DreamHost Reviews

DreamHost.com offers a range of hosting options, from shared to dedicated hosting.  They offer impressive specifications, particularly on their shared plans, and have one of the most versatile VPS plans available.  Unfortunately, there are one or two features missing with DreamHost that prevent them from standing out from some of the competition.  Their support system, whilst strong, needs some development, and their dedicated servers could offer more flexibility to users.  However, overall they are still one of the best hosting companies on the web, and certainly deserve a look.

Shared Hosting

Buying shared hosting from DreamHost could not be easier - with their single plan, you get unlimited disc space and bandwidth and complete functionality in one affordable package.  This means that for most small or medium-sized sites, upgrades of any sort are unlikely to ever be necessary.  Of course, there are down sides to this: because it is one of the most complete shared hosting plans around, it is relatively expensive, and there are no options for more stripped-back hosting plans.  However, overall, DreamHost's shared hosting is an impressive offering, and with its first-rate performance and uptime, it really is a reliable option for most website owners.

Virtual Private Servers

DreamHost's virtual private servers are some of the best in the business.  This is because they offer them with all the same great features that come with their shared hosting plans - unlimited bandwidth, unlimited disc space. and all the functionality most sites are ever likely to need.  This of course means that you do pay a little extra, but in terms of value for money you are still getting a very good deal.  In addition to the basic shared hosting cost, you effectively pay $1/month for every 20 MB of RAM, with a minimum purchase of 300 MB.  This gives you ultimate flexibility, as you can adjust your rate to suit the needs of your site over a particular period of time.  And on top of all this, you get your first week free, so that you can see what sort of specifications you are likely to need as you continue with your hosting.  If you do not adjust your settings accordingly after this first week, DreamHost will automatically select the best resources for your hosting needs, so you do not overspend.  Taking into account all the features that come with this, as well as full root access, the virtual private servers on offer here really are hard to beat.

Dedicated Servers

Dedicated hosting is really the only area of hosting where DreamHost let themselves down.  To be fair to them, this is not their area of expertise, and their recently acquired stake in Alchemy Communications, Inc. accounts for what they do offer in this range.  There is a basic dedicated server package, but the likelihood is that you are going to want to make customizations to what is available.  To do this, you can order through Alchemy Communications, but we believe that you can find greater value for money and flexibility elsewhere.  This may be an area that DreamHost is expanding, and we look forward to seeing what they offer in the future.  However, for the time being, those looking for dedicated servers will probably want to refer to one of the more established names in this business.

Support

DreamHost's support service is strong, but it could be better.  Depending on your hosting plan, you may have access to live chat and call back support, and will certainly be able to email your questions to the DreamHost support staff.  The online help area is great, however, which goes some way in making up for their otherwise quite average support system.  Whilst the support is likely to be perfectly adequate for most users, is does require you to do some of the work yourself, making it not the best choice for tech novices.

DreamHost does have some minor drawbacks, but overall it is still one of the best hosting options available.  Particularly if you are looking for virtual private hosting, or want the option to expand into this in the future, DreamHost.com could well be the most sensible hosting company for you or your business.

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