8-19-2007 - Posted in Warnings,Website Hosting
Part of the purpose of this blog is to warn prospective hosting customers of things that may cost them extra time, money, or frustration. This article focuses on what you can tell from a hosting company's website.
There has been a recent trend sweeping the Internet over the past 5 or so years. It has become increasingly easier to fake being a web hosting company. One of the biggest signs of a hosting company who may not be on the 'up and up' is their website. You can tell a lot from a company's website and something very important we think you should look out for when selecting a hosting provider is the type and quality of their website.
Website Hosting Templates
One of the biggest things to watch out for are companies using website templates. Website templates are pre-made website layouts that take the hard work out of building a website. Websites such as Template Monster are huge suppliers of website hosting templates. They make a fortune off of individuals and small companies who want to cash in on the hosting market. If you look at a hand full of those templates, you'll find they all have the same look and feel. This is also true of hosting companies using templates. They will look very similar in many respects as the same company has made most of them.
You may be wondering why this is a warning sign. They are nice looking websites, after all, there are legitimate hosting companies with much less for a website. Well, one very large problem is the price. You can pick up any one of these hosting templates for under $100. In fact, they're all much closer to the $50 range. This tells you a lot about a company if your able to spot this. Price obviously is a HUGE issue to this company if they have to take the route of a pre-made template. The fact that it's a template and one that is designed for hosting companies almost guarantees that someone else will also be using it. That's a pretty huge sacrifice as well. What legitimate company wants an identical website as a competitor?
The next logical question in this formula is this. If a hosting company can't afford to hire a web developer and programmers, can they afford to fix their services if they break? Can they afford quality hardware and support? Are they even using their own hardware and support? Chances are, probably not. In fact, many people who use these hosting templates are simply purchasing a large hosting plan from a legitimate company and reselling their services. A lot of hosting companies today offer robust disk space and the ability to host unlimited domains. This makes for a perfect opportunity to cash in on this industry and start reselling. This leads us into the next thing to watch out for when choosing a hosting company.
Website Hosting Resellers
There are many hosting companies that allow for resellers. This in itself isn't a bad thing. Many website designers for instance have many clients to manage and part of their services may be to square away all hosting costs and services. In this instance a hosting reseller plan is most applicable. It will allow the designer to fully manage every aspect of their clients services to further provide the support and quality they're required to. Apart from this and a few other very specific instances, hosting resellers are something you should be very careful with. Here's why.
Hosting resellers use none of their own hardware, often they use none of their own support, and they simply resell hosting services under the guise of a legitimate hosting company. One very famous example of this is a company called Wild West Domains. They offer anyone the ability to resell hosting and cash in on the hosting market. When you call into support on any one of these resellers you are actually speaking with Wild West Domain's support staff. What is more, Wild West Domains was started and is owned by Godaddy. So when you call into a Wild West Domains' resellers site you are actually speaking with Godaddy's support. What a tangled mess don't you think? You'll find when you call into Godaddy, WWD, or one of their resellers, they'll never say the name of their company as they don't know who is on the end of the line. Is it a reseller, is it our customer? etc.
Another thing to consider regarding resellers is this. Would you be willing to host with the company backing the reseller? And if so, why not go through the company directly instead of a third party who has no ability to support or fix any of your issues. Not to mention, if it's a reseller, they've obviously upped the price to some degree.
There are many other things to consider when searching for a hosting company. These two areas are something most prospective hosting customers should avoid.
Website Hosting Templates
One of the biggest things to watch out for are companies using website templates. Website templates are pre-made website layouts that take the hard work out of building a website. Websites such as Template Monster are huge suppliers of website hosting templates. They make a fortune off of individuals and small companies who want to cash in on the hosting market. If you look at a hand full of those templates, you'll find they all have the same look and feel. This is also true of hosting companies using templates. They will look very similar in many respects as the same company has made most of them.
You may be wondering why this is a warning sign. They are nice looking websites, after all, there are legitimate hosting companies with much less for a website. Well, one very large problem is the price. You can pick up any one of these hosting templates for under $100. In fact, they're all much closer to the $50 range. This tells you a lot about a company if your able to spot this. Price obviously is a HUGE issue to this company if they have to take the route of a pre-made template. The fact that it's a template and one that is designed for hosting companies almost guarantees that someone else will also be using it. That's a pretty huge sacrifice as well. What legitimate company wants an identical website as a competitor?
The next logical question in this formula is this. If a hosting company can't afford to hire a web developer and programmers, can they afford to fix their services if they break? Can they afford quality hardware and support? Are they even using their own hardware and support? Chances are, probably not. In fact, many people who use these hosting templates are simply purchasing a large hosting plan from a legitimate company and reselling their services. A lot of hosting companies today offer robust disk space and the ability to host unlimited domains. This makes for a perfect opportunity to cash in on this industry and start reselling. This leads us into the next thing to watch out for when choosing a hosting company.
Website Hosting Resellers
There are many hosting companies that allow for resellers. This in itself isn't a bad thing. Many website designers for instance have many clients to manage and part of their services may be to square away all hosting costs and services. In this instance a hosting reseller plan is most applicable. It will allow the designer to fully manage every aspect of their clients services to further provide the support and quality they're required to. Apart from this and a few other very specific instances, hosting resellers are something you should be very careful with. Here's why.
Hosting resellers use none of their own hardware, often they use none of their own support, and they simply resell hosting services under the guise of a legitimate hosting company. One very famous example of this is a company called Wild West Domains. They offer anyone the ability to resell hosting and cash in on the hosting market. When you call into support on any one of these resellers you are actually speaking with Wild West Domain's support staff. What is more, Wild West Domains was started and is owned by Godaddy. So when you call into a Wild West Domains' resellers site you are actually speaking with Godaddy's support. What a tangled mess don't you think? You'll find when you call into Godaddy, WWD, or one of their resellers, they'll never say the name of their company as they don't know who is on the end of the line. Is it a reseller, is it our customer? etc.
Another thing to consider regarding resellers is this. Would you be willing to host with the company backing the reseller? And if so, why not go through the company directly instead of a third party who has no ability to support or fix any of your issues. Not to mention, if it's a reseller, they've obviously upped the price to some degree.
There are many other things to consider when searching for a hosting company. These two areas are something most prospective hosting customers should avoid.
Comments for Hosting Companies and Their Websites - Templates and Resellers
poppabear - WorxTech Hosting - 8/19/2007
I totally agree with this article/blog, there are A LOT of "fake" host running about the internet these days. Its good for all the hosting customers to be aware of the things to look for in choosing a good host provider. I sometimes agree that the smaller personally owned hosts are sometimes the best hosts to go for, They are willing to support and help their customers on a more personal level, Not so much about making $$$ but just to establish a good client base and community. I hope this inspires all readers to be careful and to choose wisely.
I totally agree with this article/blog, there are A LOT of "fake" host running about the internet these days. Its good for all the hosting customers to be aware of the things to look for in choosing a good host provider. I sometimes agree that the smaller personally owned hosts are sometimes the best hosts to go for, They are willing to support and help their customers on a more personal level, Not so much about making $$$ but just to establish a good client base and community. I hope this inspires all readers to be careful and to choose wisely.
cpanel hosting manual - 12/17/2007
I love bluehost and hostican. The one hosting service that let me down was ixwebhosting. Their customer service is impossible to reach, some numbers are not available. I saw it recommended on a website, but alas, got really disappointed.
I love bluehost and hostican. The one hosting service that let me down was ixwebhosting. Their customer service is impossible to reach, some numbers are not available. I saw it recommended on a website, but alas, got really disappointed.