Practical PHP Scripts and Tips

There’s virtually unlimited choice when it comes to finding a web host. Although, when you start comparing features, there’s only a handful that I’d really consider for my needs. A couple of marketing-focused hosts get my attention, but I haven’t yet given them business.

For the last 10 years, Pair Networks in Pittsburgh, USA have been our web host of choice.

We have a commerce level account with Pair, and host a couple of dozen separate domains, each with their own IP address, in that account. There are so many reasons to like Pair’s service and features. The main benefits I find are that I’m dealing with an honest, reliable provider who I can put my trust in to look after every aspect of our web hosting needs.

When I get the very occasional need for support, Pair are super-responsive. Downtime is very brief, generally in terms of minutes at a time, and months and months can go by with zero downtime on the server. With over 1,000 servers, I know they can fix any problem, and fast. There’s phone support with my account, but I’ve never had to use it. Their urgent ticket service works perfectly.

(Someone else I know had their domain offline for 5 full days just this week — our biggest downtime in recent years was about 10 minutes for an operating system upgrade! With Pair, there’s no need to put up with hassles — in Australian terms, they’re “ridgy didge”).

Feature-wise, the account has more than I need. More bandwidth than I can ever get close to using (so I know they can handle massive requests). And plenty of inclusions at each account level that means Pair compares very favourably to their competitors.

Unlike some big name providers, they’re very upfront and honest too. They’ll tell you EVERY time something happens — on all of their servers. The data is publicly available, not hidden, no login required. They’re not scared of that data, because they’re world-class service providers!

I first joined Pair in late 1997 (I had 2 other providers over the couple of years prior to Pair), having an account on server number 8 (called xi) — we have accounts now on two other Pair servers, but back than xi was their latest server online.

Most of our clients get hosted by us in our Pair account, rather than having their own separate account. We can share the cost (no price rises at Pair, only increases in account features!) of the account, and we administer our client’s web hosting on their behalf. Pair is setup to let you easily do that. Your client gets to focus on what they’re good at in their own business, and you can reliably look after their web hosting, knowing you’re backed by Pair’s reliability and expertise.

For all the choice, all the promises others might make… the best endorsement a company can get is having their customers stay with them for so long.

I thought you’d like to know about our favorite web host — they come with our highest recommendation!

Speaking of Joel Comm, The Next Internet Millionaire is an online reality show where you can discover the money-making power of the internet.

Watch as 12 contestants compete for cash and prizes and the ultimate prize… a JV (joint venture) with Joel Comm.

Just by watching, you can pick up a notebook full of tips, advice and hints for yourself! (Just like I and hundreds of others did — watching a program like Trump’s ‘The Apprentice’ — now here’s the perfect for you to learn from an online money-making reality show! You can also sign up for updates.

It’s good to see too that the show is supporting the Hearts and Hands International charity and encouraging donations.

Here’s my first post in this category.

Make money with products from best-selling author and Internet entreprenuer, Joel Comm. Link to Joel”s products and earn fantastic commissions on all sales generated:

Joel Comm’s Internet Products Affiliate Program

I’ve started a new category on this site for highlighting plans/ways to make money online that I think you’ll be interested in.

Yes, I do include these resources with affiliate links. I’m upfront about that. You have a choice to click or not. Don’t be embarrassed or uncomfortable about it. At the same time, don’t be angry the links exist. Clicking on my link costs you no more. Finding a way to circumvent that is of course possible. But it rewards no-one… it’s a lose/lose situation. I miss a commission for highlighting a program of interest. You miss out on active affiliates sharing lucrative opportunities (here and elsewhere)… and probably a bunch of valuable REWARDS that I will start offering soon.

As for bad karma or things like that, your perception and attitude is your own. This is not my livelihood, it’s a fun “hobby” — I won’t starve. But nor will you for clicking on my links, and helping meet the cost of hosting, time sharing resources, time for community projects like Rotary membership.

Does clicking on the affiliate mean you pay more for the information? Well, no. The “commission” is part of your normal investment for the resource. Does it mean that a determined net user won’t bypass, circumvent or want to sneak past my affiliate link in any way? No, of course not.

Actually, depending on the resources I share, I will REWARD you for clicking on my link with bonus offers and products or services… from free copies of paid-for reports through to physical products like free business printing or even free membership in some of my business services. I haven’t set that up yet, but it’s not far away.

That’s why you have the choice — you don’t have to click the link. You can Google and research the service yourself.

So that’s my introduction — hopefully you’ll find these links and programs of value.