Top Five Hosts
Niche is such a nice word. Originally from the French, Niche literally means “an enclosure or corner.” Niche can also mean finding a place where your talents fit perfectly. Kind of like that business you just started.
A startup begins with an idea, gathers momentum (and, hopefully, funding), and turns into a business. But how do you get that business on the Internet? Should you just put up a site, select a host, and hope for the best? I wouldn't move into hosting territory that swiftly.
Sure, cheap hosting sites can be found, but finding a site that caters to your niche is really the way to go.
1. Top Five Hosts: Bluehost : Bluehost has been around for some time now, so this hosting company has a great reputation. In addition to being a cheap web hosting provider, Bluehost comes with some startup essentials. Bluehost has an easy to use cPanel that makes life a lot simpler. Plus, Bluehost comes with various features and package prices that won't bust your startup budget.
2. Top Five Hosts: Hostgator : I've been using Hostgator for many years now, and I've never had a problem with this cheap hosting site. Hostgator also offers fast and painless ways to add features like shopping carts to a site, and the customer service reps are top-notch.
3. Top Five Hosts: Rackspace: This company has been in the news A LOT lately. Rackspace currently offers a Startup Program that includes cloud features. The best part about this program is that it walks startups founders through the hosting process from start to finish. Rackspace isn't exactly a cheap web hosting option, but it is a site worth looking at if you want a hand-holding experience.
4. Top Five Hosts: Amazon Web Hosting: Okay, it's hard to go really wrong with a company as reputable as Amazon. BUT — I warn you — large companies come with some downfalls too. Before you head right for Amazon's web hosting options, make sure to read this article!
5. GoDaddy: GoDaddy is another massive hosting company that I'm sure you've heard about. GoDaddy has a solid reputation for hosting (even though the company has had other troubles), and you'll find plenty of affordable packages on this site.
Top Five Hosts: What Y Combinator Startups Use
I came across an interesting document on GitHub that put Y Combinator startup hosting preferences into nice little pie charts. The number one host that these startups use is Amazon followed by Rackspace — I'm betting that will change soon thanks to Rackspace's focus on startups.
If you put a lot of weight into what Y Combinator startups do, you might want to spend some time investigating why Amazon is so popular. Mostly, it has to do with costs, but that doesn't necessarily mean that you should follow the crowd (again, read my article above about small hosts vs. large hosts).
Remember to find a host that lets you expand easily; has a good track record when it comes to up time; and allows you to completely control your site.
