Shared Web Hosting Plans

By "shared", we mean just that - you are sharing a server with other clients.  Typically, there will be a couple hundred other customers using the same server, including some resellers.  Each account is limited to a portion of the server's available services, either by the system or the terms of service, so that the server continues to perform well for everyone.

The big advantage of shared plans is the value - because the costs of the server are spread among many individuals and/or businesses, the costs are very low.

The big disadvantage of shared plans is what we call "bad-neighbor-syndrome."  Much like an apartment complex, strata or other community association, one bad neighbor can cause problems for everyone.  So just like these member associations, there are a set of rules for each client to abide by, called the "terms of service."  If a member violates the terms of service, our support staff (like a building manager) must take action to disable or remove the violating account, in order to protect the rest of the community.

With shared plans, you can still have multiple domains, but you must either use add-on domains (where the new domain names point to subdirectories under your main site, but appear as separate websites to site visitors), or create a separate account for each domain.

What about Windows vs. Linux plans? It's really a matter of whether or not there is specific software you wish to use that requires one or the other. Most clients won't even notice the difference, as both Linux and Windows allow the use of most development and deployment software (including FrontPage, Dreamweaver, etc.) In our experience, Linux has historically offered more free software and impressive reliability, however, so we generally recommend using a Linux plan unless you have a specific need for Windows-based software.

A shared plan is ideal for you if this is your first web site, you are moving up from a free service to remove ads or improve support and service, or value is among your highest priorities.

Click here to see our Linux Shared plans.            Click here to see our Windows Shared plans.

Reseller Web Hosting Plans

These plans are called reseller plans because they allow you to create separate accounts for each of your domains.  They allow you to host many domains, all under one account, and give you web hosting management software from which you can allocate space and bandwidth to each domain account. They are called reseller plans, because many people/businesses buy these and create their own packages to resell the space. This is like being a "wholesaler" in other lines of business.

Reseller plans are a good choice if you wish to have many of your own domains or resell hosting packages, and depending on the number of domain accounts you need, it can be significantly cheaper than buying multiple shared accounts.

Reseller plans use shared servers, just like the shared web hosting plans, and have the same advantages and disadvantages as shared plans.

Click here to see our Linux Reseller plans.            Click here to see our Windows Reseller plans.

Virtual Private Server (VPS) Plans

Virtual Private Servers are a step up from typical shared and reseller web hosting plans. With these plans, each server is partitioned into a small number of segments, and each segment runs special server emulation software that makes it behave like a separate, dedicated server. Although your website still has "neighbors" on the server, there are firm walls between the neighbors, and a small number of accounts on the server, so performance is not as affected by what your neighbors do.

VPS plans work well for customers who want added flexibility (full server access), reduced impact from bad neighbors, and increased security. They do not work well for customers who are upgrading from shared servers due to traffic or resource usage issues, since there are firm resource limits and these resources are divided among multiple accounts (these customers do best by moving to dedicated servers).

Click here to see our Linux VPS plans.

Semi-Dedicated Servers

Semi-dedicated servers have only two accounts on each server (some vendors may put more on the server - be sure to ask).  Although it is a shared server, you only have one neighbor to worry about. These accounts provide high space and bandwidth for very active sites, with the attraction of splitting the costs with another client.

Semi-dedicated servers may be a good choice if your site has a very high amount of traffic, uses a lot of spot bandwidth (short-term bursts) due to audio/video/other uploads, downloads, events or otherwise can't fit well onto a VPS, and you are not ready for the higher cost of fully dedicated servers.

Semi-dedicated servers must be custom ordered, require an appropriate neighbor (sometimes difficult and time-consuming to find).  We generally discourage the use of semi-dedicated servers due to the risk of big-bad-neighbors (fewer but much more demanding neighbors), difficulty in finding suitable partner sites, and consequently offer them only to customers with well-known requirements and validated identities. Some people find this to be an acceptable choice before moving to a fully dedicated server.

Contact sales@mediacatch.com if you are interested in a semi-dedicated server.

Dedicated Servers

Dedicated servers mean just that - no neighbors, no-one else sharing your server.  This solution gives you the most flexibility on what you want to install on your server.  You are given complete server access, and have massive amounts of bandwidth and space available for your use.

Dedicated servers are the right choice for established sites which require all the server's resources in order to provide the required performance or have outgrown the other options.  They are also the best choice if quality, reliability, availability and performance are the highest priorities, and cost is less important as a factor in your decision.

Dedicated server solutions are always custom, so you may send your requirements directly to sales@mediacatch.com for a quote.

Domain Registration

You will need a unique domain name for your website in order for visitors to see it.  Domain names point to the addresses of their respective web sites. 

Domain registration is available with any plan, and is free with some plans!  If you register your domain with us, we will set this up for you.  You can also transfer your domain name to us - be sure to unlock it before ordering the transfer, so that it processes quickly.  To find an eligible domain name, just return to our home page, and enter the domain name in the indicated box.

Still not sure?

It's easy to upgrade most shared account types without any downtime, so you can start with a smaller account and upgrade as necessary over time.  If you have questions about what would work best for your situation, please drop us an email at sales@mediacatch.com. Our friendly sales staff will be happy to help you out. Don't worry, there aren't any bad questions, and even if you are a beginner, we'd like to help you get started!

Compare Plans

To order, first select the product category that you chose from the "Products & Services" menu above, choose a plan that you are interested in, then click on the order button at the bottom of the plan list. If you are just starting out with your website, we'd recommend starting with the Basic Linux (Shared Web Hosting) plan.