Hello, this is my first post. I'm a newbie web developer. Well, I'm not really into web development. I'm still an engineering college student. I only know the basics (html, javascript, css, xml, php, mysql, etc.). And I have never tried a paid hosting service. Now, I got this wonderful idea for a website. You might say I'm ambitious, but I believe the website I'm thinking can achieve 1,000,000 - 2,000,000 daily unique visitors with each user doing 60 pageviews in a day (That's 60M-120M daily pageviews). I based those figures from a website which receive the same amount of traffic and is somewhat similar to the website I'm thinking. Each of most the pageviews I'll have are just about 10KB. I can't discuss more about it but it is really just 10KB. On the server side, each pageview will consume about 20KB of memory. My PHP scripts will need to process a lot of data from an external source. Now the question is: Which paid webhosting service should I choose? I have a list below but you can suggest other. Be sure though that it allows adult content. Well, the website I'm thinking is not an adult site. But users around the world may use my site in everything they want and that includes the display of adult content. Basically, the web host and package should guarantee me the following: -fast processing of PHP scripts -can process 60M-120M daily pageviews (20KB server-side memory per page view and 10KB page output) -99% uptime -fast connection Here's the list: WebHostingPad JustHost I read the terms of the following host and it seems these don't allow adult content. But if I'm mistaken, tell me: Inmotion Bluehost Hostmonster If you want to suggest other sites, please do so. Please say which package I should choose. Actually, I can settle for cheaper packages at first since I'm not 100% sure whether I can achieve those figures I babbling earlier. But anyways, please tell me the right package assuming I can reach those figures.
You obviously won't have that many views in your first few months. The hosts you listed should be fine, just be careful with the amount of CPU you use. Bigger hosts aren't as flexible.
To be blunt you're not going to be able to do that many pageviews out of any shared host. For that sort of traffic you're talking about a load balanced web server setup. If you have database work you're also talking about a cluster of some sort or at least replication. So I doubt you'll get that sort of traffic but keep in mind no shared host is going to be able to handle that. I'd say even a million page views a day is too much for most shared hosts unless you're paying say $100/month for that shared hosting.
I don't think a shared hosting environment would be able to accommodate your needs. In the scenario that you provided, a VPS or Dedicated Host is the way to go.
You will most likely need to lease/purchase a dedicated server. You may be able to scrape by with a reseller account at HostGator or somewhere but probably not likely. You could always start out on a shared plan and then upgrade to a reseller and then dedicated server when you traffic levels increase. I know that HostGator offers free upgrade assistance for transferring databases, files, etc.
My Answers are in bold Hello, this is my first post. I'm a newbie web developer. Well, I'm not really into web development. I'm still an engineering college student. I only know the basics (html, javascript, css, xml, php, mysql, etc.). And I have never tried a paid hosting service. There's nothing wrong with being new everyone has to start somewhere Now, I got this wonderful idea for a website. You might say I'm ambitious, but I believe the website I'm thinking can achieve 1,000,000 - 2,000,000 daily unique visitors with each user doing 60 pageviews in a day (That's 60M-120M daily pageviews). I based those figures from a website which receive the same amount of traffic and is somewhat similar to the website I'm thinking. Definitely ambitious . While you might hope for 60M to 120M, at first you wouldn't be pushing that much. Each of most the pageviews I'll have are just about 10KB. I can't discuss more about it but it is really just 10KB. On the server side, each pageview will consume about 20KB of memory. My PHP scripts will need to process a lot of data from an external source. Now the question is: Which paid webhosting service should I choose? I have a list below but you can suggest other. Be sure though that it allows adult content. Well, the website I'm thinking is not an adult site. But users around the world may use my site in everything they want and that includes the display of adult content. My recommendation would be to start small, and grow as you need to. Stay away from the big oversellers who don't guarantee you a set amount of resources. It sounds like CPU will be a resource that you'll have to keep an eye on, and with these hosts who offer you several TB of diskspace, they'll limit your account through CPU. Basically, the web host and package should guarantee me the following: -fast processing of PHP scripts -can process 60M-120M daily pageviews (20KB server-side memory per page view and 10KB page output) -99% uptime -fast connection Here's the list: WebHostingPad JustHost I read the terms of the following host and it seems these don't allow adult content. But if I'm mistaken, tell me: Inmotion Bluehost Hostmonster If you want to suggest other sites, please do so. Please say which package I should choose. Actually, I can settle for cheaper packages at first since I'm not 100% sure whether I can achieve those figures I babbling earlier. But anyways, please tell me the right package assuming I can reach those figures. Like you said, I would go for cheaper, and just grow as necessary, and as your site traffic warrants the upgrade. Like I said earlier, I would stay away from unlimited hosts, and stay away from hosts who offer large amounts of resources (like 500GB disk, 5000GB bandwidth) for only $5 per month. The reason I say that, since it is a shared environment, those hosts will limit you in some way. If not Disk and Bandwidth, they'll get you on CPU and Memory, and so I would go with a host that charges you a fair price for the resources that you truly use. I think on the unlimited or overseller hosts, you'd get suspended for CPU abuse way quicker than you would on a normal host, regardless of whether or not you are using any bandwidth. At anyrate, as one of my customers said, "there's a gazillion hosts out there, and it's like finding a needle in a hay stack on choosing a good host". He also said "There were so many hosts offering 500GB of diskspace which didn't make any economic sense and so many hosts charging $50 per month for 100MB of diskspace which didn't make sense either". It's hard to find a good host nowadays because the limits that you'll have are so hidden.
Another thing I'd like to add, think of a host as your partner, because that's really what the host is for you. I definitely recommend starting small, develop a relationship with your host, and grow with them, let them tailor a package to fit you, and adjust as you need it. I'd also recommend sticking with a smaller host, because larger hosts (hostgator, bluemonster) would probably not be as willing to work with you. I know hostgator wouldn't anyway, because the moment you overload their shared platform, they ask you to upgrade to dedicated, even if you don't even need a dedicated server. Sometimes, you outgrow the lowest tier of a shared platform, but all you really need is a little bit of a bigger share of the shared platform. Good luck! If you'd like more info, or have more questions, feel free to PM me.
I also think webhostingpad is not bad(my first choice). But you also can consider justhost as another option.