large scale multi site hosting

[bigdave]

At work we have a hosting deal with a local company. We pay about £80 a month and in return can host as many sites as we like including 2-3 emails per site. We don't have direct access to add new sites or MYSQL databases so have to email them and request a space for a site is created. This has worked fine up until now but the company supplying this service is starting to become difficult to get hold of and so its taking 2-3 weeks of pestering to get spaces for new sites created.

Because of these issues, my boss has asked me to look into the possibility of us changing suppliers but I don't really know where to start with it? Privately I use a package from Vidahost that allows me to host 16 sites and 100 email addresses, and it works well for my needs BUT I'm not sure it would work for my boss. We already have 30 sites being hosting so on the vidahost scale we'd need the £500p/a package but when we exceed the 100 site limit, where do we go? Would buying into a reseller package be a better option?

Opinions please?

 

[Corrosive]

Look into VPS (Virtual Private Server) set-ups with cPanel and WHM (Web Host Manager) so that you can set up your own new accounts. Loads of companies offer them and you should expect to pay £500 upwards to host 30+ sites.

 

[Stationery Direct]

Get a decent Dedicated Server with cPanel, WHM and RAID 1, UK2 are pretty well priced, I have over 30 sites on mine and pay about £98 +vat a month, no issues of note since I have been with them (many years) and their technical support are really quick when problems arise.

 

[Tim Timbo Bullock]

We use LCN's Multisite hosting;

https://www.lcn.com/web_hosting

At £144 including VAT, 10 sites work out at £12 per year. If you charge this back to your clients at a premium, you could further increase the business' profits. We charge £50 per year for hosting, so our profit from hosting is £356p/a.