I often get asked what web hosting provider I use for my sites and today I answer that question, and also the reasons why. I would also love to hear what you consider the best web host provider, whether it be as a designer, developer or any other creative professional.
Since 2009, I have been using Media Temple as my web hosting provider, first on their grid shared hosting service, and now on their managed DV VPS server. Below are a few reasons why I highly recommend Media Temple, as well as an exclusive discount.
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Reasons Why I Recommend Media Temple
1) Customer Support
When it comes to technical troubleshooting, MediaTemple have always gone out of their way to help me. Their ticketing system and Twitter support are extremely fast & always helpful. A few things that they helped me with over the past few years.
- They upgraded & moved my account from Grid to DV & helped with that set up.
- They troubleshooted why my sites went down (was a RSS problem from Google’s Feedburner)
- They recovered files root files I accidentally deleted.
- They recently gave me a recurring monthly discount, based from a promo I saw at a conference originally meant for new users.
- I partied with the team in Vegas and can vouch for their awesomeness.
2) Options, Scale & Value For Money
Every site has different needs and traffic, so of course Media Temple have different tiers to chose from and make it easy to upgrade and downgrade as required. I first started on their $20/m grid plan but quickly out grew that and am now on their managed VPS $100/m plan. For the customer service & up-time they provide, they have the best value for money that I’ve come across.
3) Ease Of Use
Back-end programming work is certainly not my forte so their Account Center and intuitive GUIs make it a breeze to manage my sites and email. One click installs and detailed support documents are also a bonus too.
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4) MT Support the Web, Design & Creative Industry
Media Temple supports the creative industry and they can often be found at industry events, conferences and sponsoring other companies. Companies such as AIGA, Adobe, Dribbble, jQuery and more use Media Temple so they’re in it for the long run.
5) *Update* Continuing to get Better
Since MediaTemple was acquired by GoDaddy, their service, design and speed has just kept getting better. I know there is some stigma behind GoDaddy, but I assure you that MediaTemple is nothing like GoDaddy – kinda like long lost cousins of cousins.
Exclusive Media Temple Discount Code
Through a special partnership with Media Temple and Just Creative, you can now get 15% off any new accounts with the promo code ‘justcreative’. The 15% off is good for the lifetime of the account, recurring monthly. A damn good deal if you ask me! You can find more info over at Media Temple.
What hosting provider(s) do you use and recommend as a creative professional?
I think godaddy is good hosting provider..
I think “i page” is a great hosting provider.
Hey Jacob,
Thanks to share your insight. But as i noticed that the media temple is pretty slow than other web hosts in responding to requests.So quick reply is my expectation from the media temple.
Are you talking about their support time or hosting speed?
Godady is better when compared to the rest
Bahahahahahahahahahahaha. No. No it is not. Plus the CEO shoots elephants. GoDaddy is the worst.
I honestly don’t know what the guys above are saying about GoDaddy but MediaTemple are one of the best hosts I’ve ever come across and their customer service is second is none. I’ve yet to meet another company that compares to them.
I personally use a DV4 and would recommend it to anyone looking for a reliable hosting service.
Customer support is the number one thing for me. Customer support explains quality.
I think most hosting providers could be better,they all seem to customer service issues.I have had problems with all of them and I have had good experiences with all of them.A boost in customer service for all, and you will see improvement.
I have been using host gator lately, and for sure its one of the best.I have used 3 other hosting companies,(big names) no comparison to host gator.
I have used Hostgator for the last two years and recently due to some technical glitch I lost all my data of the sites hosted, Luckily I had a backup and looking for other options. Media Temple sure look tempting with a strong customer base and strong security structure.
I’ve used Godaddy for over 10 years and their Customer Service has been awesome and 24/7. Hardly ever a wait time to speak with someone. Their servers went down once for 20 minutes and they gave me the whole month free.
They are a big fish and I can understand why people don’t want to give it all to them… but they have been awesome. Their techs are always very knowledgeable and professional. Their rates are lower than anyone else with the same plans. They have been at it a long time and clearly know what they are doing from experience.
I’ve had to deal with other large hosting companies of my clients and it’s usually more painful than not. I don’t believe in fooling around with hosting companies. We are at their mercy to make sure our clients sites are up and stay up and load fast. If they don’t, then we need to be able to get fast answers and resolve it quickly.
Godaddy has always done this for me. I’ve heard some people moan about them but honestly, I don’t get it.
That’s true, Media Temple is one of the best. They truly do take care of you. My business partner and I moved two of our sites over there and it’s well taken care of. I do suggest people at least trying chatting with the team there before deciding what server to go with. Just my 2 cents.
I honestly don’t know what the guys above are saying about GoDaddy but MediaTemple are one of the best hosts I’ve ever come across and their customer service is second is none. I’ve yet to meet another company that compares to them.
I am using justhost. it’s good and cheap. godaddy also good
I think most hosting suppliers may be higher,they all appear to client service problems.I have had issues with all of them and I actually have had smart experiences with all of them. A boost in client service for all, and you may see improvement.
I personally use a DV4 and would suggest it to anyone probing for a reliable hosting service.
This post is really informative Jacob.. but in my view Godaddy is better..
Hey Jacob,
This looks so knowledgeable. I am using Godaddy since from three years. it has a tremendous services.
No you are not. Your websites are still on wordpress.com url’s. Your lies sicken me almost as much as your feeble attempts to boost your sites seo with poorly written blog comments.
Site5.com, hands down. I’ve been using them for years and I still can’t believe how fantastic their service is, especially considering the absurdly low price. It sounds too good to be true actually, but after five years with them I can attest that it’s definitely not.
I’ve had clients who use iPage and it seemed to work well for them, but it’s usually much slower than Site5. Apparently there’s some support for GoDaddy but honestly I’ll never understand why, they’re one of the clunkiest I’ve ever used. Dreamhost also seemed to work well with one client. They had some odd issues with the webmail but it was going through an external domain that had some weird security settings so I don’t think it was Dreamhost’s fault.
Thanks for writing this knowledgeable article. I started using the services of http://www.uplinehosting.com/ lately and I am pretty satisfied with the quality.
This one can become quite tricky because I have seen some hosting companies that ask for loads of money in the first place and then there is so much missing from the hosting panel and then all of a sudden they need to pay a per hour rate for some random System Administrator. It’s only until the customer says- I’ve had enough that the hosting company that charges high says- fine we will accommodate. I’ve also been with hosting companies that you pay dirt cheap and yea- that’s the service you get. Then I have worked with dirt cheap yet they treat you with respect.
So I think it is based on the reputation, costing is also to be considered as a factor and years of existence.