WAHM Resources : Hosting

I have used a lot of hosting companies over the years.  And there is a lot to consider when choosing who is going to host your site.  Here are my big three:

• Customer service availability.  As a work-at-home mom, my hours are crazy.  If am working on a project at midnight and I need to get in touch with someone, it’s important to me that I don’t have to wait. 
• Uptime.  How reliable are the servers?  Down time isn’t good for anyone and who needs the stress?
• Add-on domains and emails.  To me, this is one of the most important.   Between this blog, the Etsy shop, my design business and my Cafepress store, I have a lot of domain names.   The right host will allow you to manage all of your sites for the same monthly cost.

So, who comes out on top?  Bluehost.com

• They are available 24/7/365.   Even on weekends and holidays.
• They guarantee 99.5% uptime.  I have never had an issue and that is saying a lot considering the number of my clients that are also hosted with them.
• And finally, for $6.95 per month I am hosting all four of my sites with unlimited disk storage.

That’s certainly not to say there aren’t other fantastic hosts out there.  Doteasy.com is another company (based in Canada) that I’ll typically recommend for the more basic sites.  If you register your domain name with them ($25/year) you’ll qualify for their free hosting package.