Finding the Best Drupal CMS Web Host

How to Find the Best Drupal CMS Web Host

CWD provides a list of things to look for in a webhost that are optimal for deploying Content Management System environments such as Drupal.

Hosting Qualities to Avoid

Here's the type of host you should avoid, right off the bat:

• Less Users Is Better - Don't pick a host that advertises having hundreds of thousands of users on cheap shared hosting plans - that's a recipe for server problems. You're best off picking a smaller host with less users.
• Higher Cost Is Better - While this may sound contrary to intuition, the reasoning is that quality hosting cannot be supported reliably by cheap costs - the costs will be cut somewhere, and you will feel it, be that in downtime or poor customer support. Higher cost hosts usually detract malicious users as well, who are looking to maximime resource usage per dollar.
• Search for User Experiences - This one is a little more difficult. While you can do a Google search for "hostname sucks," there will always be people posing on either side and submitting false reviews and opinions. So finding a true unbiased review takes some time. Make sure the review doesn't sound overtly one-sided, and gauge's the review's relevance to your needs - in other words, which hosting package did they use - what did they use it for - problems they experienced may not be a factor for you to begin with.

CMS Hosting Qualities to Look For

Now that you know what not to look for in a host, here's some things you should keep an eye out for when selecting your next CMS host:

• Sufficient Number of SQL Connections - You don't want simultaneous SQL connections per user limited too much - as this will give a ceiling (allow only a certain number) to the number of Drupal users on your site.
• Limited Storage and Bandwidth - While high numbers of storage and bandwidth may look attractive, they will also attract users looking to take advantage, and may result in overloaded servers experiencing higher downtime rates. In other words, if you choose a smaller host with less users and smaller storage and bandwidth numbers, you will most likely experience a higher level of performance as the server is less likely to be overloaded, and you will avoid dealing with malicious users that seek out high storage/ bandwidth packages they need to run their scripts.

An Example of a Hosting Company That Fits the Bill

While I encourage you to do your own research, there is one hosting company in particular that fits the above criteria that I use myself and I would personally recommend. They are Network Redux. Customer service, performance, and reliability are all excellent. You'll need to pay a bit more and won't have as much storage and bandwidth as some of the cheaper hosts out there, but the lack of headaches and problems will more than make up for this.

Who Do You Use?

Feel free to chime in below with hosting recommendations of your own, experiences with CMS (Drupal and other) hosts, etc. Mind you - if I feel that you are spamming a particular host your post will promptly be removed.