HostMySite.com Has The Best ColdFusion Hosting
Posted May 12, 2008 at 8:30 AM
Over the weekend, someone asked me for advice on ColdFusion hosting, so I thought this would be a great opportunity to really get the word out there - HostMySite.com has the best ColdFusion hosting. I have been hosting ColdFusion sites with them on a Virtual Private Server (VPS) and have had nothing but an awesome experience. As always, their support team is outstanding - it is quite exemplary. I never have any issues that go unresolved for more than half an hour; and, between their email support and their phone support (which never rings more than once before someone picks up), I know that I can always get a hold of someone immediately who will make my problems go away. Of course, with their uptime and scheduled maintenance, my problems are few and far between.
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If you are interested in knowing more about HostMySite.com, get in touch with my man, Rob Matera, at (888) 660-4678 <rmatera [at] HostMySite.com>; he's a great guy and will be more than happy to answer any questions you might have about their service.
Now, I haven't always hosted with HostMySite.com. As you might remember, when the ColdFusion 8 beta came out, HostMySite.com was offering FREE ColdFusion 8 beta hosting accounts to developers looking to practice their ColdFusion 8 skills. I, of course, jumped on that opportunity. This was my first experience with them; there were a few glitches here and there with some of the security setup, but what I found out from this was that their support was world class - I was on a FREE account with them and was still received top quality support. I was so pleased with it, in fact, that when they started offering full ColdFusion 8 hosting, I signed up for a single domain account to continue my research and development testing (cf8testing.com). After a while, I was so convinced that they simply had the best ColdFusion hosting around that I switched all of my hosting services over to them - and, I haven't looked back since.
But more than just offering great ColdFusion hosting services, HostMySite.com is a huge supporter of the ColdFusion community in general. The free ColdFusion 8 beta accounts were just the tip of the iceberg; right now, they are a Gold sponsor of CFUNITED, ColdFusion's largest conference. Last weekend, I had the pleasure of talking to Crystal at the HMS booth at cf.Objective() where HostMySite.com was a Bronze level sponsor. I know that they offer free ColdFusion hosting to ColdFusion user groups (including the NY CFUG) and other "community" sites. It seems that everywhere you look in the ColdFusion world, you're sure find HostMySite.com there as well, helping to make ColdFusion possible. I don't know about you, but to me, it just makes sense to get behind a company that is so enthusiastic about getting behind my technology.
So, in conclusion, HostMySite.com is the cat's pajamas. I highly recommend them for anyone looking for top notch ColdFusion hosting with unmatched support.
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Reader Comments
+1, True
I too have been on both VPS and dedicated plans with HMS, and everything Ben says has been true for me as well. Great company.
Posted by Joe Rinehart on May 12, 2008 at 9:06 AM
Now Ben, I think using "The Best" in your title is a bit strong and subjective. Obviously you've had a good relationship with HostMySite.com and there are a number of other "Best In Class" ColdFusion hosting sites out there.
I've used several different hosts (for ColdFusion and otherwise) and have settled into using CrystalTech.com (http://www.crystaltech.com) for both my personal as well as client hosting needs. They too have treated me with the utmost respect and have top-notch customer service even when I only had a $3 monthly account. They too offer ColdFusion hosting plans to accommodate most anyone's hosting needs.
Just thought I should at least throw another "Best In Class" ColdFusion site into the mix for consideration.
Posted by Steve Withington on May 12, 2008 at 9:29 AM
Loved their customer support, too, absolutely top-notch, but they allowed their shared services to get pretty bogged down. After running several months with very spotty uptime on weekends and little effective remediation from HMS, I eventually moved to CrystalTech. Still on a shared host, but for the past 9 months everything just runs and I'm very happy with it, but the customer service is not nearly as snappy or efficient as HMS was.
Very glad to hear that their Virtual service is excellent, though, as I'm now dealing with the timing of that move for some of my work and I would be happy to be an HMS customer again if I had control of my own server space. I will certainly keep them in mind next time I'm looking, on both Ben's recommendation and Joe's (big M-G fan here!)
Posted by jfish on May 12, 2008 at 9:34 AM
@Steve,
Fair enough. It's always a subjective expression. If I tell my girlfriend, "you're the best", obviously, I haven't had to date every other girl in the world to say something like that :) So, yeah, really the sentence reads, with context, "HostMySite.com Has (in my experience) The Best ColdFusion Hosting."
But thank you for bringing other top quality solutions to people's attention. It's good to know that CystalTech is also very good.
Posted by Ben Nadel on May 12, 2008 at 9:36 AM
no subdomains
no directories above the web root
...errr...these two bug me about HMS
DK
Posted by Douglas Knudsen on May 12, 2008 at 9:53 AM
@Douglas,
I know there are no subdomains on the single account, but they will point a number of domain names to the given directory and you can use server-side scripting to parse the URL. I know not a great solution, but it is what I played around with.
Posted by Ben Nadel on May 12, 2008 at 9:57 AM
I've been using HostMySite for years now and I'm so glad I switched. If for no other reason their customer support has been impeccable. I've also found their price point per features is extremely competitive. While I don't have a VPS with them I do have several business sites using their shared hosting and I'm a very happy customer.
Aside from those 14 year boys dressed in 100% white suites they hired to hand out water at CFUnited 07 (they scared me), big thumbs up :)
Posted by Russell Brown on May 12, 2008 at 10:04 AM
My HMS experience has been the same as jfish. Good customer service. Willing to try just about anything to solve my problems, but in the end, shared servers were VERY unstable and my uptime was not good at all. I constantly had customers sending me email notifying me of a site outage. I'd call HMS support and they'd have it running again in a few minutes, but really...should I have to call??
After trying for months to get things worked out (they moved me to a couple of different servers that supposedly had fewer apps running) but I finally had to find a more stable solution. I'm now happily running along w/ 99.9% uptime with a different hosting co (more expensive). The customer service isn't as good, but when the server just works, I don't really need much customer service.
Somebody please tell me they've fixed the shared server stability problems. I'd be willing to try again with a new customer if I had some reassurance.
Posted by Jeff on May 12, 2008 at 2:31 PM
I will have to say I didn't have great luck on the VPS. It was a huge pain. My VPS was never setup correctly so I just dumped that idea. I spent a huge amount of time and it never really "worked". One of my friends uses the VPS though and hasn't had many problems.
We do have 3 Dedicated servers with them and they are pretty great. I am a control freak and I get worked up a lot, but overall their support staff have been great. The customer service people and the techs are always very nice; even the couple of times I had to call in the middle of the night. My site tracking we have shows we have been up 99% for the last 2 years so that can't be too bad. We moved all of our "in house" servers there a couple years ago. It's so much better to not have to worry as much :)
The only thing I would suggest if you go with them is make sure when you call or IM they know you are a dedicated server customer and have all the account information handy. They seem to take them awhile to find my account sometimes, or maybe I am impatient.
Overall though they are pretty great dedicated servers.
(We run REDHAT ES , MYSQL and Coldfusion)
Posted by Jeff R on May 12, 2008 at 3:55 PM
The Galactic Empire uses both HostMySite (HMS) and CrystalTech (CT).
We've found that HostMySite has a slight edge support wise, and their VPS offering is a bit better.
Pricing wise, they're relatively the same, one may offer more bandwidth in exchange for storage and vice versa... you need to figure out what you want more of.
Feature wise we find CT's Control Panel way more powerful. Very fine grain control of mySQL and SQL Server 2000 and 2005 Databases. You can control CF scheduled tasks, perform database restores and backups all completely from the Control Panel (vs Enterprise Manager).
E.g. HSM supports CF scheduled tasks, but you need to contact their support team to set that up for you.
The Sith believe in maximum control over their destiny; so in our case a more powerful Control Panel is favored over faster support.
CT's support is fairly strong though. When you email their support team, the automatic reply tells you the avg wait time for a response - last week we needed some help with an orphaned DB user. The automated response said 29minutes, but the actual support person got it done in 15mins.
So how fast do you really need a support person? For the Sith, as long as it's done within 2hrs we're fine.
Posted by Darth Sidious on May 12, 2008 at 4:39 PM
@Darth Sidious - Thank you that cheered up my day lol.
Posted by Jeff R on May 12, 2008 at 4:42 PM
@Ben - Glad everything is going great for you. Unfortunately I experienced extremely poor stability on their shared plans (to be clear this was shared...NOT a VPS).
http://www.chapter31.com/2007/08/22/hostmysite-not-quite-as-stable-as-id-like/
The shared JRun instance seemed to be restarted an average of 4-6 times per day, and that was just what I noticed! The restart time (before error) was also quite short for those running site with long(er) startup times (using a framework etc).
Anyway, glad the VPS is running smoothly.
Posted by Michael Sharman on May 12, 2008 at 5:07 PM
I have to agree that Hostmysite really supports the CFM community and I have seen them at a variety of shows. On the down side a good friend of mine had major issues with his VPS server, eventually closed his account, and migrated. Not sure if it is their virtual server platform or configuration, but I have seen vmware's solution work very well under a pretty heavy load.
Sounds like CrystalTech is very good, has anyone had experience with Hostek?
http://hostek.com/plans-reseller-hosting.asp
have a great week everyone
Posted by chris hough on May 12, 2008 at 5:52 PM
@chris
I've been with Hostek for a couple of months and so far they've been excellent. In my experience, their customer service has been super responsive. Another 3 things I like about them:
1) They're on CF8 (like HostMySite)
2) They give you space for directories above the web root
3) They have ISAPI Rewrite on their Windows servers, which (like mod_rewrite on Apache) enables you to have SES urls without the "index.cfm"
The caveat is that I haven't been with them for that long, but so far so good.
I've also had shared hosting w/HostMySite and had no complaints. The only reason I left is that it was too much space for my little sites and couldn't justify the cost. With Hostek you can opt for less disk space than HMS for under $10/month.
Posted by Tony Garcia on May 12, 2008 at 7:38 PM
I've had an incredible experience with Host My Site. In the past I've used various VPS systems with them and have now settled in with a few dedicated Windows 2008 servers. I've never used their shared hosting but with the exception of a few comments on this thread have heard unanimously good things about it.
When an adult compares hosts, three things are important.
1. Uptime
2. Support
3. How stupid their Web site looks.
CrystalTech is immediately disqualified from being a "best in class" host on the merits of #3 alone. Browsing through their site, it looks like CrystalTech doesn't offer IM support either. As a grown-up, IM support is IMPERATIVE. I don't have time to synchronously devote to communicating an issue verbally, nor the leisure to wait for the delayed and less-communicable interaction of email. Instant Messaging support (Host My Site's is incredible, if one of their reps doesn't know the solution to an issue he'll quickly collaborate with others that do) is far more effective and convenient than any other method of server support there is. I promise.
I switched the last of my clients to HMS over a year ago, and will probably never use another host again. Their "managed colocation" service at about $150 per U is probably the best deal on the hosting market today. Did I mention it includes the same level of support as all of their dedicated plans?
Lesser-known-facts about HMS.
1. They have an incredible support information center. http://www.hostmysite.com/support/
2. All of their female employees are hotties that wear really tight-fitting business apparel at most
3. Their support team is cumulatively 10x more knowledgeable and adept than all other hosting support teams in the world combined. That might sound subjective, but it's not. I did a study.
Posted by David McGuigan on May 13, 2008 at 12:05 AM
I am thinking about going back with HMS. I though that they had wonderful support. I am currently hosting someplace else, and I am shopping for some host where I can host my flash remoting(CF backend) project.
I might contact the person who you say "Rob" to see about getting my site back up.
Posted by John Barrett on May 13, 2008 at 1:57 AM
@David
Are you sure about your #2 statement? Haven't you been to their office location and seen ALL of their female employees?
Posted by Lola LB on May 13, 2008 at 7:16 AM
Am I the only CFDynamics customer here?
Posted by Kevin Slane on May 13, 2008 at 10:40 AM
Oh, I've done more than just seen them.
(I've seen them from various angles).
Posted by David McGuigan on May 13, 2008 at 10:58 AM
I have been using Crystaltech for years and am truly satisifed with their services. Their support is great and their control panel and stats are super too.
I used to use a company called Dataride.com (now Implex) but their support was absolute rubbish.
I am slightly upset that HMS and Crystaltech DO NOT allow adult hosting but can fully understand their reasons for not allowing it. Hopefully though in the future the traffic from these sites will warrant the use of a dedicated server where content won't be a problem :)
PS... The hotties at HMS are welcome to send photos through to YourHottieOfTheWeek.com :P
Posted by Paolo Broccardo on May 15, 2008 at 5:34 AM
@Paolo,
From what I have been told by people at HMS, there is not adult policy. It came up in conversation once and I was told that as long as nothing illegal is happening, you can put any content on your site that you desire. That might not be "official", but it is what I was told by people on the inside.
Posted by Ben Nadel on May 15, 2008 at 7:23 AM
Hmmm... that's strange as I contacted them personally and they tried to sell me their dedicated plan which in the beginning stage of my application dev and testing is just way too expensive.
Their AUP states:
"
...We specifically reserve the right to refuse to provide the Service to customers or End Users engaged in the dissemination of material that may cause us to be subject to attacks on our network, or that while technically legal, run counter to our corporate principles. This type of content may include, but is not limited to, racist, pornographic, hateful material or those which create customer service or abuse issues for us.
"
So I'm guessing this means that if the content doesn't cause any disruptions of service it should be ok.
Like I said earlier - I understand where they are coming from given the nature of the adult websites out there. It's just frustrating for me because the application I'm building is actually a massive CMS - the content just happens to be adult content. So to find a host that will let me run it is a but tricky.
But I will try them again... :)
Cheers.
Posted by Paolo Broccardo on May 15, 2008 at 10:34 AM
I've been told the same thing as Ben. I've been running my adult site "LadiesLoveHotWhiteChocolate.com" (Hot White Chocolate is my rapping/stage name) for over a year now and most employees at HMS are subscribers. I've even heard that they have HWC night and the entire staff takes a 15 minute break together to check out my site.
Posted by David McGuigan on May 15, 2008 at 11:37 AM
@Paolo,
Yeah, I think its probably just a clause they throw in just in case. Like when you walk into a store and there is a sign that says, "We reserve the right to refuse service." That doesn't mean they WILL refuse service - it only means that just in case, they can do something if they want.
Posted by Ben Nadel on May 15, 2008 at 11:45 AM
@David
Hahahahaha - Classic!!
@Ben
The reason for my apprehension is due to an episode I had with Crystaltech. They had something similar in their earlier AUP and I ran an adult site there successfully for over a year.
Then one day I noticed the site was showing up a page not found error and when I checked they had deleted all my files and database (basically terminating my whole account)!!
Sure I learnt a lesson in backing up that day - but the way they handled it was unprofessional and that burnt me a bit hence my fear of vague AUP's :)
Posted by Paolo Broccardo on May 15, 2008 at 1:12 PM
@Paolo,
OH MY GOD - that is extremely unprofessional! I don't think any company should do that without at least issuing a warning. That would be a HUGE deal breaker for me, just as a reflection of the professionalism.
Posted by Ben Nadel on May 15, 2008 at 1:14 PM
Hey,
Thanks for all of the positive notes! It's good to hear great feedback!
Just to confirm. We do not allow adult content on our shared servers, but we don't necessarily police the servers looking for it either. If it comes to our attention then yes we will contact you regarding the content, and maybe even take the content offline. The actions are on a case by case basis really. A VPS is still technically shared which is why we recommend dedicated, but you are 'less likely' to hear from us about it. A dedicated server would be best.
Keep posting the good stuff! We do read these :)
Posted by HMS on May 15, 2008 at 6:24 PM
