What Web Host To Use For Big IM Launch?

[affiliaterockstarx]

Thanks Charles.

[Jennifer Nalleweg]

Keith Wellman recommended LunarPages to me so I swithed over on his recommendation, but I've been having some problems getting my split analyzer working on that server. If you aren't using any programs that require Zend Optimizer to decode your php, it would be another option for you to look into. They have both dedicated and shared hosting, so if you wanted to switch to shared after your launch, it should be an easy switch over.

Jennifer

[Richard Legg]

Hi Craig,

The good thing about a dedicated server is that you can run as many sites as you want on it.

I know you don't want to spend $200 a month if you're making only $100 in sales, but there's no reason why you can't launch a new site and have it on that server later on too.

If your first site has died down completely, it'll probably be using a minimal amount of resources, so for your next launch you've essentially got all the resources of that dedicated server again.

So it only takes a couple of small sites earning a $100 a month to cover the cost of the server - and if they don't get that much traffic, you've still got most of the bandwidth for a launch anytime you want.

I started off with a few shared accounts but upgraded to a dedicated server almost 2 years ago.

Sure, I may not need it all the time, but it's good to have it there whenever I want to put up some bandwidth-intensive video or something, and know that it'll run ok.

I use hostgator and have never had any problems with it. Incidentally, I have used Kiosk for shared hosting and I had quite a bit of trouble with my shared server being down (like 3-4 times a month for a few hours at a time). I don't know if that was an isolated case and I'm sure their dedicated servers are different.

Hope this helps,

Richard

[charleskirkland]

I have over 400 domains on my dedicated server and I have never had any problems. But you need to know how your host is getting the bandwith.

Make sure your host has datacenter located around the US this will make it faster for people all across the US to load your pages.


Also DON'T get a windows box, make sure you have a Linux server.

Plus you need to have your server load balanced to handle that kind of traffic.

Thanks
Charles

[Chris Douthit]

I use to use LunarPages awhile back, I did not like them at all. If you ever want to change to a different host they make it very difficult for you.

I would recommend singing up for hostgator.com shared hosting plan. For $4.95 per month you get 3000 GB of bandwidth. That’s more than your going to get with any dedicated server. If its just video you are concerned about you can iframe them all on this plan and put the rest of the site on your normal hosting service.

Hey Charles, how come you don’t like Windows box? I ask because all the programming I am doing now is in asp.net, which requires Windows.

[charleskirkland]

Hi Chris

How is the luanch going?

I have just not had luck with windows box's so far. But I always want some funky things done and I allways have trouble in the end. Most people could use them with out any trouble.

Thanks
Charles

[Richard Legg]

I've had trouble getting some php scripts to run on windows too.

When I first started online I did the usual thing ... went to GoDaddy ... and seeing as I didn't really know what Linux was back then I opted for a windows machine.

Luckily they have the option of switching OS so within a few hours I had my site on a Linux machine and the php script ran perfectly

Richard

[affiliaterockstarx]

Thanks for all the great tips everyone.

I think I will go with a dedicated server
with Hostgator.

I have a babygator plan now and I am familiar
with how everything works.


I am not sure which dedicated server package to
choose.

Standard?

Elite?

Pro?


Also, any tips on which split testing software to use
I want max conversions for all my JV partners.

Although I have confidence in Vin's copy writing
split testing headlines is a good idea.


Thanks again, this is a great post.

Craig

[Richard Legg]

Hey Craig,

For the dedicated server I've had a standard one though I've not really put it through it's paces to know if you'd need a better one. It's been fine for me the whole time I've had it though.

For split testing, I'm a big fan of just using Google's website optimizer which you can get through your Adwords account.

If you're getting a decent amount of traffic, you could easily set up a multivariate test and let Google keep track of everything for you. They also make it very easy to analyse the results - "Green" means improvement, "Red" means worse performance

I have this up and running on a few sites. The great thing is that Google wont give you a definitive result until the test is statistically valid - a lot of people using regular split testing seem to forget this point and can end up making a judgement too soon.

Hope this helps,

Richard

[Chris Douthit]

Launch is not going as well as I had hoped. A lot of affiliates who signed up just did not come put to bat for me. Ewen Chia, Michael Cheney, and Shawn Casey all put out products the same week, which I am sure didn’t helped.

But yes I would not run php on a windows server. I run all my php on Linux and all my asp.net applications on Windows.