This page links to a commission-paying link for a service I’ve used for years.
You can get web site hosting dirt cheap these days.
If you’re looking at dirt cheap hosting, it’s most probably shared hosting. This means that you’re sharing the server with lots of other sites, and you probably don’t have access to configure any of the services offered to you.
VPS (Virtual Private Server)
If you’re a bit nerdier like me, though, you’ll probably have fun running your own VPS. This is a whole step up from shared hosting – you basically run your own server.
The only catch is that your virtual “server” is sharing the same hardware with a few other virtual “servers”. This virtualisation allows you to run a fully self-contained server, while not paying for using all the hardware.
When I say you get a server, I mean that with a VPS you can:
- SSH to your server to control it at the command line
- Fully configure Apache, MySQL through config files, log files, custom timeouts – whatever you want.
- Guaranteed RAM and CPU cycles.
- Install git for version control.
Why I went for Servint
I’m not a Linux command line pro. Actually, I felt a bit lost there at the beginning. Instead of going for a blank canvas approach such as Slicehost, I opted for Servint which is a fully managed VPS. This means that if something goes wrong, if I mess up Linux or Apache, their 24/7 support guys will fix it.
Try out Servint if you want more than just shared hosting. The page you’re reading right now was served by that VPS. It takes a bit of server juice to serve all those dynamic pages, especially at peak times.
Get hosted with Servint VPS hosting (affiliate link).