A few weeks ago, Iron Chef, Michael Symon was on the Dr. Oz show sharing with viewers, Restaurant’s Dirty Little Secrets… that if you only knew… there would be certain items you would never order, always question, and so on.
Over the past fifteen plus years, I’ve the chance to read post after post, thread after thread, in a major web hosting discussion forum.
While it is extremely common to read threads titled, “How long have you been with your current provider?” with common answers of six months or less, it is just as common to read posts that would have most web hosting consumers, especially business owners, up in arms.
What are some of the dirty little secrets cheap hosting providers do not want you to know?
With the exception of the last section, Local Designers offering Web site hosting — which deals with a personal experience — the posts below are word for word quotes, sometimes from desperate hosting business owners showing a little about what goes in inside their business or what they are exposed to in their business.
My hosting website has been hacked
“Web hosting website has been hacked yesterday and the person who did it deleted all my websites and my clients websites as well.
I have lost 15 website that are mine. 47 websites for clients. Plus I kept getting emails from angry clients too.
The server is down…. my website is not working …. etc
Also, I have an ebay store with +800 lists and all my images for the listing were hosted in my account. Now everything is gone.
I have lost all my emails, hosting packages, and more.”
(Editorial note: The overwhelming majority of cheap hosting providers DO NOT secure their servers. Some of those who state they do, did so only one time — that’s not security, that’s being cheap! Most cheap providers do not review their logs and security reports throughout the day — every day. Most do not review security blogs daily, check for updates daily, etc.).
Ripped off and or lied to!!!
“Is there any true 24/7 tech support you can talk to these days? We tried 2 different out, and the support was either never available, available with someone who could do something very simple, and least but not least something usually got done, either a day or 2 weeks later. What the heck? We do a pretty good back ground check on a host before we check it. Make sure it is not a reseller or if it is a reseller, we try our best to find as much pro’s and no con’s. Every company starts some where and with more clients they expand and last long one hopes.
The worst part is that the one client we were dealing with shortly ago was a non-profit and helped lives.
To host owners out there that take advantage of false advertising, over charging, delaying / excuses, and so much more…Good luck. One day the government will catch up and probably audit as much as the u.s. as they can online. Any unpaid taxes or scams (false advertising to back up a case they may have) will arise. That’s just a fact on google.
Sorry guys. Had to let this out here. After 2 vps hosts in a row we are not happy campers.
Where is the best place to go and or can someone offer some Tylenol to a repeat of headaches we go through. This time it just happened 2 in a row so the frustration had to be left out.”
(Editorial note: This is from a business that tried a number of VPS hosting providers who said they provide support, and where not there when needed).
Big Mistake – Underestimating my web hosting business
“Well, it looks like I made a mistake on the packages I set up with my web hosting service. I only had a total of 50gb I could resell. The packages I set up on my site for sale was an increment of
- 5000mb – package 1
- 10000mb – package 2
- 15000mb – package 3
- 20000mb – package 4
I already got one customer for package 4. Got 2 customers for package 1. Got one customer for package 3. Guess what that leaves me? With basically nothing, in the negatives. Now I have to recalculate and adjust my packages + pricing. Anyone have any advice on the best way of going about in this?”
(Editorial note: the hosting provider did not measure twice to saw once, and basically set up four customers that now uses all of the space on the server.).
Making absolutely no profit. Might have to shut down.
“Well, I offer very cheap prices and shared hosting with unlimited disk/bandwidth…
I am getting no business.
I have Virtual Private Servers, Reseller Hosting, Shared Hosting, and SEO.
Any suggestions on how to get some customers? I might have to shut down my hosting business soon.”
(Editorial note: When did you last see unlimited hard drives on sale?)
Making Profit From Web Hosting Business
“Friends, I am planning to start a web hosting business. Now i am studying many things related to this business. But i am confused, how hosting business make profit.”
(Editorial note: Unfortunately, it is so easy to start a web hosting business, it can be done without any special skills, certification, experience, etc.)
Tips on improving my Web hosting business
“I started hosting exactly 8 months back…
I’m been very honest here!! I only managed to get 10 clients which is ridiculous…”
(Editorial note: While not all cheap providers have a “get rich quick” mentality, a large number do not understand the time and money investment needed to do the job correctly.)
Local Designers offering Web site hosting
Last year when we went to have our Web site redesigned, we looked at a number of local design firms; one of whom uses the word, “axiom” in their company name. It is interesting to note that one of the definitions of the word, axiom is “self-evident truth that requires no proof.”
When I saw this particular company offers web hosting, I was curious to see if they had their own data center, if they were a reseller, a reseller of a reseller and so on. So I did less than five minutes of homework to find out they are using The Planet. The Planet is a reputable data center provider.
When we met with the owners of this company, I put the “self-evident truth that requires no proof” to the test by asking them if they own their own data center. They stated, “yes.”
When I asked them how can that be given they are using The Planet, they stated they own The Planet (the company and its data centers).
The questioning went on and on with various answers until finally they admitted the truth that they rent a server from The Planet; and staff at The Planet tries to help them when things go wrong.
Why they could not tell the truth when asked the first time, only they know… there’s nothing wrong with using a reputable data center provider like The Planet.
The sad parts is that the did a disservice to their company name — “self-evident truth that requires no proof”, and they lost the sale because why should I or anyone else deal with a company that lies right to your face (we met the two owners in our office). We would never recommend them to anyone.
If you think you are safe because you use a “brand name” cheap hosting provider, then think again. When you are out to deliver cheap services (hosting is a service, not a boxed product), you have to cut corners in order to lower the price or keep the price point low.
That may mean outsourcing support to India and other countries where the work ethic may be extremely different. That may mean using cheap equipment or trying to keep the same equipment longer than its shelf life. The list goes on.
Hosting providers who compete on price will do their best to continue being able to compete on price. That typically means cutting corners, focus on being penny smart. It typically means focusing on cost cutting rather than value; and rather than their customers — human beings, people.
Hosting providers who compete on value will have higher prices than those who compete on price. The hosting providers who compete on value are typically focused on maintaining and increasing the value they provide to their customers. They are focused on their customers. Human beings mean more and should receive value for what they pay.
If your business matters to you, then please do your home work. Ask very hard questions, and dig deeper than the surface when you receive answers. It is your business, and you have the right to quality service.
Please contact us if you have any questions.