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Finding the right host for your affiliate site

One of the most consistent questions we get asked is, "Can you recommend a good host?" While we have been somewhat hesitant to make specific recommendations, we're going to go out on limb here now and let you know what *we* think is important from an affiliate's point of view.

Our advice is to go with a pre-paid plan and really test out your host during the money-back guarantee period. Don't worry about being locked into a plan. It's a hassle to move hosts and more than likely you won't want to after a year.

We looked at many hosts, actually signed up with a few, and two stood out as having the features that we care about: DreamHost and Fast Next. We still love BlueHost, but after four years with them we've outgrown the six-domain limit.

The questions we think are important to ask when picking a host for your affiliate website are:

  1. What's the cost?
    These days you should expect to pay from $6 - $10 per month for a feature-packed hosting solution with multiple add-on domains.
  2. How many domains can I have?
    Our recommendation is to look for a solution that offers unlimited add-on domains. Once you catch the affiliate bug, you won't want any restrictions on the number of sites you can manage from one account.
  3. What kind of customer service do they offer?
    Eventually something will happen where you need to contact customer service. It's critical that the host you choose has a good reputation (and good tools like live chat) to help them help you.
  4. Do they have cPanel?
    What we're looking for here is ease-of-use. Often you'll find that hosting sites are designed by developers with little though on customer experience. If you find a site that has a cPanel interface, at least you'll know what you're getting.
  5. Do they offer the Fantastico script library?
    If you're creating multiple sites, it's nice to have one-click installs for bulletin boards, blogs, surveys, etc. If you see that a site is Fantastico-enabled, you'll know you're getting that.
  6. Do they support PHP?
    They all do by now. If one you find doesn't, stay away.
  7. How much does it cost to register a domain through this host?
    Most offer one domain for free. Then you should look to pay around $10 for each additional domain.
  8. How much hosting space do you get?
    They're all offering a ton of space these days. Look for about 500 GB or more.
  9. How much traffic?
    Most are offering around 600 - 800 GB. We should be lucky to get that kind of traffic.
  10. How many email accounts can you have?
    Look for a number in the thousands.

DreamHost

The user interface took some getting used to when I first signed up but, thanks to a site redesign, Dreamhost now rocks. I can have unlimited domains, create niche sites at the drop of a hat (with [shameless plug] PopShops), and my bandwidth keeps growing. I wholeheartedly recommend Dreamhost. Terrific customer service as well.

  1. Pricing:
    24 months is $7.95 per month ($190.80).
  2. How many domains can I have?
    Unlimited
  3. What kind of customer service and guarantee do they offer?
    397-day money-back guarantee. Quick-response email availble 24/7. Customers at this level are not eligible for telephone support.
  4. Do they have cPanel?
    No.
  5. Do they offer the Fantastico script library?
    In their words, "Fantastico, shmantastico.. DreamHost now has its very own one-click software installation!" So, no.
  6. Do they support PHP?
    Yes
  7. How much does it cost to register a domain through this host?
    $9.95
  8. How much hosting space do you get?
    200 GB (increases weekly by 1 GB)
  9. How much traffic?
    2 TB (increases weekly by 16 GB)
  10. How many email accounts can you have?
    3000

Visit the DreamHost website.

Fast Next

FastNext basically meets all my basic requirements for a good host.

Here's how they stacked up to our top 10 questions:

  1. Pricing (for the Unlimited Plan):
    Like we said, it's a little convoluted. Here's how it nets out with the coupons. 24 months is $9.95 per month ($238.80). If you use coupon code 6monthsfree you will receive 30 months for the same price, bringing it down to $7.96 per month.
    36 months is $7.95 per month ($286.20). If you use coupon code 6monthsfree you will receive 42 months for the same price, bringing it down to $6.81 per month.
    48 months is $6.95 per month ($333.60). If you use coupon code 12monthsfree you will receive 60 months for the same price, bringing it down to $5.56 per month. This is the plan we ended up with.
    Told you it was convoluted.
  2. How many domains can I have?
    Unlimited
  3. What kind of customer service and guarantee do they offer?
    30-day, money-back guarantee. Live chat and quick-response email availble 24/7. They also have a toll-free number for customer support, but not for technical support.
  4. Do they have cPanel?
    Yes
  5. Do they offer the Fantastico script library?
    Yes
  6. Do they support PHP?
    Yes
  7. How much does it cost to register a domain through this host?
    $9.95
  8. How much hosting space do you get?
    They're all offering a ton of space these days. Look for about 300 or more.
  9. How much traffic?
    3 TB. We should be lucky to get that kind of traffic.
  10. How many email accounts can you have?
    Unlimited
Visit the Fast Next website.