I really have to admit, DreamHost is perhaps the best host I’ve come across yet when looking for something to just host a website. This website has been hosted by them for almost 2 years now, and I’ve very rarely noticed any sort of problem. Any problems that do come up I’m usually warned of before I’m aware of them, and even then they are taken care of as quickly as possible.
Because DreamHost is so awesome, I just have to tell all of you about it! 
Why DreamHost?
Sure, they do hosting, just like every other hosting business out there. But they go far beyond just merely hosting a website. For example, their customer service has been excellent. There has been one occasion where I did need to contact them, and I got a clear reply from them within a short amount of time. And they don’t use a form reply when they give you an answer, they tell you how it is!
Of course, it’s not just for their excellent customer service. For every month you stay with them, they give you more bandwidth and more storage. Seriously. And it costs nothing extra. You keep paying what you paid when you originally joined (without any promotional discounts of course).
DreamHost also offers multiple ways to get stuff onto your site. Of course, they offer FTP access, which you can get through either your favorite FTP program or through their browser based FTP program. They also give you Secure Shell (SSH) access as well! If you know your Linux, you can actually log in to your account and have an actual Linux console interface to work with. Also, since SSH is offered, you can securely transfer files to your site! I like to use my FTP program (FileZilla)to do that, and I set the server type to SFTP using SSH2. Then it’s just easy and secure file transfer all the way!
Now if you’re hosting a site that offers content that’s constantly updated, then you’re going to need some sort of database. Well, not only does DreamHost offer MySQL, but they let you make as many databases as you want. Yup, there’s absolutely no limit to the number of databases you can create. So feel free to tinker away and keep your database tables in separate databases! This is great for keeping things organized, especially when you’re having more than one website or service being hosted with DreamHost. 
DreamHost also likes to make it easy for their customers. So they offer a bunch of One-Click Installs. So far they offer it for Wordpress, phpBB, Advanced Poll, Zen Card, MediaWiki, Joomla!, WebCalendar, dotProject, Pligg, PhpGedView, Moodle, and Zen Photo. Of course, there’s more than that, since they’re adding more over time. In fact, they just added One-Click Install for Drupal!
There’s also a bunch of other goodies that DreamHost just gives you. Want a Jabber IM server? You’ve got it. Need a Subversion repository for a project? You’ve got it. How about a Flash Video Player, which will also automatically convert your video files to FLV when you upload them? You’ve got it. And all this at no extra charge!
Oh, and of course, there’s email as well. Full SMTP, POP, and even IMAP access. You can either use your favorite email program, or you can use the browser based one. It’s all part of the package!
So How Much Does It Cost?
To be honest, it actually depends on how much you sign up for in advance. If you only go monthly, then you’ll be paying $10.95 per month, and you’ll also have to pay a $49.95 setup fee. However, if you sign up for a year right off, then it’s basically $9.95 per month, and there’s no setup fee. The monthly cost discounts become even better as you order up more years in advance. If you sign up for 10 years, it costs only $5.95 per month! The only caveat is that you’re paying up front, instead of over time. But if you’re interested saving your money over a longer period of time, then I think it’s worth it to pay that larger chunk up front.
Also, when you sign up, you get to have one domain registered by them for free. Not only is your registration free, but it’s yours for LIFE. You don’t have to pay a single penny for that one domain, ever. Though if you want more than just one domain, then you will need to pay a domain registration fee. DreamHost can do this for you, charging $9.95 per year per domain. Though, if you want, you can use another registrar for your other domains. But at least you’re guaranteed one domain for life!
So if you want a very nice hosting plan your website, go give DreamHost a try!
