You Like Me! You Really Like Me!

Delighted by my newfound fame, I began clicking wildly through my server logs in search of more good news. Visions of awards, book deals and general admiration flashed before my eyes. Those statistical graphs touting never before seen 100-hits-per-day traffic meant so much more to me than the cheap internet notoriety they represented.

Eager to join my grateful guests in their marveling, I quickly typed in my site's URL. The gray wave in the Netscape 4.51's status bar rocked back and forth as a sign of its valiant attempt to load my page. I indulged its passive solicitation for support with a mental cheer. There began the patient awaiting of my due reward, "Document: Done."

In an attempt to hide my waning faith, I glanced around the room, pretending not to notice as each second piled onto the last in an ugly heap of nothingness. Suddenly my eyes shot back and began to stare suspiciously at that damned gray wave. Then it happened.

Aghast, I stared in disbelief at the dialog-box-of-doom so matter of factly seeking my acknowledgment. "Connection to Host Not Found." My mind scrambled to make sense of it all as I tried again and again in vain to connect to my site.

Tangled Web

This was the beginning of the downward web hosting spiral. Multiple requests of help to support went unanswered, one was answered with a lame, "We're having problems, we'll get back to you later." The host's community bulletin board was laden with desperate pleas for an explanation and an occasional angry outburst from a sorry customer. The hosting company owner posted used car salesman-like messages filled with gallant promises of better servers on the way and the soon to be released grandiose customized panel, only to disappear from the board when crashing would resume.

When I'd finally had enough, I decided to change my billing method from yearly to monthly so I could begin my search for a new host without losing money. Since all changes to billing methods had to be handled by support, I sent my request with what I thought was plenty of time to make the change - 1 month. Guess what happened? That's right - I was charged for another whole year! I'll spare you the story of how they held my domain captive. I knew that whoever hosted my site in the future would have to give me total control over my account.

Dream-y Host

They should've called themselves Dream-y Host (I don't know if the name "Dream Host" suggests that they host your dreams, or if they are a dream of a host. Heck, I don't even know if it's "DreamHost" or "Dream Host"). This is because... well, lots of things. Lets start with the Dream Host (or DreamHost) Account Control Panel. It is the only control panel I've used that actually gives me control through a panel. Take the billing section: using nothing but my mouse, I can change my billing cycle, pay ahead, change billing methods, pay manually or automatically, change my card, etc.

Great Communication Is No Longer Just a Dream

Communication between a host and its clients is the key to a great host. Dream Host's communication with me is better than any other professional relationship I've ever had. The Control Panel's Status and Announcements tabs contain information on everything from upgrades to planned downtimes to the smallest of feature changes. And I can choose to have this information sent to me via email or just read it when I log into the panel. The monthly newsletter informing customers of each month's latest added features is written by one of the founders and is not just informative, it's quite amusing.

To give you an idea of just how far they go to keep communication channels open, they have a special information site hosted completely off-network. In the unlikely event that I am unable to reach support or my panel because of unplanned downtime, I can go to the status site for information on the what, why, how, when and where of the situation. Talk about communication! Even Oprah would be in awe.

Good Mojo

These features and more are important to me because of my nightmarish experiences with other hosts, but there are many other features the Control Panel offers that I find very handy. For instance, if you have the good fortune of exceeding the bandwidth limit your account allows, you are notified immediately and offered an upgrade, as opposed to just having your site cut off by your host. Yes, I've seen that happen too.

Goodies

With just one click, you can have your own phpBB Bulletin Board, Word Press Blog, Advanced Poll and osCommerse Store. Dream Host also offers counters, easy formmail set up, easy MySQL database creation, easy htaccess/WebDAV configuration, Jabber Instant Messaging, QuickTime Streaming, guestbooks and FrontPage Extensions support - and all this with their cheap-o hosting plan. Imagine what comes with their other plans!

No Support Hose

I must mention the quality of support. They are smart, experienced people who I love having available to help me figure stuff out. Even though they say it may take up to 24 hours for an answer from support, I've rarely - possibly never - had to wait even close to that. At select times, they're available via instant messenger chat! Oh, and customers also get a certain amount of call-backs per month if you prefer your answers in the form a human voice. They've also put together a superb Knowledge Base for look-it-up-yourself types.

I could go on and on, but the bottom line is that Dream Host does everything they can to assist clients with their hosting needs. They don't simply repackage services and put their name on it, they've actually taken the time to customize software to fit their service offerings. They've been around since '97, which is about 200 in internet years, so they've had plenty of time to work out problems and polish themselves up real pretty.

If you're looking for a host, you are in luck! I strongly suggest you check out Dream Host's plans, and be sure to take a look at their sample Control Panel to see the many other features and services they offer that I didn't mention here. And since you've read all this, you deserve a $50 coupon. When signing up, enter the code 50Bones for 50 bucks off* the cost of your first Dream Host purchase. *You must enter the code 50Bones while signing up in order to receive the discount.

Sincerely,

Jennifer