Does Shanda Harper work for Rackspace?
No, not at all. But they do a fanatical job working for me and my sites. Also, if you tell them I recommended them, I do get a cool mug in the mail every now and then, and the ability to write more useful articles. How do I choose the right solution? If you are in a position to choose a dedicated server, then do so. From personal experience the fact that you know what is (and is not) going on with your server is priceless. However, if you are positive that shared hosting solution is for you, make sure you do the following: Go with a hosting provider that is trustworthy and do not chose a provider that outsources its 24-hour support (I had a bad experience this week with 1and1.com and their outsourced support for a client”s site..ARGH!). Use a tool such as http://whois.webhosting.info/ to see how many sites are (or may be) sitting on your IP address. If there are more than 100 (this number varies based on the size and popularity of the sites), request a more ‘semi-dedicated’ solution.
