What hosting companies do you all use for your wordpress? Would you recommend the ones that WordPress lists on their site? (they're probably paid to put those hosting services there)

I was reading about wordpress.org vs wordpress.com and saw this:

WordPress.org Cons

• You need a good web host, which generally costs $7-12 a month
• Requires more technical knowledge to set up and run
• You’re responsible for stopping spam
• You have to handle backups
• You must upgrade the software manually when a new version comes out
• If you get a huge spike in traffic (like Digg or Slashdot) you site will probably go down

Anyone have any experience hosting wordpress on a server that can handle traffic spikes? I'm hoping to get a radio plug for my website and I'll have thousands of hits at once, when I usually only get a few hits simultaneously (at most).

That's a little overstated ... you have the same anti-spam tool available for free on your own host as with a hosted blog; you just have to head over to their site and register to get a key to use it. That's probably the most technical knowledge that would be required; most hosts will let you pick a domain, then give you fantastico to set it up.

I use bluehost. They've been able to deal with traffic spikes pretty well. I think most will these days.

k, thanks forrest

Attn Everyone: Bonus points if the Web Host is overseas Not that the government would have any real reason to shut me down, but I'd feel more comfortable knowing they would have a lot of red tape to cut through.

any suggestions are welcome. bluehost looks nice but i dont like having to pay for 3 months up front.

Overseas from where...?

It sounds like you probably shouldn't pay for any web hosting without reading their policies up close. This guy chose a web host expecting a DMCA take-down notice sooner or later, and at least thinks he has one who won't pull the plug without hearing both sides of the story. Most will take a site down and ask questions afterwards on copyright issues ... it sounds like the fine print is probably more important to you than how many mysql databases a host allows.

Originally Posted by ForrestCroce

... it sounds like the fine print is probably more important to you than how many mysql databases a host allows.

Yeah pretty much. I won't make it a real concern now. I will make periodic backups. I can always re-locate my server.

Edit: I signed up with BlueHost based on this one guys referral

BlueHost cancelled me due to their adult content restrictions. Can anyone recommend a host that doesn't have a strict adult content policy?

Here's a chart that may help you decide. (Keep in mind though that it's a few years old though, so it would probably be a good idea to double check with the host to see if there policies have changed or not.):
http://www.budgetweb.com/budgetweb/adultcontent.php

Nowadays..all good hosting companies are providing built in Wordpress hosting too.
FOllowing are some good hosting options.
BlueHost, MediaTemple, DreamHost, HostICan.

Hope it helps.