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Ask HN: Which host should I use for a PHP site?

5 points by volandovengo ↗ HN
I have a relatively simple PHP (Codeigniter) website that I am currently running on a shared host while it has been in development. Needless to say, I haven't been impressed with the performance of the site and would like to move it to a speedy host before we launch.

Right now we don't have much traffic but I'm hoping to get around 1000 visitors/day come launch time (hey a boy can dream right?). Could I kindly ask on your suggestions on start-up friendly hosting options?

Thanks in advance.

19 comments

[ 5.9 ms ] story [ 68.0 ms ] thread
abyssknight
I'd check out the searchyc.com engine for answers, but off the top of my head:

  * SliceHost/Rackspace Cloud
  * Linode
  * EC2 (carefully)
  * Web Faction
volandovengo
Thanks! I wasn't aware that somebody had created a search utility for hackernews. :)
dutchrapley
+1 Web Faction - starts you off with shared hosting with some dedicated memory for your application. You can add more as needed, for a small fee.

+1 Linode - Best bang for your buck for a VPS loaded with features and reliability.

taylorbuley
Agreed on Linode. Good people, good technology.

One might also consider PHPFog or Orchestra.io, which are "Herokus for PHP"

haploid
Yes, and phpfog has the added bonus of being very secure. Those guys eat, sleep, and drink security. Your code/data/site is safe with them.
abyssknight
Sidenote: Linode will do 32bit images, which so far, has been proven to lower the memory needs of some processes. SliceHost/Rackspace Cloud only run 64bit images, AFAIK, unless this has been resolved since I last checked. You also get 512mb at Linode vs 256mb at SliceHost for the same cost.

Learning curve is steep, I'll agree, but totally worth the investment in learning. When it gets to be a pain, hopefully your business model allows for you to hire someone to handle day to day operations. :)

gm
If your performance is bad on shared hosting while in development, your problem is probably not your host. Look at your code a second time.
volandovengo
Really? Interesting. I've found that perf gets worse with more traffic so, that's why I first suspected the host.
T2P
Shared hosting just isn't reliable. It could be his code, but if the slow performance times aren't constant, it's probably the host. You're sharing a web server, database, email, and etc with at least 50 other people (these days, you're lucky if it's just that) and it's all on the same computer. Each scripting language as many ./configure options enabled as they can, so it will fit the needs of the masses.

I'm not sure if you're attached to the ease of use of shared hosting, but it is advantageous to get a VPS and compile everything with just the options you need. I'm a happy liode customer, and many others here are as well.

bmelton
While I don't disagree with the premise that shared hosting isn't reliable, your assertion that "if the slow performance times aren't constant, it's probably the host" is incorrect.

Further, there are a VERY wide range of shared hosts, from very reliable, to very unreliable, to variable or unreliable depending on which machine/region/network your account is attached to.

T2P
Oh yeah, I've seen some great shared hosts (medialayer, mediatemple, come to mind). Realistically though, most of them do suck pretty bad.
volandovengo
Thanks for sharing your thoughts.

Hmm... I been finding it hard to find any hosts, which across the board have raving reviews. I have been finding that a search for any hoster + sucks yields plenty of results.

mediatemple
As with any company, personal experiences will vary. You are likely to read many reviews that are both praising and criticizing services. If you have any specific questions about your needs and preferred features from a host, it's best to contact them and ask. As far as (mt) Media Temple goes, you can check out http://mediatemple.net for detailed info about our hosting products and services. If you have any questions for us, you can call or Tweet us (@mediatemple) any time. We are here 24/7. Good luck with your hosting search!
volandovengo
Took a look at Linode since it seems to be so highly recommended.

Looks like it will be a significant learning curve since I will need to install everything myself (LAMP stack, svn, etc). Is there any way to do a 1 click installation?

Thanks again for the help.

abyssknight
Capistrano and Deprec can help with this stuff. Should come up in a quick Google search. It does use Ruby, but you can use it with PHP and anything else you want to. Deprec has recipes for setting up the entire LAMP stack.
volandovengo
Thanks for the tip, I will check them out. Stackscripts look like they can significantly reduce the pain of setting up a box.
kirchhoff
I use ICDsoft for my site (MapCrunch), and can strongly recommend them.

They are a shared host but I've not experienced any problems, even during traffic spikes (>25k visitors).

Their support is also incredible and responds to queries within minutes.

volandovengo
Thanks for sharing your recommendation. I'm impressed that a shared host can handle spikes of >25k visitors!