NZ Webhosting vs Aussie Web hosting?

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pritishd

28 posts

Geek

#30178 31-Jan-2009 13:01

Hi Guys,

I was thinking of setting up a website, where I wanted to buy my own domain name and buy some webspace.

I found two good Aussie deals

Crazy Domain
This one costs NZ$6 PM where they offer 1 Gb webspace along with 15 Gb web transfer, including domain name registration

There other one was

Servage Hosting
This one cost NZ$11 PM where they offer 510 GB webspace with a whopping 5010 GB transfer with a free domain name registration,

The question that I wanted to ask, is there any kiwi webhosting companies that offer similar plans. I was looking at various Kiwi, webhostingm where the best offer were only like 20 - 100 MB for $10 per month with a limit of 1 GB.

Any reason why they are so expensive in this day and age of cheap hardware?

Regards

Pritish

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11 posts

Geek

#193079 31-Jan-2009 13:50

http://hostingdirect.co.nz/ is in my opinion the best NZ webhost by price and performance.

I suggest you check their plans out.

thumper12

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Wannabe Geek

#193091 31-Jan-2009 15:02

Hi,

The previous recommended site looks good (http://hostingdirect.co.nz/).

Here's a couple I'm looking at:

http://kiwiwebhost.co.nz/webhosting.htm
- nice and cheap but its linux and doesn't support asp, .net or coldfusion

http://www.net24.co.nz/coldfusion.htm
- more expensive but its got coldfusion and windows (asp and .net)

I've also got a hosting matrix pdf from NZ PC World magazine which has been pretty good but is a little out of date (2006). I can try and get it to you if your interested.

Cheers

freitasm

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#193092 31-Jan-2009 15:12

You didn't tell us your requirements - database or no database? Scripting support (PHP, ASP, ASP .Net, Rails), Operating System, traffic, etc.

It seems you are looking at shared hosting. Is shared ok? What about growth? Thought of gettinga virtual host instead?

Costs are low, but do they provide the features you need? Can you access all folders as Administrator? Can you modify some of the features as needed?

If you host in Australia but your audience is in New Zealand, how slow it will be? It's known that slow websites have a low number of return visitors, and so on...

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pritishd

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Geek

#193093 31-Jan-2009 15:39

I merely wanted to host a personal website with access to showreel/video. I don't want a shared one since they limit the download limit. I once hosted a video on on one of these sites, where they gave out 1 GB free bandwidth. Within 4 hours, my bandwidth got used up. My audience tend to be based in australia but is also is global.

I found one US based one where they have office in OZ

http://www.justhost.com/

Seems pretty good for now, as they offer CMS and I also chatted with their live support.

Am in the process of researching the review for this webhosting.

Cheers

Pritish

Lipex666

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#193116 31-Jan-2009 18:55

Im using http://www.hostgator.com/ as it offers unlimited bandwith and we have NZ sites on there and dont experance any delays in fact most of the time its quicker more than likely to the time google and other banner promotions take to load. They offer 20% off at the moment on $4.95 which is great value in what you get compared to a NZ or Ausie hosting provider.

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Ragnor

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#193156 1-Feb-2009 03:10

As mentioned by others you need to be aware of whether...

a) The service Shared Hosting, VPS or Dedicated?
b) Where are the server's located NZ, AU or US?

From least expensive (worst performance and control) to most expensive (best performance and control) it goes...

1: Shared Hosting
2: VPS
3: Dedicated

From least expensive to most expensive it goes...

1: US
2: AU
3: NZ

Anything under $20 / month is likely to be Shared Hosting (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Shared_hosting) with the servers in the US most likely. Read the link to understand the pro's and con's of shared hosting.

US servers will have higher latency and slower download speed for users from NZ and AU vs local servers and vice versa.

Also remember if you are paying for a AU or US hosting from NZ the current exchange rates will affect the price. Weak NZ dollar and you'll find your cheap US plan is now more expensive.

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kingjj

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#193171 1-Feb-2009 09:29

pritishd:
Servage Hosting
This one cost NZ$11 PM where they offer 510 GB webspace with a whopping 5010 GB transfer with a free domain name registration,

Mate, avoid any webhost that offers this sort of space like the plague! Its overselling and you'll quickly find that if your using even a little bit of your allocated space/bandwidth your site will be suspended for over using resources (which on a shared hosting plan is extremely easy to do). It is located in their TOS that they can suspend/terminate your account if you use too many system resources (RAM, read/write etc). Also sometimes when you get a 'free' domain, the host can be pretty nasty about handing the domain over to you when you leave their service (not saying this is the case with Servage, just one of those industry issues).

As a general rule of thumb with US webhosts, $1-2US per gig of space/10 gigs of transfer will be a webhost that is not overselling their capacity. It is usually cheaper also to find a Linux based hosting provider with PHP/CGI/MySql running CPanel or DirectAdmin although Microsoft based hosting is on the increase.

If you want to research any hosts that are suggested or that you find have a look at WebHostingTalk.com where you'll likely find reviews/special offers in the Offers section.

PS: As you'll be wanting to convert/stream video will you be using a a flash based system? If so you'll need a host with FFMPG/FFMPEG support.

pritishd

28 posts

Geek

#193179 1-Feb-2009 10:50

If you want to research any hosts that are suggested or that you find have a look at WebHostingTalk.com where you'll likely find reviews/special offers in the Offers section.

Thanks for the advice. Turns out that the JustHost company has some pretty nasty marketing strategy.

Mate, avoid any webhost that offers this sort of space like the plague! Its overselling and you'll quickly find that if your using even a little bit of your allocated space/bandwidth your site will be suspended for over using resources (which on a shared hosting plan is extremely easy to do).

I guess. I am all new to this web hosting thing. Now that you say that, hostingdirect(NZ Company) offers unlimited traffic with limited space, so that not sure if they fall in the same category. or I might try the aussie one....torn between the two....

Can you guys advice me where can I get the best deals on buying a domain name?

kingjj

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#193181 1-Feb-2009 11:05

pritishd:
If you want to research any hosts that are suggested or that you find have a look at WebHostingTalk.com where you'll likely find reviews/special offers in the Offers section.

Thanks for the advice. Turns out that the JustHost company has some pretty nasty marketing strategy.

Mate, avoid any webhost that offers this sort of space like the plague! Its overselling and you'll quickly find that if your using even a little bit of your allocated space/bandwidth your site will be suspended for over using resources (which on a shared hosting plan is extremely easy to do).

I guess. I am all new to this web hosting thing. Now that you say that, hostingdirect(NZ Company) offers unlimited traffic with limited space, so that not sure if they fall in the same category. or I might try the aussie one....torn between the two....

Thanks a lot for your advice guys.

These NZ hosts with the unlimited bandwidth will use a number of tricks to control your bandwidth output, but they are not always that bad. Most of the time they are counting on the majority of your traffic being local (NZ) which is effectively free for them if they partner at the exchange, however if you start to use large amounts of international traffic you'll hit the TOS barrier. Ninenty five percent of websites out there use less than 1gig of transfer per month and under 100 megs of space, so for the majority of these sites these plans are perfect. I would reccommend that you start with a small account with a local NZ firm and if you find your hitting any limits you look at moving to AUS or the US. I've hosted in the US and Europe for the last 8 years targetting a Kiwi audience and never had any issues with speed or latency.

pritishd

28 posts

Geek

#193182 1-Feb-2009 11:09

These NZ hosts with the unlimited bandwidth will use a number of tricks to control your bandwidth output, but they are not always that bad. Most of the time they are counting on the majority of your traffic being local (NZ) which is effectively free for them if they partner at the exchange, however if you start to use large amounts of international traffic you'll hit the TOS barrier. Ninenty five percent of websites out there use less than 1gig of transfer per month and under 100 megs of space, so for the majority of these sites these plans are perfect. I would reccommend that you start with a small account with a local NZ firm and if you find your hitting any limits you look at moving to AUS or the US. I've hosted in the US and Europe for the last 8 years targetting a Kiwi audience and never had any issues with speed or latency.

I would definately need more than 1 gig transfer per month, and they would be definately be more International. I would probably have a chat with hostingdirect before I sign up with them. I guess if they don't are lameass about the whole bandwidth, well I'll just goto the Aussie one. So much so for the government promotion of "Buy Kiwi, we are made"

Ragnor

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#193217 1-Feb-2009 15:01

I was looking at the hosting direct site myself and they list all of their policies pretty clearly.

eg: Their bandwidth use policy
http://hostingdirect.co.nz/policies/bandwidth-policy

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kingjj

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#193226 1-Feb-2009 15:35

Ragnor: I was looking at the hosting direct site myself and they list all of their policies pretty clearly.

eg: Their bandwidth use policy
http://hostingdirect.co.nz/policies/bandwidth-policy

This is what is on the site:

The term unmetered bandwidth means fair use of our services without hidden data charges passed onto our customers.
If your account uses heavy amounts of bandwidth that is affecting the performance of our network or servers, or is becoming unreasonable to the point where the expense of operating your account exceeds your monthly fees, we will then discuss your available options, such as upgrading to a higher plan. We will discuss this with you before proceeding with any account actions.

The key words here are "fair use", what is fair use? Its up to the host to decide what fair use is. There is nothing different in this hosts policy than any other hosts policy, it ultimately says that if you use what they decide is "heavy amounts of bandwidth" (which always has a flow on effect to other server resources) you will be contacted to discuss upgrading your plan, going on a fixed bandwidth allocation or leaving the service. Without specific targets for "heavy amounts" there is nothing clear about what their policy is.

The fact of the matter is that on shared hosting as soon as your site gets popular you will hit one barrier or another which will force you to pay more/move on up. The host referenced has left their options open to remove anyone for any reason while still leading possible consumers to believe that they can actually use as much as they like.

If you look deeper into their policies (AUP for instance) they give examples of non-acceptable content to be hosted. Not only does this list severaly limit what you can use the hosting for (such as "folklore, tasteless, freeware downloads [which could constitute streaming/download video] and the like) but it also contains that magic statement: "We will be the sole arbiter as to what constitutes a violation.", so once again they have left themselves another opportunity to turf someone who is hosting something they don't want/like/appreciate or someone who is using resources in a way they don't accept.

Don't get me wrong the host has every right to decide what is placed on their hardware and net connection, but you have to read further into their policies, and particularly between the lines to notice that there is no such thing as "unmetered or unlimited" and at the end of the day if the host feels your using too many resources or they could get more money out of you, they will take action.

Final thought from AUP:

Lastly, we reserve the right to determine what violates this policy.As such, any violation may result in immediate deactivation of services without refund.

PS: this is not a direct attack on you Ragnor, more a vent.

pritishd

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Geek

#193230 1-Feb-2009 15:47

Praise the internet lord....I did finally manage to find a decent priced kiwi webhost

http://www.hostwebsite.co.nz/

$3.95 PM - 200 MB space with unlimited traffic, along with Jhoomla preinstalled

Had a chat with the owner, and he said he was fine with 5-6 Gb traffic surge.

He was nice enough to give me a slight discount on top of what was there and was helpful.

Although domain name is expensive through him, I decided to buy my domain name from crazydomain as it costed me aroundNZ $15 for the whole year

Ragnor

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#193240 1-Feb-2009 16:19

kingjj: PS: this is not a direct attack on you Ragnor, more a vent.

No problem mate.

It's just I would be very suprised to find any hosting provider that doesn't have terms like those. They have to cover their butt somehow. Shared Hosting for <$10 per month means shared server resources and shared bandwidth pool.

pritishd's site isn't going to be the next Facebook so shared hosting is probably fine for a small amount of infrequent users.

I found the whois for hostwebsite amusing ( http://whois.domaintools.com/hostwebsite.co.nz ), see server data to see where their servers are colocated lol.

insane

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#193844 3-Feb-2009 22:49

So they are collocated at orcon.... its not like its hosted off someones DSL account, and yes I've seen that before.

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