Answers: shared v. reseller v. dedicated

[gwyneth]

Many of the questions in this category concern the differences between shared, reseller, and dedi accounts.

The fact that the space and bandwidth limits for shared accounts are bigger than for reseller accounts makes it harder for some people considering Hostgator to understand why shared hosting may not be suitable for them.

Limits of shared hosting: if you're going to have more than one distinct e-commerce site, you can't really do it with an addon domain (private certificates need dedicated IP numbers, and cPanel limitations mean that only one can be installed per cPanel account, and it needs to be on the main domain). You can either get a reseller account (and create as many cPanel accounts within it as you want) or a dedi.

Processor and resources: if you want to run a file download site or do intensive video or audio streaming, you'll run into restrictions on a shared account or a reseller account.

Clients: if you're reselling web space, you really need a reseller account or a dedi to make separate cPanel accounts. Even if you think your activities aren't really reselling, there's a good chance they might be.

Ecommerce: as mentioned above, a shared account is really suitable for only one ecommerce site. If you have several, by the time you rig out a reseller account and get certificates and dedicated IPs for several domains, you may find a dedicated server would be cost effective. It comes with five IPs, and you don't need to pay HG to install certificates because you can do it yourself. You can also institute some security provisions not suitable on shared/reseller servers and work with some payment processors who require two-way ports that can't be used on shared/reseller servers. Moreover, you can install anything you want on a dedi, so you can run Magento (which won't run on most HG shared/reseller servers because of Inodb).

Power resellers: having a dedi allows you much more control over your accounts. You can install your own certificates and do a lot with WHM that's not available on normal reseller accounts. You also learn a lot, and will probably feel more "pro" with a dedi. Many HG resellers have upgraded to dedis, and tend to post that they should have done it long before.

These threads discuss the types of accounts and compare various aspects of each.

Simple hosting (baby) or reseller account?

Really Dumb Question on space & Transfer

Can i do this?

Advantages of dedicated over reseller?

Why is dedicated server better than shared?

Dedicated Server

[slapshotw]

Good thread Gwyneth. Hopefully this will act as a clear guide for many people.

[RainbowViper]

I'll second that. Good job, Gwen!

[gwyneth]

Several other factors that some people should consider before signing up for a shared account. (Note that we tend to speak of a $10 account as a generic expression for all shared accounts.)

Realistic expectations: if you have a forum or community site, for example, that's outgrown another hosting company's $10 account, the chances are really good that it'll soon exceed the capacity of HG's $10 account--perhaps immediately. Most of us HG customers do think we get a lot more for our money here, but if a size 12 foot won't fit into another company's size 7 shoe, it's not going to fit into HG's size 9 shoe either.

Clients: although the client issue was discussed briefly above, IMO if you are charging someone for any aspect of web services (design, maintenance, support, anything) and control his/her/its back end, it's a terrible idea to expect that firm's site to work out as an addon domain on a shared account. If you're that resistant to getting a reseller account, it's better, IMO, to let the client pay HG for a year of its own account and give you the login details than jury-rigging it into your shared account. There are lots of reasons for this, many discussed in the "Can I do this" and "Really dumb question..." threads linked above.

Realistic expectations, 2: occasionally people post in the reviews and non-public categories their shock and disappointment about losing hundreds of dollars per day when their $10 account, for whatever reason, stops working. With many HG shared accounts functioning for literally years without an interruption, it's worth considering whether a ratio of $xxxx in to $x out is realistic.

Very, very few business expenses cost as little as $10 per month, let alone anything that could be considered the means of production. A part-time dog groomer, for example, probably spends more than that on shampoo!

Making a hundred bucks a month from ads on a $10 account is one thing. But consider a site outage of a couple of hours--the greater your revenue losses would exceed the free month HG will refund if responsible, the riskier your business math is.

Some multi-zillion dollar businesses would be fine with a $10 account; some ecommerce sites that bring in less than thousand a month would not. The point isn't to scare anyone off shared hosting, but to encourage realistic expectations about what your ten bucks gets you.

[gwyneth]

HG has put together a large matrix that shows what you can run on what kind of account. Kudos to forum member QuietFinn for pointing it out:

Compatible Technologies « HostGator.com Support Portal

[tommyb]

Thanks for this post, it really helped me pick the package I was looking for!

[Chimpie]

Chimpie thinks this thread needs to be updated to include VPS.

[creativegm]

Thanks. I picked level 4 VPS!

[Chimpie]

Originally Posted by creativegm

Thanks. I picked level 4 VPS!

Congratulations and welcome to the HG Family.

Once you get everything set up, be sure to create a thread and tell us about your experiences and lessons learned.

Oh, and don't be afraid to ask questions. We're all here to learn from each other.

[eurgbp]

do you provide clients with ERIC KVM hardware remote connect?
do you apply any restrictions to KVM, like virtual media access

[marekso]

Originally Posted by eurgbp

do you provide clients with ERIC KVM hardware remote connect?
do you apply any restrictions to KVM, like virtual media access

I Think They Provide it
But not sure

[striddy]

Originally Posted by marekso

I Think They Provide it
But not sure

hidden image spammer (reported)

[leemary34]

To Gwyneth,
Thank you for sharing the information. It is very informative. I learned a lot.

[marbas]

thanks for the information. But we should also be aware that there are also shared account that are harmful to both end clients and even costumers. We should be working well on this.But thanks for the information, it would really help many to think twice about doing an ecommerce

[EarlyOut]

Originally Posted by parvinaminzare

Thanks for this comprehensive information.But i just want to notify to all my friends.....

This is not the place for you to carry out some sort of vendetta. Posting about your problems with another host, on various unrelated threads, is pointless.

Reported.

[fostat]

Thank you for sharing the information. It is very informative. I learn a lot.