In my situation, it makes no sense to pay for a better server until I know I'm getting more traffic. That's the goal, really. I'd like a Web Host(which might not exist) that automatically increases performance on an as-needed basis. I know this exists in virtual networking environments like the one I manage here at work, but I do not know if an Web Host will do it.
I tried a couple other Web Hosts in the past. At least one of them has great reputation among techies. But, one day it became gruelingly slow, and when I asked about it, they were zero help. And they have no phone support. That's when I switched to GD. I also had another small company host for me once, and they were incredibly mean to me when I called about a billing mistake they made. A lady actually called my wife 'stupid' when she called. I'm done with small companies unless I have a special reason to use one. I'm sure NetworkSolutions is good, so I'll look into them. So far, though, GD has been fine. I do not mind getting a call from them every now and then to check up on my status, and perhaps sell me something. I'm similar to them, in that I also want to make money.
GD was initially very fast compared to my previous Web Hosts. Also, I think I will offset some of the work to other servers. I was wondering if this is a common technique. The pictures will be a large part of the site, so I think it would be worth giving them their own server.
The site I'm creating is not really an e-commerce site. It should attract lots of visitors, and that should generate ad revenue. The site is design in such a way that the visitors will not mind having ads, and in fact, they will want them there and benefit from them. I think they will deliver a relatively high click thru rate. After I get a lot of traffic I'll start other revenue techniques.
Like I said, automatic scalability would be best, if such a thing exists. (also, I'm using Microsoft MVC to create the site)
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