MangoOrange™

Over the years we have run a number of online services utilizing various web hosting platforms and services.  As a website owner one of the worst things you can ever hear are comments from others such as:

"I can't see your site"
"Its not coming up for me"
"I can't upload the file"
"I sent you the email.  You didn't get it?"

Major Uptime (www.majoruptime.com) provides Website Monitoring Services can check your website, email servers and various other connection types at regular intervals to ensure your information is available and ready for you, your customers and other visitors.  While most of the services we have tried in the past charged an intro rate of $9.95/month, they would renew at much higher prices all the way up to $99/month.  The Major Uptime product is far cheaper than anything we have seen.  The base package is $5/month which will monitor up to three items of your choice.  You can add more monitors for $1/month per each extra.  If you know you are going to be monitoring things for a longer period of time a 1 year subscription is just $36 which averages $3/month.

The nice thing about this service is you can set it and forget it.  Major Uptime will automatically alert you via email, text message or both if any of your monitoring services are triggered for connection issues.  Not only does it alert you of the outage, but it will also tell you what the type of error is.  Did you make some updates that accidentally broke the site? Is your site available for some people but not others?  These alerts will help you pinpoint the error and know who you should contact to help get things fixed.  For more information take a look at http://www.majoruptime.com.

written by mangoorange \\ tags: Major Uptime, Website Monitoring, Website Monitoring Service

Just Host

Ok, so the title of this post is a little play on words, I would say there are several good web hosts out there on the web so I am not saying you have to exclusively host with just host; however, if you are looking for a reliable web hosting provider who will give you quality service and support I think you may actually want to consider purchasing you web hosting through Just Host.

When Just Host web hosting was first created it was located overseas and many people expressed concerns that support wasn't quite up to par...   I can now say, THAT HAS ALL CHANGED!!!  The masters of web hosting Endurance Group International (the biggest network of web hosting sites in the world) recently acquired Just Host and have made some drastic changes that now make the company (in my opinion) one of if not the best web hosts in the world.

Let's look at some of these changes....  First, as you know I believe Bluehost to be one of the better web hosting providers in the world and advertise them throughout this website.  I am a fan of Bluehost because they have a top notch support team, reliable servers, and are located in the US.  The owners of EGI decided it would be a smart decision (and I agree) to move all support and new hosting accounts that sign up with JUST HOST to the Bluehost headquarters.

So what did this do?  This instantly/over night might Just Host web hosting one of the fastest, most reliable web hosting providers in the world.  In fact, the average hold time for a support call is now under 1-minute!  That is quite impressive!

Not only is just host a great web hosting provider but they also offer their hosting at a rate that really cannot be beat.   Their current rate is only $3.50 a month which is cheaper than Bluehost's $3.95 and in all reality you are getting the same servers and support as you would if you chose Bluehost.  So with that being said, I thinks its fair to say that you should Just Host with Just Host.

Visit Just Host

written by mangoorange \\ tags: just host

Bluehost is a Great Alternative to GoDaddy Web Hosting!

For years I have been an avid critic of Godaddy and how they use their big name and sexy commercials to deceive unknowing web hosting beginners.  Now, GoDaddy has  really messed up by supporting the unpopular SOPA bill that has been rightfully opposed by tech giants.   Hundreds of thousands of  users are now boycotting Godaddy, as they continue to dig themselves in a deeper hole.

If your considering purchasing a domain or web hosting from GoDaddy.. Please stop now and save yourself lots of headaches in the future.  I highly suggest instead that you choose Bluehost; in fact, if you use our exclusive promo link below you can get professional web hosting from Bluehost for only $3.95 a month.  Can you tell.. I really don't like Godaddy? Haha.

Bluehost promo link

http://www.alreadyhosting.com/bluehost.com

written by mangoorange

Editor's note:  Jonathan Burdon is the owner of several web hosting related sites including but not limited to: AlreadyHosting.com, MangoOrange.com, 110mb.com, and WebHostingServices.us.  This article is intended to provide factual information but may also contain some personal opinions and thoughts of Mr. Burdon.

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Hi readers, I am excited to be blogging with Christmas only 3 days away!  This year has flown by and has brought with it many exciting changes in the hosting world.  Today I want to discuss three web hosting headlines that took place in 2011 and discuss how each were game changing.

Headline #1:  Endurance Group Acquires Bluehost.com
This was a huge headline that may have slipped under the radar for many; however, the story is big for many reasons.  The endurance group is the owner of several large web hosting brands, including but most definitely not limited to:  iPage, FatCow, Justhost, Hostmonster, FastDomain, iPower, and the list goes on-and-on.  This company over the last few years have operated with one mindset... BUY out the competition!

The cool part about the Bluehost acquisition is that it pushed the Endurance group into the lead for hosting the most websites on the web... It is quite an accomplishment to say you are literally the biggest web hosting provider on the web.  GoDaddy still remains the registrar with the most domains hosted; however, Endurance has mastered the hosting side of things.  I have reviewed many web hosting companies in my day and I am very impressed by Endurance Brands, I am very shocked that they can maintain quality support with such fast growth... But they have done just that, so Endurance I applaud you!

With that being said, I am also a fan of competition.  I believe that competition makes individuals and corporations work harder to improve the overall experience for the user (which is a good thing), so I would hate to see Endurance acquire many other large companies... Sure that may be a bit selfish of me, but I think having a HostGator out there to compete separately against EG cannot be a bad thing.

Overall, this was big news for the hosting world!  I have several friends over at EG so I congratulate you guys on this big achievement!

Headline #2:  Continuing Towards a World of Cloud!
The trend didn't necessarily start this year but it definitely kicked into full gear over the past 12 months!  Users are finding the cloud to be a much more flexible, fast, and reliable solution to host their websites and startups.  Major companies like Apple are even allows their client base to back up important data like documents and phone numbers to the cloud.

Sure, compared to shared hosting and dedicated hosting the cloud is still just infant; however, mark it down that Jonathan Burdon predicts that in 5-10 years most every company will be making a shift to the wonderful world of the cloud!  Or wait... Will the cloud be old news in 5-10 years?  Who knows.. Don't you just love how technology gets better with every second!

Headline #3:  Massive move towards getting web hosting affiliates to follow FTC guidelines.
As one of the larger web hosting affiliates on the web this headline really intrigues me and quite frankly I think is a good thing.  I will be the first to admit, before the FTC started cracking down, AlreadyHosting.com really didn't have any disclosures on it that said it received commission.  I really wasn't trying to deceive anyone, I honestly guess I didn't see any harm in earning a commission by providing users with useful information as long as the user was not put out in any way.

With that being said, after a major crack down on affiliate sites in other industries, major web hosting providers took matters into their own hands.  After discussing legalities with the FTC these web hosting companies came up with standard language and disclosures that should be listed throughout affiliate sites like mine (AlreadyHosting.com), the disclosures would tell readers that the site does receive commission for referrals and are independent of the hosting company itself.

When I was told that these notices needed to be added to my site, I actually had no problem with it... To me the more a user is informed the better decision they can make.   My sites now have the disclosures and I didn't see any drop in sales as a result of adding the extra language.   I really feel good about this push for added disclosure, too many people have a misunderstanding and misconception of what affiliates do thus resulting in a negative view by many; however, reality is affiliate marketer are essentially the driving force of the entire online economy!  Added disclosure is a win/win for users and the hosting company, so I give major shout outs to the hosting providers who led the charge!

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Personal note from Jonathan Burdon of AlreadyHosting.com: I hope you enjoyed this article discussing three news stories relating to the hosting industry in 2011!  Some of these stories may have slipped under the radar, but I think they were all game changing and ultimately shifted the direction of the hosting industry in some way.  I am excited to see what 2012 has in store!

written by mangoorange \\ tags: AlreadyHosting.com, Jonathan Burdon, Web Hosting

So how can you find out whether a web host is trustworthy or not? Do you know what web hosting really is? I would say that there is nothing better than internet that we have today. Our daily lives are highly changed due to all those websites out there along with our culture as well; it has gotten more advanced, smarter, and easier. If you have ever planned to start your own website on the web; you might have also planned the content it will have and who will design it too by now. The only thing missing is getting a trustworthy web host.

If you want to have a website live on the internet you have to have it stored on a server somewhere (web hosting). The internet is a bunch of computers that are linked together so do not take it as a nebulous entity. Internet is simple and this is all what it really is. This is the reason why every website that you visit exists on some computer somewhere on the web. All those computers hosting all those websites are known as servers; they are highly expensive super computers. You will find them in racks located in every web hosting company’s factory or operating facility.

I say that the main feature of every web host is that they are providing you with a place that is secure and safe for the storage of your website’s data. If you are thinking that why can’t your site just live on your own computer at your home? Well, you might be able to store your website but what about the web traffic? A lot of data needs to be stored that cannot be done without getting a web host. People would not be able to access your site if it is not connected to a server.
Always look for reputable web hosts that offer various packages with all types of web hosting. Remember, know what you need and what your requirements are; in web hosting, you can get something in excess but you can never get something below your exact need. A trustworthy and reliable web host would always be flexible with you and assist you at every point. You need to make sure that there are no hassles and high extra charges for switching packages in the future. Also, there technical support should be present 24 hours a day throughout the week. Always do your research and do not go with the very first web host offering an attractive plan.

If you are looking for a reliable and trustworthy web hosting I would look no further than Bluehost.com, this host provides exceptional customer support, friendly staff, and top-notch web hosting for only $3.95 a month!

written by mangoorange \\ tags: choosing a trustworthy web host, trustworthy web host