webhosting companies?

[safarion2003]

Hello Folks,
I am planing on starting my business online in February and I need some advice on webhosting companies. I need a recommendation of companies that have these features: No set up or transfer fees + Free domain name + unlimited subdomains,Mail Forwarding Aliases,Mail Groups,Autoresponders, FTP access + Web Based E-Mail + shopping card + control panel + multiple domain usage
+ no limit pop3's and ftp accounts + web browser or client based email
spam filters + phpMyAdmin + SSI + SSL (secure socket layer) + web logs + resell space + Affiliate program + Use standard HTML editor, Front Page, Dreamweaver, flash and more + etc.
also I have an other questions regarding the payment procedure. what companies do you recommend for secure payment with cheap fees ? I know paypall.
Any information would be so appreciated and thanks in advance.
Cheers
Safarion

[philipwhite]

be weary of anything that says unlimited or unmetered. what your asking for can probably only be provided on a dedicated server and its not going to be cheap. well ev1servers is cheap but unless you REALLY know what your doing its not for you.

if you want it all, you have to be willing to pay for it.

[safarion2003]

Thanks Philip for your advice. I really appreciate it.
what I am trying to do is to gather more information about the steady and strong webhosting companies that provide many services with reasonable prices.
what do you recommend Philip?
waiting for your answer untill then take care and have a good holiday.

[Bizzy]

when it comes to webhosting, you typically get what you pay for. Don't fall for those "too good to be true" plans for $5/month because they likely are.

Check for my thread on "tips for choosing a webhost"


on that note...my personal reccomendation for hosting is:

Planetvelocity.com

for payment gateways, check out paysystems.com $49.99 1 time set up fee. No monthly fees.

[safarion2003]

Thanks Bizzy for your information I checked those websites out. the webhosting company sounds great but as for the payment system company, it was a little steep. the percentage was 3.95% and $1 for each transaction or 5.5 % which a little bit high for new small business companies like my self.
Anyway I am still looking at other companies. and hopefully will find a reasonable price. Folks have a good holiday.

[Bizzy]

yikes..I didn't see their rates were that high. I don't use paysystems myself yet...I'm opening a 3rd business and was GOING to use them....but now I'll stick with who I'm using now which is http://www.terrapayments.com

[Corey Bryant]

I have used Hostway (www.hostway.com) actually for 4 years. I now even re-sell their services. I have been very pleased with their services & support.

Hosting companies are a dime a dozen. Be wary about them take your time in deciding.

[safarion2003]

Thanks folks for your advices . I am going to check out all those websites and find the right one for me. Happy new years to you all and may God bless you.

[Corey Bryant]

Also I noticed that you had aquestion about accepting CC.

Paysystems is a third party processor. They are going to be higher because of the risks involved. But it is now even getting harder & harder to get approved by a third party & easier to get approved for a true merchant account. There are some third party processors that charge up to 15%.

One main difference with a third party processor - their name appears on the CC statement not yours. There are usually no monthly fees involved, but if you are processing over $1,000 a month in sales - the merchant account pays for itself. And of course the more you process - the more you will save.

Also do not apply for a merchant account until you have your site almost complete. One - you won't be accepted because Visa/Mastercard have to scan you site to make sure everything is OK. And then no need to pay for it until you are ready to.

[dwburns]

Check out 1&1 internet: http://www.1and1.com

They are offering 3 years of free hosting if you sign up before 1/21/04. No credit card is required, you just need a US address and phone number.

I know this sounds too good to be true, but I have been using it to host websiteadvice.net and it works great!