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webhosting6
12 May 2007, 10:55 AM
HostMonster Review (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1)

http://img.hostmonster.com/720x90/1.gif (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1)

HostMonster (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1) is an established company who have been providing web hosting services to individuals and businesses since 1996. They are based in Utah, and their company ethos would appear the simplification the hosting process. In line with this, they only offer one plan; a “one size fits all” package that attempts to deliver all things, to all people. Our life experience up to now should tell us that this is an unlikely prospect; usually we end up with a “jack of all trades, master of none” type situation. Please continue reading to find out if HostMonster (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1) as any success with these tactics.

Features

HostMonster (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1) may only have one hosting plan, but it’s certainly not short of features, the entire list can be found on their website here . Below is our overview of the main features you should know about.
300GB Disk Space – This should be enough to satisfy even the most storage hungry of websites.
3000GB/month Bandwidth – Well, HostMonster are definitely living up to their name, because this really is a monstrous amount of data transfer. The majority of websites won’t even use 1% of that, and it’s a good job they don’t, because if they did all HostMonster’s servers would go into meltdown!
Unlimited Add-on domains – This, in our opinion, is the key selling point of this plan. No other host company (who is genuine and trustworthy) offers such a feature, at such a low price. It allows us to host an unlimited number of websites on a single account at no extra cost, thus delivering exceptional value for money.
Free domain name – HostMonster (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1) will register your domain name for you free of charge, for as long as you host with them.
Fantastico – This program can install over 50 useful scripts automatically. Its functionality is integrated into your control panel, and offers the easiest way to install scripts such as blogs, shopping carts, forums, portals, galleries, and more.
100 MySQL Databases – These come in very useful when installing Fantastico scripts, because each script will often require its own database.
Free site builder software – Contains professional templates, and presents you with the easiest way to create a new website.
30 Day money back guarantee.
Free search engine submission.
99.9% Uptime guarantee.
Unlimited e-mail accounts.



Customer service and technical support

HostMonster (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1) furnish us with 24/7 technical support via toll free phone, and an e-mail ticket system. They claim to have “the best support in the industry”, err … we’ve heard that before! So do HostMonster have the best support in the industry? – No. Though to be fair, we found them to be proficient and very helpful when we contacted them. However, their not quite in the same league as Lunarpages, but then again who is!

Performance

Performance is actually surprisingly good, considering the low prices HostMonster (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1)charge and the amount of resources they offer to all their customers. Server performance was brisker than we anticipated, and downtime would seem to be negligible. All in all, we find that the vast majority of individuals would be more than happy with this level of server performance and reliability.
            The control panel is actually a bit of a revelation, it’s a cPanel (our favorite) that has been customized with a Windows XP style skin. It’s called the cPanel XP Evolution and we very much like it. The look of the standard cPanel is what most people complain about; it’s starting to look a little dated when compared to the likes of Vdeck or Plesk. However, this version gives you the best of both worlds, the class leading functionality and ease of use of the cPanel, combined with a high quality appearance. There is a full working demo on the HostMonster website , give it a try, we think you’ll like it.

Our Verdict

HostMonster (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1) have done a great job with this “all things to all people” type plan. In fact we were ready to condemn them for being just another host who make promises that they have no intention of delivering on. Thankfully our investigation has found them to be a genuine and worthy host, who do indeed represent a sensible hosting choice for a wide variety of potential customers. Principally, those of you who are seeking budget shared hosting, but still want vast amounts of features, coupled with excellent value for money. This is especially the case if you plan on hosting multiple websites; our favorite host for this purpose is Hostgator (they also offer unlimited domains), but they do charge a few extra dollars per month. So if you’re in the market for a similar solution to that which Hostgator offers, but can’t stretch to $9.95/month, then HostMonster would make an admirable choice. Their plan is available in two formats 12 or 24 months, the cost of which works out at $6.95, and $4.95 per month respectively. HostMonster undoubtedly present us with a great value web hosting solution, which in our opinion makes them a very sensible choice.




http://img.hostmonster.com/120x90/1.gif (http://www.hostmonster.com/track/majianlin/text1)

webhosting6
12 May 2007, 10:56 AM
Globat Review (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin)

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Globat (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin)was founded in 2002 and has quickly grown to become one of the larger web hosting companies in the industry today. They are based in Los Angeles, California and currently boast over 75,000 customers. Globat concentrate their efforts into two shared hosting plans; the “Terabyte Extreme ” ($7.95/month for 12 months) and the “Terabyte XS ” ($19.95/month for 12 months).

Features

Below are what we consider to be the stand out features of Globat’s two hosting plans the “Terabyte Xtreme ” (TX) and “Terabyte XS ” (TXS) packages. For a full list of both plans features please visit the Globat (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin)website here.
Disk Space – 1000GB for Tx, and 5000GB for TXS. Extraordinarily large amounts of web space which points to huge quantities of overselling.
Bandwidth – 1000GB/month (or 1 Terabyte) on the TX and 2000GB/month (2 Terabytes) with the TXS. Again Globat are overselling resources pretty heavily – don’t expect to actually be allowed to use these vast amounts, luckily chances are that you won’t need to anyway. If your website managed to use up 1% of that bandwidth limit then you would have a website with plenty of traffic.
Multiple domains – This feature allows you to host multiple websites on the same hosting account, 10 on the TX, and 100 with the TXS. This is a good feature and gives you a better chance of utilizing those disk space and bandwidth allocations.
1 Year money back guarantee – However, in Globat (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin)’s terms of service it states “If prior to the end of the agreed on Term, Customer cancels the Services for any reason, or Globat terminates the Agreement due to Customer's breach of the Globat User Agreement or Acceptable Usage Policy, Customer will be charged a US$150.00 Breach-Of-Contract fee per domain”
Go Build – Website building software.
$50 worth of Yahoo marketing credits.
Unlimited e-mail accounts.
Unlimited MySQL databases.



Customer service and technical support

O.K let’s start with the positives namely Globat (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin)’s staff are very polite; unfortunately that’s as good as it gets. Globat offer 24/7, toll free phone, live chat, and e-mail ticket services, all of which deliver a largely unsatisfactory level of performance. Response times are poor and at times truly awful. There are many reports of customer’s e-mails being completely ignored for several days even after repeated e-mails are sent. In fact this actually seems to be a tactic that Globat employs on purpose when faced with problems it does not want to resolve. Once you finally do get hold of a support operative your chances of finding and end to your problem don’t improve too much because the quality of technical support on offer is way below par.

Performance

First of all, don’t expect Globat (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin) to be in any hurry to set up your hosting account, last time we tested Globat they told us that it would take 48 hours (the best hosts take 15 minutes), well that time passed and after repeated calls to customer support it transpired that someone at their end had “forgotten to turn it on”!
            Server performance is just about acceptable with server speed and reliability around average for this type of hosting.
            The control panel is Globat (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin)’s own design, but is most closely related to an H-Sphere. Sadly we rate it even less than a standard H-Sphere, which is saying something!

Our Verdict

There is one aspect of hosting with Globat (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin) that we have saved to the end of this review. We really feel that it graphically illustrates the sort of web host that Globat (http://affiliates.globat.com/cgi-bin/affiliates/clickthru.cgi?id=majianlin)is. Once you have the misfortune to sign up with Globat they make it very difficult for you to leave – let’s say that you sign up for a year; at the end of that year you think that you would be able to move on right? Wrong! Globat will automatically charge you for another year and lock you in with clauses and extortionate cancellation fees. The only way to prevent this (other than not signing up with them in the first place) is to cancel your account more than 15 days prior to your renewal date, but even then make sure that you get some sort of written confirmation.
            Obviously we are going to issue you with a big warning to avoid Globat at all costs. However, if you are new to the world of web hosting please don’t let this review put you off; there are plenty of good web hosts out there, and the best place to find the most suitable one for you is right here at Which-Hosting.com, please click here to view our Web Host Ratings Chart.


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