What Defines the Best DotNetNuke Hosting Solution?

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PowerDNN, AMHosting, 3Essentials Hosting, and WebHostForASP.NET are quality hosting providers that offer DNN hosting services – with the former specializing solely in DNN hosting. While it may be true that many web hosting providers will be capable of hosting the DotNetNuke (DNN) platform - there is a definitive difference between a web hosting company that should be able to cope with DNN and one that will provide a superior service with no surprise malfunctions.

The smartest option is to choose a hosting provider that has experience of hosting DNN websites. Here is a brief overview of our 4 highly recommended DNN hosting providers that are proving popular with DNN users:

PowerDNN

Established in early 2002, PowerDNN has become one of the leaders in DNN hosting solutions. Because the company focuses on DNN hosting alone, it provides a more extensive, specialized solution. PowerDNN offers a complete, optimized service for DNN users beyond the reach of some generic hosting providers. PowerDNN now employs one new employee per month, which proves its commitment to customer focus and the company’s ongoing, increasing expansion.

AMHosting

AMHosting has been providing hosting solutions since 1997 and uses its considerable experience to supply extremely reliable hosting solutions, DNN hosting being one of these. A well respected name in the hosting solution market, the company prides itself on a fast, reliable service and speedy technical support. The company was formally known as American Internet.

3Essentials Hosting

A member of the Better Business Bureau, 3Essential Hosting has been operating since 2001. During this time it has built a reputation for providing consistent, efficient hosting services that provides professional, available customer support. 3Essential Hosting claims more customers join via word-of-mouth recommendations, than from any of the advertising efforts it utilizes. They currently offer 20% OFF the initial sale with promo code 3ESECRET20.

WebHostforASP.NET

Providing hosting solutions since 2003, WebHostingforASP.NET is a rapidly growing company that provides DNN hosting, among many of its other reliable hosting solutions. A member of Microsoft’s ASP.NET Hosting Advantage Program, WebHostforASP.NET uses the latest technologies to supply a fast, dependable hosting service with efficient technical support.

What Are the Basic Essentials for Successfully Hosting DNN?

DotNetNuke’s own information Wiki lists these criteria:

• Database - Microsoft SQL Server 2005/2008
• Web Server - Microsoft IIS 5+
• Framework - Microsoft .NET 3.5 SP1

So they are the main factors to look for when choosing a DNN host. But what about other important areas such as price, options, technical support, and features? Well the easiest way to see how the 4 hosting providers mentioned above square up is to compare them side-by-side. So that is what we shall do...

PowerDNN vs AMHosting vs 3Essentials Hosting vs WebHost for ASP.NET

Below is a table comparing cheapest plans from these four hosting providers and highlighting important features you would need in a DNN hosting plan.

Basic Shared Hosting Packages

As you can see, when comparing based on raw specifications, there is not a lot to separate these hosting providers. All provide the essential criteria to host DotNetNuke websites.

If you are reading this, then you are looking for the best DotNetNuke hosting provider. Based on the comparison above, there was no clear leader so we needed to take our investigation a step further.

Support – Support – Support: The most important, but often overlooked feature.

When looking for a hosting provider, it is often quite easy to look only at the specifications and forget about technical support. If all you are looking for is hosting, then stop reading now, however, if you want DotNetNuke hosting, then keep on reading.

For the following section, when we say “DotNetNuke Support” we are not referring to the hosting provider’s ability to deploy DotNetNuke on their servers - we are referring to their ability to provide technical assistance for the DotNetNuke application itself and assist with things like DotNetNuke installs, upgrades, module installs and more. Significant differences between providers are bolded below.

Any one of the DNN hosting providers reviewed here would make an excellent option. But they all have their own differences and hosting plan selections. WebHostForASP.NET, AMHosting and 3Essentials Hosting are hosting providers that are more than compatible with DotNetNuke. Because PowerDNN completely specializes in DotNetNuke hosting, they are able to offer additional support and services for DotNetNuke. The good news is that it is highly probably that you will be able to find the hosting plan you need on one of these sites and whichever site you end up with, you will still have found yourself a reliable, experienced hosting service.

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