Host Gator (or Hostgator as some people call them) is the host I recommend the most. I use them many times per day on behalf of my clients, and find them great to work with.
I get asked which webhost I recommend a few times a week, and it is usually a choice based on personal recommendation and past experience. A recent rough count tells me that over 80% of my clients are using Host Gator (for at least one of their sites) and the number of problems I’ve had with them? Two. Both clients will not be using Host Gator again, for various reasons it didn’t work out well with them. However compared to the problems I’ve had (or more specifically, problems my clients have had) with other hosts, they’re a great choice.
If you have a lot of websites you may want to have more than one host. While most hosting accounts can handle multiple sites as add-on domains (this is a great inexpensive way to have multiple websites/blogs), some people like to have different hosts for their larger, more critical websites – if one host has server problems, then their other important site should still be fine. That’s why I recommend Hostgator.
The Host Gator Baby plan will be good enough for most people to start off. In fact for those on a really tight budget the Hatchling plan may work for them, but it only allows one domain.
A well known host will always have those who recommend it and those who don’t, it is all in the personal experience. I have had good experiences with the two above but there are people who have not, and the best advice is to go with what your friends, colleagues and people you trust recommend.
I could go into a long list of reasons why I recommend Host Gator, but this is a soft-sell blog, so essentially I think it is simply a great choice for beginner and intermediate blogs due to ease of setup and low cost. There are better hosts out there, ones with higher security, greater scalability and better support, but you can always move if you get to that level and feel you need to.
The links for Host Gator are affiliate links, meaning I make money if you sign up with them. However please feel free to go to their websites directly, almost all hosts have similarly priced affiliate plans and it has no bearing on my recommendations. Also the hosts will happily answer any questions you may ask, my recommendations might not be perfect for your individual situation so please contact them with any questions.
Oh, and Happy New Year! If I can help you make 2009 more successful than 2008, please contact me, I would love to help you.