Wriging

I've been with Dreamhost for 2 years and had no problems with them. Cheap, decent uptime, decent support and epic levels of bandwidth/storage/features.

I'd recommend Crucial and of course my affiliate code which will get you $50 off at sign up (code='twigged') ... yeah I know, I'm a shameless affiliate pimp.

They're still small, they operate a split-shared hosting system which runs very fast. (survived simultaneous digg and stumble effects). The company boss is very approachable and open to new ideas. Support is fast and efficient, and staff go the extra mile to offer alternatives in case you don't like their initial reply and there's also a 101 day money back guarantee.

I dunno, before them I tried Micfo, Hostgator, MT, Dreamhost and all have issues. I'm sure Crucial will have some too. That's part of the budget hosting experience.

But so far I'm happy. It's tough to make a decision, I've been in that situation so many times. The best you can do is listen to other people's opinions but ultimately set yourself a trial period and monitor the hosting carefully. If you don't like what you see you can pull out and head elsewhere.

Dreamhost. Cheap (with coupon codes up to $97 off). Powerful. No stupid hard CPU-usage cut-offs. And fully featured.

Oh and they have a 97 day money-back-guarantee so even if you do have issues, you've got over 3 months to change.

Matt, I'm going to chip in with a suggestion. If you live in the UK, an internet acquaintance runs a hosting company in Jersey called TG Hosting. His name is Luke Bratch and he can be contacted via his website: http://www.tghost.co.uk.

My own blog is hosted by him and I've not had a single problem in the past eight months or so. Certainly worth a look.

£22.50 PA with new .co.uk domain

I'd recommend Dreamhost. I've been with them for a while now and I have nothing but good things to say about them.

On a side note, they're my fourth hosting company since I started my first website.

You can try DownTownHost.com

its good and cheap.

My website is hosted with 34SP. They are UK based if it matters, and their packages start from £17.95 ($35ish) a year plus the cost of your domain registration (which depends on whether you get a .com, .co.uk etc).

My WordPress blog is hosted with them and I've had no problems.

I'd reccomend http://www.winterswebworks.com/

Jonah, who runs this, has been very kind to me in the 8 years I've hosted 2 websites with him, in terms of giving advice or answers when I had problems. My background is in design not hosting, but I ended up taking the leap in hosting two websites.

The other reason, I'd reccomend him is that the 2 sites I have with him have almost never been down in the 8 years, I have my site with him, while at my work, (public broadcasting) this has been much more often the case. Admittedly, probably the traffic isn't so big, but ... I assume that's what you are looking for. A hosting service that works.

anyway all the info is on his site:
http://www.winterswebworks.com/hosting/

Oli:

Dreamhost. Cheap (with coupon codes up to $97 off). Powerful. No stupid hard CPU-usage cut-offs. And fully featured.

Sadly, not quite the case anymore. They're capping coupons at $50 - even the $97 dollar one. More info here and here.

Hmm good point Josh. I didn't get that memo.

Well in that case, Matt, if you're considering Dreamhost, consider using my promo code. It'll get you the maximum $50 off and by doing so you'll be buying me a beer or three. Code is: DREAMKITTEN

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As people say above, DreamHost is great. GoDaddy is average, but cheaper.

As a 9rules member, you can benefit from 9rules' partnership with (mt) media temple and get a good deal on some hosting there. You should buzz a Ruler or (mt) for details.

azharc: I think the OP is a little confused. Unless Tyme is just running behind on updating the OP's my.9rules account, he isn't a 9rules member. my.9rules member, yes, but not an actual 9rules content member. So he wouldn't be eligible for the (mt) deal.

A Small Orange. Their tech support is wonderful, and their hosting plans are pretty cheap.

Matt, after you select your hosting provider, I could use your help. I am starting a hosting review site (which shall remain nameless; I'm not trying to sell or promote anything) and you are exactly the main demographic I will target--beginner seeking web hosting company. I am curious: what were the determining factors in selecting the company you went with, how did you do your research, what was the overall experience like, and what advice would you give a hosting review site? Thanks for your help in advance.

I have to recommend Site5 beyond every single other host I've ever used (and I've used a lot of them).

750 GB of storage, 7.5TB of monthly bandwidth, a home-grown, simplistic yet powerful control panel... Ruby on Rails plus everything else you'd expect from a web host for $5/month when bought for 2 years.

Plus, you're put on a fast, undercrowded server.

They're just great - even the support is always quick, accurate and willing to help.

how come nobody is recommending mediatemple (mt) ?

I would check out jimdo.com. It is the simplest and most responsive beginner web host I have ever come across. I use it myself to come up with quick web mock ups for clients. Its very easy to use and affordable to upgrade.

I'd recommend mediatemple (mt)or dreamhost. (mt) costs more but the support is fantastic, at least in all of my experiences, often times things I have issues with get resolved within 30 minutes. DreamHost is probably the best you can get for its price, I had some issues with them and my domain names though when I wanted to switch...not entirely their fault, but still a bit frustrating. gatorhost.com is also a good one, I used them for about 2 years straight and never had a single issue...actually I can't remember why I switched from them.