I really like Dreamhost web hosting. Featurewise they provide more than any other shared hosting provider I’ve come across, and the freedom you get to install your own programs (trac, PHP, SpamAssassin, Django & Rails) is something I’ve only previously seen on dedicated servers or VPS web hosting (not that I’ve done many of those things, but hey - it’s nice to know it’s possible!).
In recent weeks Dreamhost has been having some problems. Actually that’s an understatement. They’ve been having big problems. Not as bad as the problems my last hosting company had which drove me to leave (at least Dreamhost always have backups to restore), but enough to make me question hosting commercial sites with them.
Is there an alternative to Dreamhost web hosting, that matches the features and freedom available? I’m happy to pay more… although obviously the cheaper the better! I cannot justify the cost of a dedicated server (it’s also too much hassle) and I’ve been put off Virtual Private Servers because the RAM isn’t burstable (I can see myself running out of this fast - many databases and concurrent visitors).
Some of the freedom is unnecesary: if Dreamhost configured their SpamAssassin carefully there’d be no need to run my own instance, so I can live without that.
Some other hosting company must have seen the need for geeky/techie hosting - if not there’s a (demanding) market out there!