Web Hosting Preferences

I am in the dark about what to ask for and expect from a web host. I have a simple website I created in iweb and a domain name I am transferring from GoDaddy, my previous host who I am not satisfied with. I've already unlocked my domain name and have my code to transfer.

How does anyone like MacHighway and Fused? Or?

Thanx,
Lo

I migrated away from GoDaddy years ago after they nearly gave away my domain name and I got fed up with their arbitrary, non-customer friendly rules.

After a lot of research and recommendations from folks that I trust, I switched to:

ICDSoft
http://icdsoft.com/
http://www2.icdsoft.com/hosting/usa

For the amazing price of $60/year ($72/year to sign-up) I get all of the bells and whistles and great 24/7 service! (Support is via a dedicated Web portal. Answers arrive in less than 10 minutes no matter when you ask them! However, there is no telephone support.) A huge amount of Web space, unlimited e-mail addresses and e-mail hosting, the facility to quickly and easily set up e-mail discussion lists, etc. Renewal of my domain name only costs $5. They never seem to experience any down time.

May I say something about iWeb (which I also used to use)? It's terribly outdated. I have a recommendation for a better, more modern Web page creation program. Best of all, it's FREE!

BlueGriffon (free)
http://bluegriffon.org/

BlueGriffon is WYSIWYG, and if you have ever used a decent word processor, you will likely find BlueGriffon to be nicely intuitive, as the program's interface is quite similar.

BlueGriffon works directly with HTML format files. It isn't a page layout program, with a proprietary format, grafted on top of an HTML translator like most Web site creation programs (including iWeb) are. That means that BlueGriffon is perfect for editing existing Web sites. All that you have to do is download your existing HTML files from the Web to your computer and open them in BlueGriffon. (You can use a program like SiteSucker to do that.)
http://ricks-apps.com/osx/sitesucker/index.html
Or, you can download any existing Web site (from any source) and use it as a template for how you want your site to look!

BlueGriffon's manual isn't free (selling things like the manual and add-ons is how the BlueGriffon folks make their money), but you don't need it. BlueGriffon has a nice help feature in the program, and there is this:

Free video tutorial series:
(The tutorial does not use the Mac version of the program, but the program is virtually identical across platforms.)
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bWPj7EGjQt0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Nnj6i_ckRp0
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fRMQQIGIFlA
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ucyHio2JOEM
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFYpSi0LEI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zBFYpSi0LEI
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4IyoMj4OvFQ
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jz****w0Gpc
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gEZ97YOsDLg
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rvZitt7aoIo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wmjEaOgEaBs

I use OVH's shared hosting.

First, DO NOT pick a web host from this list: http://www.linux-depot.com/non-endurance-international-group-eig-hosting/

EIG are notorious for running web hosts into the ground after purchasing them, and moving all their data to their unreliable datacenter, with poor support.

You'll want a host that offers:
Good (Helpful and Fast) Support
High Uptime and Performance
Friendly Staffing
Current Technology

I would not recommend GoDaddy. I used their shared hosting for 2 months and it was dreadful...
Also, remember to not register your domain with your host, in case you ever get hacked.

Just some tips. ^^ Good luck!

Thanx for the info. I'm thinking about Fuse. Reviews say they have excellent customer service 24/7 so that to me is a big plus. I was with GoDaddy about 2 years. They didn't want to be bothered to try and help me with my mac to get my site up through them. They were always rude, even when they wanted me to renew with them. I'm out, they can't have any more of my money.

I have a simple site, no emails, just basic info so if anyone has a word about Fuse, I'd appreciate it.

@MacMermaid: You should make a thread on WebHostingTalk and on Hosters.cc, both communities are very reliable for web hosting related matter ^^

GD sounds pretty bad for you, I'm sorry -_-. Also a company that doesn't even offer email support is pretty much not trusted for me, because not everyone likes to use the phone...

I know I'm a little late to the game, but wanted to add some experiential info from my own viewpoint.

I currently own and run two very distinct websites and have them hosted with 1and1.com. While the pricing is reasonable to me for what I get, the support is pretty atrocious. I'm a mid-to-advanced level user, and by the time I have to call in Support I'm looking for "the big guns". And what I get are people that have absolutely no idea what they're talking about. In fact, on one occasion, they would have ruined my web site if I had let them do what they wanted to.

I'm actively looking for another location to move the sites to that would also save me money as I'm currently paying somewhere around $175/year for three domains (two for one site and one for the other) with unlimited storage and data transfer.

I have also used Omnis in the past and had reasonable luck with them. The Support was a little better, but the prices (at the time) were a little higher and that was primarily why I switched.

Bluehost is very well-liked by the friends I have that run sites and is a likely target for where I'll move my stuff to.

I've been using DV Host at www.dvhost.com for all my websites and they've been awesome. Great uptime and great support if needed. I also have friends using them and they're very happy. Moved all my stuff from Bluehost.

Paying $5.99 for unlimited everything.