Over a year ago I wrote a post about how I moved this blog from one host to another. That post was called WassupBlog Alive And Kicking After Transferring to BlueHost. If you’re looking for a good host you can’t go past BlueHost and their CPU Throttling would have to be one of their best features.

Over a year later it’s happened to that host again. The first time it happened I thought it wasn’t really the host’s fault, it was just that Wassup had outgrown it, especially as I had three other blogs hosted under the one domain. Let that be a warning to people, although many hosting packages give you unlimited domains you have to remember the more domains you have on the same host the more strain you’re putting on your CPU and the more likely you’ll get your account suspended. Once I moved WassupBlog I left behind three other blogs, my Scenic Adelaide, Photos2Blog and my Load Of Bullshit blog.

I left those blogs there because it was an Aussie host and I wanted to support an Australian company. It turns out that was a big mistake. I woke up one morning to find that my account was suspended yet again. The turkeys at HostSmart, yeah I’m naming them as others should know what to expect from this host, didn’t take the time to find out which blog was causing the problem and suspending that blog, nope, they suspended the whole account. I couldn’t even access my CPanel or use my FTP program to access my blogs to check things out. Shit, I couldn’t even receive emails linked to those accounts.

No damn support. No phone numbers listed on the site. I finally found a phone number but do you think anyone would answer it? I left a support ticket and when I got a reply some 24 hours later it was to say that my account was suspended due to it was overloading the server and it wouldn’t be restored until I confirmed I would do something about it.

There was so many things that could have been done that they failed to do and in the end they’ve lost me as a customer. Not only that but I will no longer be sending people to them, an average of some 200 – 300 per month! What a waste that proved to be, they couldn’t even convert one of them. Perhaps those people were just smarter than I was.

Once I got access I couldn’t get out of there fast enough. While I was waiting to get access I searched the web for another host as I didn’t want to put all my eggs in one basket by using the same host. I settled on HostGator as they seemed to have a great reputation. Once access was restored I started moving everything over and it all went through without a hitch. As it turns out HostGator has a 24hr Live Chat which I used a few times, both before and during the transfer, so that I could clear up a few things. Every time I used it they were quick to respond and they were able to answer all my queries. Now that is what I call service, something my previous host knew nothing about.

Here are some tips for those looking for good Web Host.

• Ask other bloggers who they use and what they think of them.
• Check the forums, most good hosts have them, to see what the reaction from members are. Do they resolve problems quickly?
• Check to see that they a phone number so that you can contact them quickly in an emergency. Leaving a support ticket is OK but can be time consuming.
• Do they have Live Chat available? I’ve found this to be an indispensable feature and both BlueHost and HostGator have it.

If there are any other important features that you require or recommend when choosing a host I’m sure others would like to read about it in the comment section.

Mitch, if you’re reading this post, yes you did warn me about staying with them, and yes as it turns out I should have listened to you. Again. Let that be a lesson to me huh?

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