Web hosting...be sure to shop around.
I had an experience with a web hosting company recently that underscored my belief that, if you’re in business, you should always know who you’re up against.
A Little Web Hosting History
In the world of web hosting there is a great deal of competition. This is good news, as it has driven prices quite low. The cost of storage (hard drives) has dropped dramatically over the last 20 years, bringing the cost of servers down. Data centers that were built to behemoth size 15 years ago now have plenty of extra space to lease as computer equipment shrinks and becomes more energy efficient. So, overall, the cost to host a web site has dropped. You can find many hosting companies offering unlimited disk space and bandwidth for around $5.00 per month – super cheap. And because of the volume of clients they have at those prices, hosting companies offer many free web tools and very good customer support.
Most small business Web sites, like the ones I build, are hosted on what is called a “shared hosting” environment, in which many web sites are hosted on a single server (pricing indicated above). This, too, has helped to drive costs down. Furthermore, many Web hosting companies also offer a choice of Microsoft server software or open source Linux hosting (I choose Linux because it opens up the door to use all of the open source tools like Magento and Joomla! and a wide variety of other Web applications).
And Now, On With Our Story…
A new client approached me recently and asked me to build their first web site. I was told that they had plans to engage a smaller hosting company, which I knew did not offer Linux hosting, but only Microsoft hosting software. I shared my preference, but the client really wanted to use this particular company. No problem. I could make that work. We didn’t have plans for anything fancy for this site, so basic HTML would probably suffice.
It turned out that a particular feature that my client requested could not be built (by me) because I do not have knowledge of .asp code that is widely used in the Microsoft hosting environment (Active Server Pages). I asked the hosting company (a small, local company) if they would please complete the code necessary to make the requested function work for our mutual client (most of the larger, “national” hosting companies will perform these quick tasks, no questions asked, as part of their customer service commitment — or more often, they’ve provided the necessary documentation and set-up the code, ready to copy and customize). This is where it gets interesting.
Now, it is important to note here that this particular hosting company charges nearly triple what the typical company charges for very basic web hosting. They do not provide any tools, scripts or even the popular “cpanel” webmaster control panel interface or anything similar, nor do they have any documentation available about how their servers are set up (email server naming, etc.) Big price. No extras.
Are You Kidding Me?!?
Now here’s the kicker. In response to my request to either provide me with documentation or complete the code to make a basic web function work on their server, I was told that they would be very glad to help me — for only $95 per hour development time! Incredible!
While I probably won’t be able to get this site moved from this host (I have already solved the web function issue) I know that I will stand my ground more firmly if anyone asks me to work with this particular web hosting company again. Their lack of service and documentation, coupled with high rates, has placed them on my blacklist.
Consumers looking for Web hosting — shop around. If you want to know which companies I use, send me an email and I’d be glad to share. I won’t share the name of the company I’ve written about here; they don’t need any help on their downward spiral.
Business owners of any kind — always know who and what you’re up against. The Web makes it very easy to check up on your competition…whether you’re reviewing pricing, services or product offerings, it can be done from the comfort of your favorite chair at the coffee shop.
If you want to stay ahead of the game — or stay in business — you’d better keep an eye on your competition. (Keep your friends close, and your enemies closer!)
Until next time…
Eric