Should I switch from Dreamhost?

[tinjaw]

My two year contract with Dreamhost is coming to an end this April. I have been happy with them and don't plan on leaving, but I figured I would ask you folks if you have come across any full service hosting companies that compete with Dreamhost for price, features, and customer service before I sign up for another two years.

[Carol Haynes]

I haven't used DreamHost but I have been using www.nativespace.co.uk for the last few months and they are fantastic. The servers seem responsive and don't seem to have any issues. When I had a couple of niggling issues both times I got an email response in under an hour and the problem fixed very quickly. (Some of those email responses were on a late Sunday evening). They also have a phone support line 24/7 though that may not be convenient if you are based outside the UK. Not only do they provide good technical support but they are very helpful and quick at answering other questions (including via Live Chat as well as email and phone).

[sri]

From my experience, only Hostgator is a close match to DreamHost but DreamHost still wins features-wise.

Tinjaw: I have been using DreamHost since June 2006. Have 50 domains hosted.

[y0himba]

Member since 2005, 13 domains, I have had to contact support twice.  Price is incredible as are the resources you get for the price.  I wouldn't change.

[Shades]

How much do you think you can gain by switching from one provider to another?

If your current provider always delivers on up-time, security, ease of use, etc. (in other words, worthy of your trust)...at which point becomes their fee a major factor? After all, after making the switch, it can become quite troublesome and any of those troubles does no good to the trustworthiness of the new provider.

I use a Dutch company Hosting2go which asks 32 euro's for registering a domain and a year of hosting. Very likely not the cheapest out there, but their trustworthiness is very good. The value of my time looking for an alternative and fixing possible problems, makes it not worth the trouble to change...to me at least.

[Dormouse]

If you are happy, why switch? Even if it is to a better or cheaper host it will require extra effort from you to move, require you to research new hosts and then give some anxiety that you might have made a mistake until everything gets going - and all to move from something that you are happy with.

I haven't used DreamHost but I have been using www.nativespace.co.uk for the last few months and they are fantastic.

-Carol Haynes (February 22, 2009, 12:14 PM)

But nativespace are more expensive for much more limited space and transfer etc.; and this may or may not be relevant. I have tested Dreamhost in the past, and they were OK; I think there are much better options (depending on your precise requirements) - but if you don't know that there are things you need to be better, it has to be worth staying where you are.

[Ampa]

I am in pretty much the smae situation as you Tinjaw - I've been with DreamHost for 2 years, and renewal is due within a month.

I plan to renew.

The price is excellent, the features meet my needs, and although they have their fair share of issues at times, I genuinely believe that they do their best to look after their customers.

Ampa

[mitzevo]

I'd stay with them. Over the years I've always heard of the incredible features/space/etc. they give you for really good prices, etc. But yeah, different experiences in different circles. Never seen any bad comments/feedback on dreamhost.. well I haven't researched..

[Josh]

I am in love with dreamhost. Their support team is very responsive and their services have never caused me any issues.

BTW Tinjaw, WHY ARE YOU NEVER ON IRC!!!

[CWuestefeld]

They're probably the Britney Spears of hosting companies, but I'm quite happy with GoDaddy. The few times I've needed tech support they've been very responsive. But the big thing to me is their automatic installers for many web apps. You can get a WordPress blog or SMF forum running on a GoDaddy site just by clicking a link that says "install it here".

[Josh]

Dreamhost also offers that one-click install. They even have the option now where they manage the upgrades, although you cannot touch the config files, but other than that the maintenance is very minimal on those installs.

[tinjaw]

Thanks for taking the time to comment. I think I will re-up with Dreamhost. I've been happy so far and nothing I've seen or heard so far leaves me to believe that the grass is any greener on the other side. Your comments helped reassure me that I am not just succumbing to laziness and not really wanting to move everything. I feel better about renewing now. Thanks.

[mahesh2k]

Hostgator is hands down. I've seen many bloggers switching from it. And i Don't think it is wise option to switch from such good host like DreamHost. If you want alternative in any case then try these: Softlayer, Mediatemple, Wiredtree, Psychz.net, BlueHost.