Where should I Host?

I know there are a few hosting companies mentioned, but I wanted to get your opinion.

I was thinking about hosting with usavedomains or hostgator, but I already read that some of the hosting companies might install the software for you.

Anyone have any recommendations?

Also, should I go with a VPS server or Dedicated?  I want something for growth, but not too much.  I don't want $400 a month payments.

Any opinions on this are appreciated.

I would start out with a VPS then move to a dedicated server later down the road if things take off. You should be fine with 2gb ram if you aren't going to use RMS. If you are you might want to go with 4gb.

About recommendations, see signature :-)

I use amazon EC2 for my hosts and have been very pleased. Not all VPS are the same.. Some use full hardware level (Xen or KVM or Vmware), some use applications level. Dedicated is always better performance at the low end (but expensive) but EC2 or VPS scale better at the high end level. Dolphin is a pretty heavy app, but only once you have a user base (which can take some time), and it also really depends on the features your users are using as well. VPS.net is a pretty good choice to start because it scales instantly and starts at 20 bucks a month (also supports auto-scaling). These may be well over your head if your actually looking for a hosting company that will install your app though. I would suggest you get a good grasp of how dolphin works and can install and configure it or you will start out with a very weak foundation for customization and fixing your bugs (which you will have to do).

-barry

If you go dedicated or VPS, you need to be ready to install, configure, and maintain all of the server components/applications yourself.

You don't have to go with VPN or dedicated in order to have a fast and reliable Dolphin site. I would suggest staying away from those $3-$4 a month hosting packages though. Seems they tend to have a bit of a bad name around here.

Take a look HERE and read some the reviews and decide for yourself. Pretty much everyone here thinks their hosting company is the best. So you will end up with ALOT of choice to sort through. In the end, get something you are comfortable with, has the features you need, and fits your budget.

I would have no other than Arvixe! I started of with TMD and switched ASAP. You have 24/7 live support and these guys are really good to put up with me. I'm not much of a wiz here and really have no knowledge on running a website...so yeah Thank You Arvixe! I started out with the VPS and soon had to switch to the VPS Pro and it's running smooth. They also maintain most all for you. It's a headache to switch servers,so get a good one with top support and grow into it.

LindaH 

Go with www.terabyte-hosting.com

Hi, i don't know about the providers you have mentioned..i hosted my website at XnYnZ . here they are providing reliable service to me so far.. since i'm using this provider, i can tell about this provider only..then regarding VPS or Dedicated server, you didn't mentioned about your purpose of hosting..that is about your website. according to your need you need to choose between VPS and Dedicated server. The provider that i have mentioned has VPS and dedicated server , so if this provider suits your need , you can choose this provider...