is the best option for me out there

[lazylifeparis]

Hi SindreM

Thanks for the support. I will have a look in those thread you mentioned.

[JLHC]

@lazylifeparis: Those are definitely valid reason to consider switching provider. You may want to consider a provider who focus more on Magento so they will be more willing to help you out with any Magento related issues. 

[williamcm]

Hi @lazylifeparis

When looking for appropriate hosting, you should always consider where your clients are located first. If they are in the USA, you will require a host with servers in the USA. If they're in the UK you'll want a host with servers in the UK and so on, in order to reduce latency and help with page load times. You probably already knew that but I mentioned it just in case!

Before migrating to another host you need to understand why you are experiencing the issues you are currently. Have you reviewed your current Magento setup, and optimised it in line with the various online guides. Have you performed any troubleshooting on your site? There is no guarantee that by changing hosts your issues will be resolved. Sure some hosting providers are more helpful than others but most will not look into coding issues (unless they also happened to design the site as well) - in the main that's your responsibility.

There is some good advice on this thread. For me, a non-affiliated recommendation is always a strong indicator that a supplier is worth investigating further. Be wary of the "review" sites that you'll find on various search engines. Many (not all) are heavily influenced by the amount of commission they receive when they refer potential customers. There are some hosting forums where people will happily give you a recommendation based upon actual experiences - www.webhostingtalk.com being an obvious one.

Hope you find what you are looking for.

[StevenAntonucci]

@williamcm  Sage words of advice on the affiliate programs and commissions.  A lot of the Magento Agencies run like political campaigns ...check the sponsors to see who has bought them :-)  

If you get a recommendation, you should also ask for one that they have no affiliate relationship with to compare.  WHT is a not specifically Magento hosting, which is what you probably need more than just a good host.