I'm a little confused about web hosting. I've had HostGator for about four years and I pay $9.99 a month for the "baby croc" package. It's unlimited bandwidth, storage, and all that hype. I've never really had a website that had a whole lot of traffic demand (no more than 100 visitors per day), and everything seemed fine.
BUT...what is the tradeoff for the cheap price? HostGator sales reps act is if (well two of them just flat out told me) upgrading to a VPS plan is virtually a waste of time.
Granted, the website I run now at madeworthy.com with the graphene theme is not very demanding on any server, but what I'm wanting to know is this: What if I anticipate adding BuddyPress, an e-commerce store, and what if all of a sudden two or three or four thousand people a day start coming to the site? I'm dreaming big I know, but seriously, it's an honest question.
Should a person just wait until he has outgrown his current hosting provider (or plan rather), or wait until visitors start experiencing problems or what?
I know Syahir uses VPS Solutions. So, for example: How much money does it cost to run a site like this one that has constant visitors throughout the day and many subscribers?
I'm just basically overall looking to try and plan ahead and keep on top of things, and I'm curious as to what serious hosting costs and what the best route to go is. I've never had any problems with HostGator, but for $9.99 a month with unlimited everything, I know there's a tradeoff of speed and all kind of stuff that would be going on if things got serious.
Anyone with experience or suggestions feel free to give me any advice. I love advice, and I appreciate anyone who gives it.
Thanks everyone!
