dance based startup social network

[realmanproject]

Hi

I am creating a web site that is planned to be a bit like a cross between foursquare and facebook, but for dancers. Potentially, if the web site takes off, I will need a LOT of resources (potential worldwide customer base of at least a million users, who would all be using the site at least once a week). However initially I won't need so much in terms of bandwidth etc. So no upgrade fees and a lot of scalability would be an important part of any deal that I would need. Once the web site got busy enough to need its own server or VPS it would also require managing. Some kind of guarantee of uptime would also be necessary, with compensation offered if you don't meet the guarantee.

My programmer has certain requirements (shouldn't be too difficult, but it is still worth mentioning). He says that he needs;

Linux based OS (with cPanel)
PHP version 5+
PDO support enabled
MySQL version 5+
Storage engine - InnoDB (for mySQL transaction, foreign key and stored procs)
PHPmyAdmin
SSL Certificates (small business)
24/7 Phone and online technical support, preferably based in the uk.

Things that would be nice but not necessary;
Building tools to help with following functions
eCommerce/shopping cart
Photo/media gallery
Wiki

So... do any of you think you can help me?

 

[ughosting]

You'll have to define online technical support?

Does it absolutely have to be cpanel?

You don't mention how much space or bandwidth you need.
What's your budget?

 

[realmanproject]

You'll have to define online technical support?

Some kind of real-time chat function would be good, or failing that speedy response to emails...

Does it absolutely have to be cpanel?

Not essential, but if it isn't it should be easy for someone that has never used it to pick it up.

You don't mention how much space or bandwidth you need.
What's your budget?

At first the space and bandwidth requirements will be pretty light. But if things go well then the requirements will go up rapidly! That is why I need it to scale up easily (and without charges).

I'm not too budget focused. Of course cheaper is better, but I am willing to pay more for a well run company that offers the right package...

 

[PVT-Jordan]

Hello,

I would welcome the opportunity to work with you as a hosting partner for this project. We pride ourselves in offering affordable services with our primary focus on availability and scalability. You would have no worries about growing your site with our company as we can easily and seamlessly help you upgrade to more resources and ultimately virtual, dedicated, or load balanced servers. We have been in business since 2003 and work with businesses and organizations of all sizes.

I think a great start for your project would be to begin with our starter plan ($4.95/month), however we would enable the full feature set of our Professional Plan to allow you to take advantage of all of our shared hosting features. You would have enough space and bandwidth for your development and testing needs without overpaying for resources you aren't using.

Here's a run down of what we can offer you:

• 4GB of Disk Space
• 100GB of Transfer
• Unlimited FTP, Email, DB, hostable domains, & subdomains
• cPanel server with PHP5/MySQL5
• FREE SSL Certificates
• 24/7 Phone/Email Support (based in the US)
• Full suite of Softaculous scripts
• 99.9% Uptime Guarantee (excluding scheduled maintenance, communicated in advance)
• Never an upgrade fee
• Free data migration
• Daily account backup
• Time to Recover SLA from full server failure: 2 hours
• Instant upgrade to any of our shared plans. Assisted upgrade to a managed VPS or dedicated server.

$4.95/month - NO Setup Fee

If we ever fail to meet our uptime or time-to-recover SLA, we will refund your current month's payment in full. I'm confident that we will be a valuable partner in the development and deployment of your social network. I'd be happy to answer any questions you may have. Feel free to respond on this forum or email me directly at jsones[at]provistatech.com with any questions.

Regards,

 

[handsonhosting]

Our basic plans meet your requirements:
http://www.handsonwebhosting.com/web-hosting/

If you require the Dedicated IP number out of the gate, then the Small Business Package with the IP option would be what I'd recommend.

As your needs grow, we have several hosting packages, VPS and Dedicated & Cloud options available for you.

We host sites for various businesses, small and large. We even have a couple of clients that were regular guests on Oprah (when she mentions a name, you get millions of hits within a few hours). We also host a number of sites for some Hollywood A-Listers, not to mention the forums here at HostingDiscussion.com are located on our servers.

If you have any questions, please feel free to open a Live Chat with any of our staff.

 

[daddy_yankee]

Buddy, hosting such social projects with a shared host is actually not advisable.

Any shared hosting service provider will not allow you to use more than 5% of the CPU.

Moreover many hosting companies, limit the INODES.

I would suggest to go with a dedicated server or a VPS.

Best of luck!