true cost of inexpensive hosting?

They have: 140 posts

Joined: Nov 2003

Hi-

I need some advice on hosting.. and have read quite a few
messages posted on this board.

I'll be launching a site that will need alot of bandwith (I think).
I anticipate quite a few users (starting low and getting into the hundreds) being at the site at anyone time, downloading pictures,
webtemplates and accessing their account. It is a B2B portal.

A big concern of mine is that the site will run quickly with that
many users at one time... It is Unix with php/mysql.......

Am I asking for trouble if I sign up for a low-cost hosting provider
and then move the site to a dedicated server at some point? There
will be a sizeable mysql database involved. Is it going to cost me more
in the long run to pay someone to move the site over, or is that just
a matter of copying files?

I'm looking at an inexpensive hosting co. now ($6.00/mo) that will give
me what I need for 3-4 months, then I'll need ALOT of bandwith.

Any help or direction is appreciated. I'm new at this.

CBC58

They have: 17 posts

Joined: Nov 2003

I'd say don't go for the $6/month hosting. Go with a reliable provider that gives very good support. Discuss your needs , as relating to this site specifically with the host before you choose one. If they provide Cpanel hosting, I've heard its not too difficult to transfer the site contents from one place to another (if the other place also has Cpanel hosting). You might go with a host that provides both dedicated servers and reseller accounts. That way you won't be moving away from them when you need to upgrade and they should be more than happy to help with the move since they'll be making more money from it. Hope this helps.

Suzanne's picture

She has: 5,507 posts

Joined: Feb 2000

I pay less than $6/month for hosting. Have for years. No problems so far... However, I know my way around most trouble ticket problems and don't need support often.

They have: 20 posts

Joined: Oct 2003

If you stay with a CPanel site, moving is very easy. In fact the Web Hosting Manager (WHM) has the ability to "copy" a site from one CPanel server to another. You can also just copy a backup file and import it into the new site.

You should be able to start with a smaller host, and then move when your load gets too high for where you are at.

Good luck,
Dacsoft

Dacsoft Internet Services

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