NEVER underestimate the importance of quality web hosting.  There may seem to be no difference from one hosting company to the next, but the quality that lies below the fancy site is what really matters.

Let me tell you a story that will show you the huge difference between a cheap domain hosting company and one that has a truly excellent product line.

A couple of weeks ago I bought a PHP script to generate some dynamic web pages.  The installation instructions were simple, and I had the files installed on my server in about 10 minutes.  When I went to run the script I got nothing but a bunch of garbage on my screen.  What the ...?  I emailed my web hosting company and asked them if they supported PHP.  They replied back (a day later) telling me that they do support PHP, but that I had to "enable" it for my site, as it is disabled by default.

I "enabled" PHP, then tried the script again.  This time, I got a bunch of SAFE MODE errors.  The error said that the script did not have permission to write files to another folder on my site.  After another email to my hosting provider and another lost day waiting for the reply, I still had no answers.  They told me that they do not support script debugging or provide support for any content I load up to the site.  Dead end.

I emailed the author of the script and asked him for some help.  He told me that the error was a hosting error, and not a problem with the script. 

I tried the script on another site of mine that uses a different web hosting provider.  I didn't get the SAFE MODE errors this time, but I did get a whole screen full of other errors that I've never seen before.  After several emails back and forth to the support "team", I figured out that they would not help me either.  Basically they said that it was "my" script, and "my" problem that it would not work!  By now my head is really hurting from banging it on the wall over and over.  This was driving me insane!

After several messages posted to a PHP support forum, I decided the problem was with BOTH of my hosting providers, and not the script itself. 

I did a lot of research on web hosting providers in general and ones that support PHP specifically.  I narrowed it down to two different web hosts, and made my final decision based on the fact that I could get 2x the disk space and transfer bandwidth for just a little more money.

I uploaded the script, crossed my fingers, and ran it.  IT WORKED PERFECTLY THE FIRST TIME!  What a relief.  The whole process took me about 15 minutes, and could have saved me about 2 weeks of grief if only I had chosen a quality web host to begin with.

Who is the web hosting company that saved me from insanity?  HostGator.

HostGator has awesome service, and their plans start at only $9.95 per month.  Sure, you can find cheaper web hosts, but the $2 per month you save will come back to bite you in the ass someday.  I learned the hard way, and I'm never going back to cheap hosting again!