I finally changed hosting companies and moved servers this week. I remember the first time I changed hosts. I wanted to go to a dedicated server and my current hosting company was just too steep for what they had to offer. I was really disappointed because they were so nice. After searching forums and hosting review sites I found one company that always had great reviews. I went with them and was very happy. Then they were bought out. The stellar support I counted on changed to 'just okay'... and it went downhill from there. The old company answered tickets almost immediately (I think 30 seconds was the fastest). The new company once took two days to answer a ticket. It wasn't that big of a deal, but the time lapse was still pretty shocking. I outgrew my server and finally decided to move on.

My new hosting company is EV1 Servers. I looked through hosting review sites and for the most part I've read positive comments. So far so good! The customer service rep was extremely helpful and nice. He worked with me to get the server I wanted and help me through the initial steps. The support was fast and courteous, and I really like the fact that I can actually talk to someone instead of waiting on an email.

I was stuck when it came to setting up the server and transferring data. My best friend, Bane, usually helps me on the server but was stuck working every night. He found Platinum Server Management, who I recommend to ANYONE wanting to set up their server, make sure it's secure or needing someone to monitor their server. I emailed them on Sunday not expecting much to happen. By late afternoon I had received five emails listing what they had done and updating me on what was still needed. I was amazed. I'm not sure if I want to continue to pay them monthly, but it was worth a one month fee.

Now the icky part. Telling my old hosting company to shut my account. I sent them a ticket Saturday at 12:30PM and got a curt reply 24 hours later stating that it will be dealt with during normal business hours. I'm crossing my fingers they don't come up with some weird fee to hit me up for.