I finally got one of my sites Dugg. I’ve had sites get traffic spikes from sites like Reddit, but Digg is a whole new ballgame. It didn’t go as well as it could have, because I thought I was prepared, but I was wrong. Here are some things you need to know if your site hits the front page of Digg.

If it hits Digg, it may hit Reddit and other sites capable of sending 20k … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting, Traffic 4 Comments »

One of my sites - the same one that experienced a Digg-like effect - crashed (or helped to crash) the DownTownHost shared server it’s on yesterday. There was no traffic spike, so I can’t figure out what caused the problem. The host reported that it was just too many MySql queries happening at the same time.

I had WP-SuperCache running - in lockdown mode, even - so I tried to imagine what could … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting 2 Comments »

Some of the “pretty” Cpanel skins are buggy: your safest bet is the X3 skin.

I encountered some problems recently with trying to create subdomains. The host researched and learned that Cpanel is aware of this bug (and others) with that skin, and that Cpanel is not concerned about fixing it since they provide other skins that work.

The problem is that you can get an account with a reseller that uses those skins and not have … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting No Comments »

If your host runs their own servers, they probably install all the software and perform all the configurations necessary to make that server work well. Hardware is important for reliability and speed, but so is server software.

Once upon a time, I upgraded to Wordpress 2.3 when it was brand new. I did this on several sites on several different hosts. I immediately started getting error messages in my error logs on all the sites.

But only … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting No Comments »

I rarely ask for support from hosts. I check everything in my power, do research online, etc., to avoid having to ask them for help. Why? Here’s an example.

Once upon a time, Sapphire was having a little problem with a site. She read and she studied and she asked friends, but she could not figure it out. Finally, she asked Host Charming if he would look into it and see if … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting 1 Comment »

This is the first post in a series about lessons I’ve learned in choosing and dealing with hosts. Expect it to be fairly random, but possibly useful.

Today’s lesson, “Better doesn’t mean better” came from the time I set up Project B-2 Bomber on an expensive, well-reputed host. I was tired of the downtime with cheaper hosts, and I wanted a fast, reliable site for all the new traffic I was getting.

Reliable, I got. Fast? … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting No Comments »

It’s been a crazy ten days since I last posted. As soon as I’d get one thing done, ten more things would jump on my to do list, and half of them would be emergencies that needed immediate attention. A lot of what I’ve been up to was switching hosts around.

One of my hosts, Nitrozone, didn’t have AwStats. I had paid for a year up front and it was a shame to cancel early, … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting 5 Comments »

After two fabulous months with Fluid Hosting, whom I wouldn’t hesitate to recommend to anyone who wants zero downtime, I dumped them.  Why?  Well, I took a good hard look at my sites and realized they’re just not there yet.  They don’t need a host of that quality yet.  So I went with ResellerZoom, who’s a good bit cheaper and certainly less perfect.  But I have it on good authority from friends who’ve … READ MORE

Posted in Blogging, Hosting No Comments »

I’m trying to move all my sites to the new host today.  But the old host had an awesome idea: “hey, why don’t we go down and stay down and kiss the pavement while we’re down there?”

At least there’s no doubt in my mind I made the right move.  I’m saving $4/month with the new host, so even if they had the same downtime, it’s an improvement.  So far, though, they’re not only functioning but … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting No Comments »

I’m moving hosts again.  Not Project B-2 Bomber that had the Site5 disaster a month ago - I’m still pleased with Fluid now that we’ve got the initial kinks out.  If it continues to do well, I think we have a permanent new home.

It’s another batch of sites I’m moving.  This time, just to save a few bucks.  I’m at the end of my paid period with one host, and they’ve done fine (other … READ MORE

Posted in Hosting No Comments »