Hi I am based in the UK and just about to have my first website hosted. I am a complete novice and do not have much technical knowledge so will need a host that can give good support. My site which is AJAX based in PHP with a Mysql data base is a directory of entertainers.

It will eventually include about 2 thousand photographs and 1000 short video/audio clips (these clips will be limited to 30 seconds each because of performing rights issues) When the site is launched it will have only a few images/clips and will gradually build up to the figures above over a period of about 12 months.

Can anyone advise me on how much disk space/bandwidth I may need and recommend a reliable hosting company with good support.

Regards Rob

Thats alot of data you plan on adding to your site. i can almost guareentee that you will never ever put that much data online what i have on my games site (about 500 flash games) has taken me well over 30 hours to add every single one properly.

If you really did need that much capacity i would advise you buy a dedicated server or maybe VPS as this would be a very demanding site. You need to do some market research in order to see whether theres still a market for this content and that you can afford to advertise the site in order to make some money back from advertisments. Personally i think you first major protect should be a little less bandwidth and disk space intense!

Nick

Hi Nick

Thanks for your reply. Yes I know that is a lot of data but the clips are only small - 30 seconds each. The site is intended to be a paid directory where entertainers can "showcase" their tallents via short audio/video clips. I would estimate between 10 to 20 clips a week to be added so it could take 18months to reach the levels indicated.
So I think I need a flexible package that can grow with the site.

Regards Rob

You can start with a good VPS, make sure no overselling, look for a host who provides video streaming.

Hello,

Most companies that offer VPS packages offer them in several stages - you can start with a 'smaller' one then upgrade seemlessly to a larger one. From there they may also provide 'Virtual Dedicated' servers (a step above a VPS but below a full Dedicated), and this again would be a seemless upgrade when the time came.

If you did eventually go to a full dedicated you would be required to move all your files to the new server - if you are confident that the site is going to require a large amount of room and bandwidth, you may indeed want to consider starting right off with the dedicated, so that you DON'T need to move everything once it's gotten bigger.

it depends. You have to elucidate how much CPU will you project use.

You may look at www.flvhosting.com
flashcomguru.com
www.StreamingMedia.com
Maybe they'll suit your needs.

With this info you've provided i think you should go with a VPS plan. As MelodyAnn said, you can start with a small plan and upgrade to a bigger one later on withh your website's growth.