Countries to Host a Site ?

Hi all,

I know that China would be one country i would not want to host a site in...but what about Brazil or Venezula?

Just reading a few of these posts...and the question that comes to mind is "what countries should you avoid hosting in?

Honestly, it doesn't matter all that much... You should ideally host in the country you want to rank in the most.

For example if your target market is USA and Canada and you want to rank in the USA more than you do in Canada you should pick a web host in the USA.

the_demon said:

Honestly, it doesn't matter all that much... You should ideally host in the country you want to rank in the most.

For example if your target market is USA and Canada and you want to rank in the USA more than you do in Canada you should pick a web host in the USA.

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thanks...but i was thinking more along the lines of security and freedom issues.

The US. has numerous regulatory issues....and is passing more laws everyday regarding what is acceptable internet protecal. At this moment, the senate is working on a bill that will limit what kind of websites can be hosted in the US.

I'm sure that China has this law in place....as they are monitoring is much more extensive.

So again....the question remains...which country is the best for hosting (regardless of SEO issues).

It all depends on what you plan to do with the hosting. For a normal, legal website with a global audience, the US is the best, both speed-wise (similar distance to Europe and Asia, whereas if you hosted in Europe, Asian readers would get a slower response) and security wise, because there is rule of law and there are many reputable hosting companies to choose from.

This same rule of law is exactly what you want to avoid if you're planning on hosting copyright-infringing stuff or you want to do bulk opt-out mailing.

As for China, they're mostly concerned about internal instability, so a dissident website written in Chinese is definitely gonna get censored, but I don't think they care too much if you're hosting an English website. Then again, why take the risk. There's a ton of countries with even less laws, less oversight and no censorship. (And no higher chance of getting ripped off by your hosting provider)

thanks lolhuh.

Can you mention a few countries with "with even less laws, less oversight and no censorship?"

...sure would like to know.

~D

lolhuh said:

It all depends on what you plan to do with the hosting. For a normal, legal website with a global audience, the US is the best, both speed-wise (similar distance to Europe and Asia, whereas if you hosted in Europe, Asian readers would get a slower response) and security wise, because there is rule of law and there are many reputable hosting companies to choose from.

This same rule of law is exactly what you want to avoid if you're planning on hosting copyright-infringing stuff or you want to do bulk opt-out mailing.

As for China, they're mostly concerned about internal instability, so a dissident website written in Chinese is definitely gonna get censored, but I don't think they care too much if you're hosting an English website. Then again, why take the risk. There's a ton of countries . (And no higher chance of getting ripped off by your hosting provider)

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Sweden, Netherlands, Cyprus, Malta, Antigua-Barbuda, Ukraine.

Oops double post.

Daisysiegal said:

thanks lolhuh.

Can you mention a few countries with "with even less laws, less oversight and no censorship?"

...sure would like to know.

~D

Click to expand...

There's a ton. China is not as backward as many people think, especially regarding their oversight of the internet. And they do actively suppress political dissent.

I don't want to name any individual countries, cuz I don't have any personal experience with hosting in countries other than the US. But because I'm studying in China atm (and I'm half Chinese) I know what it's like around here. I would go for any country that is pretty backward (meaning less laws or non-enforced ones) and does not censor the internet for political reasons.

Another thing you could do is find a list that tells you which country sends out the most spam. (just don't count the us)

LakeForest said:

Sweden, Netherlands, Cyprus, Malta, Antigua-Barbuda, Ukraine.

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Thanks Lake,

I see you have none listed from S.Amer.

Anyone see anything in S.Amer that would fit this bill?

I would suggest Ukraine and Sweden. They have less laws.

I cant remember where I read that US is best for ranking a site, but if want to target the Netherlands or a specific country host it in the country that you target - local content

Japan maybe? Megauploads hosted theirs and they didnt care

TezzSun said:

Japan maybe? Megauploads hosted theirs and they didnt care

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Yeah...now that i think about...neither does China.

I hear a lot of torrent sites are now in China and Japan.

thanks!