UK webhosting recommendations please 2

[johnwm]

After 2 years of steadily decreasing reliability and customer service response I am looking to find a new web hosting company. I need:
UK based servers (most of the sites I look after are UK companies).
PHP/MySQL.
Genuine 3 nines uptime.
Package to allow around 20 separate websites, preferably on the same account.
UK customer support.
Preferably genuine host rather than reseller.
Obviously needs to be at a competitive price.
Normal facilities (FTP, POP/SMTP etc)

I have tried the "independent" review sites and the magazine review websites and the reviews are almost entirely unclear about any details of the package/service they are reviewing, which makes them pretty useless. So many of the so-called independent reviews are either so bad that, if true, the company would have long since folded, or so good that they look like advertising puff from the supplier.

Has anyone got any unbiased and "real" recommendations on current form please.

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[Mike Lewis]

Well, you've got a big field to choose from.

I've tried several UK hosting companies over the years. The only one I've been at all happy with is Compila. I have three sites with them at the moment, ranging from a simple static HTML-based site to one involving PHP/MySQL. I don't have any complaints.

Good luck with your search.

Mike

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Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

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[ChrisHirst]

We have two dedicated servers one Linux, one Windows with EUKHost (BlueConnex datacentre in Milton Keynes)

No downtime in the three years we have been with them, including a server upgrade.


Chris.

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[johnwm]

Thank you both for your thoughts. I will add these to my research.

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[aich69]

Could I go against the grain and suggest one you DON'T go with..if only to narrow down your choice.

123-reg.co.uk more downtime than I care to mention, latest was 2 days without mail and still no webiste visibility as it stands. Poor/slow customer service and high prices.

FTR...I am just in the process of transferring my domains to One.com (not UK based though so I won't bang on about how cheap/good/helpful they've been)

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[johnwm]

Thank you, but I do need UK based hosting

If you want the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first.
'If we're supposed to work in Hex, why have we only got A fingers?'
Drive a Steam Roller

 

[aich69]

Might be worth having a chat with this guy

http://neonhorizon.co.uk/uk_hosting.php

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[johnwm]

Thank you for your input. Sadly he is a reseller, not an original host, and his allowances appear to be quite tight. His prices are also substantially higher than I would expect for this type of package, for instance the smallest package that will meet my needs is around twice the price of the competition.
I have decided to go for a webfusion package on a trial basis, and will report back on what I find.

If you want the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first.
'If we're supposed to work in Hex, why have we only got A fingers?'
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[aich69]

Ah apologies for that, I know the guy and I was under the impression he had his own servers. Good luck with the other, be good to know how you get on.

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[Mike Lewis]

Thank you, but I do need UK based hosting

John, just out of curiosity, why is UK-based hosting so important to you?

For most purposes, it doesn't make a great deal of difference where a site is physically hosted. Even for SEO purposes, if you want to attract visitors from a certain country or region, you can tell the search engines which geographical area to target.

Of course, you might prefer the hosting company to have its support service in the UK, which I could understand.

Mike

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Mike Lewis (Edinburgh, Scotland)

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[johnwm]

All

Tried webfusion and regretted it. Have now cancelled with them and found that one of my other suppliers has space on his own server. This seems to be working out very well.

Mike
I tried US hosting and didn't enjoy it much
1. Relatively slow responses (server pings of typically 500ms rather than 20 ms) which seem to add up to be significant on pages with multiple files and AJAX calls
2. Customer support issues
3. No success with telling google where I am. Most of my UK specific sites are near the top of page one for their chosen keywords when UK hosted, but drop between 2 and 20 places when hosted abroad.

Why go for the pain when you can get excellent hosting from a UK host?

If you want the best response to a question, please check out FAQ222-2244 first.
'If we're supposed to work in Hex, why have we only got A fingers?'
Drive a Steam Roller